301 Area Code: Washington suburbs (Maryland), Maryland
Area code 301 serves Washington suburbs (Maryland), Frederick and Gaithersburg, Maryland in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1947. Consumers have filed 6,994 unwanted-call complaints against 5,418 different 301 numbers, 392 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 301 at a glance
- State
- Maryland
- Main cities
- Washington suburbs (Maryland), Frederick, Gaithersburg, Laurel, Waldorf, Hagerstown + 41 more
- Counties
- Montgomery County, Frederick County, Charles County, Prince George's County + 6 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- 1947
- Codes split off
- 410 (1991)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 64 rate centers, 784 prefixes
Sources: NANPA area code and central office code records (refreshed weekly); cities and counties matched from US Census Bureau and USGS place names.
Most-reported 301 numbers
Ranked by FTC Do Not Call complaints this month, then all-time FTC and FCC complaints. Only numbers with enough complaints for a full report page are listed. Click one for what it was reported for and where.
What calls from 301 numbers are about
1,186 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 301 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family), at 12% of complaints (61% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 63% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified47440%
- Impostor (government, business, family)14412%
- Dropped call / no message12310%
- Debt reduction11710%
- Home improvement & cleaning1039%
- No subject given686%
- Warranties & protection plans545%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice16741%
- Prerecorded Voice13433%
- Text Message11027%
27% of recent FCC complaints about 301 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 301 spam calls come in
32% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm. 94% came Monday to Friday, most on Tuesdays, the pattern of call-center robocall campaigns that run on business hours. Times are as consumers reported them to the FTC.
By hour of the day
By day of the week
Is it getting worse?
389 FTC complaints about 301 numbers in the last four weeks, up 3% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 301 numbers peaked in 2017 (1,043); the FTC's daily Do Not Call data has carried most of the volume since mid-2026.
FTC complaints per week
FCC complaints per year
Years shown as '15 to '26; the current year is partial.
Who gets these calls
56% of the FTC complaints about 301 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 301, and 67% from Maryland. Calls that look local to the person receiving them are the signature of neighbor spoofing: robocallers display a number from your own area code because you're more likely to answer.
Where complainants live
- Maryland79867%
- Virginia444%
- California434%
- Florida313%
- Texas232%
What people with 301 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 301 filed 2,916 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 23% were about calls showing another 301 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 301 (same code)66023%
- 2401816%
- 833 (toll-free)1284%
- 888 (toll-free)1204%
- 4431094%
Busiest 301 prefixes this month
FTC complaints in the last 30 days, grouped by the first six digits. When one prefix collects complaints about many different numbers, a campaign is usually cycling through that block. The carrier is who NANPA assigned the prefix to, not who made the calls.
| Prefix | Complaints | Numbers | Carrier | Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (301) 888-xxxx | 16 | 11 | Verizon (landline) | Washington suburbs (Maryland) |
| (301) 409-xxxx | 11 | 10 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Washington suburbs (Maryland) |
| (301) 200-xxxx | 11 | 9 | Bandwidth.com | Indian Head |
| (301) 479-xxxx | 9 | 6 | MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Washington suburbs (Maryland) |
| (301) 823-xxxx | 8 | 2 | Teleport Communications America, LLC | Washington suburbs (Maryland) |
Carriers operating in 301
NANPA has assigned 784 301 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 64 rate centers: 20% to wireless carriers, 79% to landline and VoIP operators; 51% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. The newest assignment was 2025-07-01. The carrier holding a prefix is who the number was issued through. It says nothing about who is calling, since caller ID is routinely spoofed.
| Carrier | Type | Prefixes | Rate centers | Newest assignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon (landline) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 463(59%) | 63 | 2014-04-07 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 51(7%) | 9 | 2007-03-30 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 47(6%) | 11 | 2022-11-07 |
| MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 40(5%) | 16 | 2014-11-11 |
| Omnipoint Communications Cap Operations, LLC | Wireless | 31(4%) | 9 | 2025-07-01 |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 31(4%) | 21 | 2009-05-21 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 15(2%) | 13 | 2011-09-06 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 14(2%) | 7 | 2004-10-05 |
| Comcast (Xfinity Voice) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 12(2%) | 11 | 2007-03-06 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 11(1%) | 8 | 2022-07-27 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 9(1%) | 6 | — |
| Spok, INC. | Wireless | 9(1%) | 3 | — |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Washington suburbs (Maryland) (419), Frederick (37), Gaithersburg (33), Waldorf (25). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 301 numbers
Before you call back
- Impostor (government, business, family) is the top named complaint here. Hang up and call the agency, bank or relative back on a number you already know. Government agencies don't demand payment by gift card, wire transfer or crypto. Read about Social Security impostor calls and fake bank fraud calls.
- Look up the full number above. A missed call from 301 with no voicemail is usually a robocall; anyone who needs you will leave a message.
- If it looks like a neighbor's number, it may be spoofed. See calls from your own area code.
- Block repeat callers: iPhone, Android, or your carrier's free filter (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile).
Report it in Maryland
- Unwanted sales calls and robocalls: donotcall.gov (FTC). Scams and fraud: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Spoofing, texts and call-blocking problems: FCC consumer complaints.
- State complaints: Maryland Attorney General.
- Maryland formally adopted the FTC's National Do Not Call Registry as its own state list rather than running a separate one, so a single free registration at donotcall.gov covers you. State authorities can still enforce against telemarketers who ignore it, in addition to any federal penalty.
Your FTC and FCC reports are published (without your name or number) in the datasets this page is built from. How to report unwanted calls.
Area code 301: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 301?
Area code 301 serves Washington suburbs (Maryland), Frederick and Gaithersburg, Maryland, covering Montgomery County, Frederick County and Charles County and 7 more counties. It has been in service since 1947.
What time zone is area code 301 in?
Area code 301 is in the Eastern time zone (UTC−5, or UTC−4 during daylight saving time). The current local time is shown at the top of this page.
Which area codes overlay 301?
240 (in service 1997) and 227 (in service 2023) serve the same area as 301. New numbers there can be issued with any of these codes, and local calls need all 10 digits. A spoofed call can display any of them.
What are calls from 301 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,186 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 301 numbers. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family): 12% of complaints, 61% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 63% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 301 spam calls happen?
32% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm, and 94% came on weekdays, most often on Tuesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 301 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 56% of the FTC complaints about 301 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 301, and 67% from Maryland. Calls that look local to the person receiving them are the signature of neighbor spoofing: robocallers display a number from your own area code because you're more likely to answer.
Are 301 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 389 FTC complaints about 301 numbers, 3% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 301 scam call in Maryland?
Report unwanted sales calls and robocalls to the FTC at donotcall.gov, and scams to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FCC takes complaints at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. In Maryland, the Maryland Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Overlay and nearby area codes
Sources: FTC Do Not Call complaints (unverified consumer reports), published every weekday and available here from Jul 24; FCC Consumer Complaint Data, public record, imported nightly; NANPA numbering records. A number appearing here means consumers reported calls that displayed it. Caller ID can be spoofed.