517 Area Code: Lansing, Michigan
Area code 517 serves Lansing, Jackson and Adrian, Michigan in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1947. Consumers have filed 3,101 unwanted-call complaints against 2,540 different 517 numbers, 393 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 517 at a glance
- State
- Michigan
- Main cities
- Lansing, Jackson, Adrian, Howell, Charlotte, Hillsdale + 72 more
- Counties
- Ingham County, Jackson County, Lenawee County, Eaton County + 8 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- 1947
- Codes split off
- 989 (2001)
- Local dialing
- 7 digits allowed
- Exchanges
- 78 rate centers, 616 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 517 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 517 numbers are about
1,297 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 517 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family), at 16% of complaints (65% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 69% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified47737%
- Impostor (government, business, family)20716%
- Medical & prescriptions15612%
- No subject given14111%
- Debt reduction1229%
- Dropped call / no message887%
- Energy, solar & utilities474%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice8344%
- Text Message5630%
- Prerecorded Voice5026%
30% of recent FCC complaints about 517 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 517 spam calls come in
33% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm. 94% came Monday to Friday, most on Thursdays, 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?
390 FTC complaints about 517 numbers in the last four weeks; leaving out the concentrated source below, complaints are down 27% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 517 numbers peaked in 2018 (239); the FTC's daily Do Not Call data has carried most of the volume since mid-2026.
Data note: 56 of the last four weeks' 517 complaints (14%) came from one place, Coldwater, MI (callers' own phones in area code 517), about 6× the state's per-resident rate. That pattern usually means one or a few very active filers, so trend figures here leave it out.
FTC complaints per week
FCC complaints per year
Years shown as '15 to '26; the current year is partial.
Who gets these calls
53% of the FTC complaints about 517 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 517, and 72% from Michigan. 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.
These shares include Coldwater, MI, flagged under “Is it getting worse?” as an unusually concentrated source.
Where complainants live
- Michigan93772%
- Virginia393%
- Florida363%
- Illinois252%
- Ohio222%
What people with 517 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 517 filed 1,508 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 45% were about calls showing another 517 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 517 (same code)68645%
- 833 (toll-free)564%
- 888 (toll-free)463%
- 855 (toll-free)453%
- 877 (toll-free)393%
Busiest 517 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (517) 332-xxxx | 35 | 2 | Ameritech (AT&T) | Lansing |
| (517) 208-xxxx | 16 | 10 | CenturyLink (Lumen) | Britton |
| (517) 273-xxxx | 12 | 10 | Teleport Communications America, LLC | Howell |
| (517) 401-xxxx | 9 | 9 | AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Morenci |
| (517) 457-xxxx | 7 | 7 | Peerless Network | Tipton |
Carriers operating in 517
NANPA has assigned 616 517 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 78 rate centers: 28% to wireless carriers, 69% to landline and VoIP operators; 67% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 7 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-08-28). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ameritech (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 105(17%) | 21 | 2014-04-17 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 61(10%) | 12 | 2026-08-28 |
| Acd Telecom, INC. | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 56(9%) | 56 | 2002-07-22 |
| Omnipoint Communications Midwest Operations, LLC | Wireless | 47(8%) | 10 | 2024-02-21 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 40(6%) | 21 | 2026-06-24 |
| Frontier Communications | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 30(5%) | 19 | 2015-04-23 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 30(5%) | 23 | 2009-11-17 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 30(5%) | 23 | 2023-07-05 |
| Interactive Services Network, INC. | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 29(5%) | 28 | 2006-02-01 |
| MCImetro (Verizon Business) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 17(3%) | 8 | 2017-10-24 |
| Frontier Communications | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 14(2%) | 14 | — |
| 123.Net, LLC | Unclassified | 13(2%) | 13 | 2003-02-21 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Lansing (164), Jackson (63), Adrian (27), Howell (27), Charlotte (15), Hillsdale (15), Coldwater (14), Holt (13), Dimondale (12), Albion (11). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 517 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 517 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 Michigan
- 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: Michigan Attorney General.
- Michigan 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 517: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 517?
Area code 517 serves Lansing, Jackson and Adrian, Michigan, covering Ingham County, Jackson County and Lenawee County and 9 more counties. It has been in service since 1947.
What time zone is area code 517 in?
Area code 517 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.
What are calls from 517 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,297 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 517 numbers. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family): 16% of complaints, 65% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 69% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 517 spam calls happen?
33% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm, and 94% came on weekdays, most often on Thursday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 517 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 53% of the FTC complaints about 517 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 517, and 72% from Michigan. 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 517 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 390 FTC complaints about 517 numbers. Leaving out one town that filed an unusual share of them, that is 27% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 517 scam call in Michigan?
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 Michigan, the Michigan Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Michigan 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.