686 Area Code: Richmond, Virginia
Area code 686 serves Richmond, Chester and Montross, Virginia in the Eastern time zone, in service since 2024. Consumers have filed 65 unwanted-call complaints against 59 different 686 numbers, 14 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 686 at a glance
- State
- Virginia
- Main cities
- Richmond, Chester, Montross, Petersburg, Dawn, Waverly + 9 more
- Counties
- Richmond city, Lancaster County, Chesterfield County, Westmoreland County + 8 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- February 1, 2024
- Overlay of
- 804
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 15 rate centers, 31 prefixes
Sources: NANPA area code and central office code records (refreshed weekly); cities and counties matched from US Census Bureau and USGS place names.
Reported 686 numbers
No single 686 number has enough complaints yet for a full report page, so none are listed. Look up the exact number that called you: the lookup works on every US number, whether or not it has complaint history.
What calls from 686 numbers are about
36 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 686 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family), at 22% of complaints (50% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 46% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified1850%
- Impostor (government, business, family)822%
- Energy, solar & utilities411%
- Dropped call / no message26%
- Medical & prescriptions13%
- No subject given13%
- Lotteries, prizes & sweepstakes13%
When 686 spam calls come in
37% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 12pm and 3pm. 100% came Monday to Friday, most on Wednesdays, 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?
FCC complaints about 686 numbers peaked in 2015 (7); 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
Only 36% of the FTC complaints about 686 numbers came from Virginia residents; the most came from Ohio, Florida and Texas. 686 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- Virginia1336%
- Ohio514%
- Florida411%
- Texas26%
- Kentucky26%
Carriers operating in 686
NANPA has assigned 31 686 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 15 rate centers: 39% to wireless carriers, 58% to landline and VoIP operators; 100% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 17 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-09-10). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 13(42%) | 12 | 2026-07-28 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 9(29%) | 3 | 2026-09-10 |
| At&T - Local | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 1(3%) | 1 | 2025-07-24 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 1(3%) | 1 | 2025-06-30 |
| Exiant Communications LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 1(3%) | 1 | 2026-01-30 |
| Omnipoint Communications Cap Operations, LLC | Wireless | 1(3%) | 1 | 2025-06-26 |
| Opentact INC. | Unclassified | 1(3%) | 1 | 2026-07-30 |
| Ringer Mobile, INC. | Wireless | 1(3%) | 1 | 2025-10-13 |
| U.S. Telepacific CORP. dba Tpx Communications | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 1(3%) | 1 | 2026-07-29 |
| Wavenation, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 1(3%) | 1 | 2025-12-23 |
| Wide Voice, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 1(3%) | 1 | 2025-06-26 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Richmond (16), Chester (2), Ashland (1), Bethia (1), Cartersville (1), Charles City (1), Dawn (1), Heathsville (1), Irvington (1), Kilmarnock (1). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 686 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 686 with no voicemail is usually a robocall; anyone who needs you will leave a message.
- Block repeat callers: iPhone, Android, or your carrier's free filter (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile).
Report it in Virginia
- 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: Virginia Attorney General.
- Virginia 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 686: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 686?
Area code 686 serves Richmond, Chester and Montross, Virginia, covering Richmond city, Lancaster County and Chesterfield County and 9 more counties. It has been in service since February 1, 2024.
What time zone is area code 686 in?
Area code 686 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 686 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 36 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 686 numbers. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family): 22% of complaints, 50% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 46% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 686 spam calls happen?
37% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 12pm and 3pm, and 100% came on weekdays, most often on Wednesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 686 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 36% of the FTC complaints about 686 numbers came from Virginia residents; the most came from Ohio, Florida and Texas. 686 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
How do I report a 686 scam call in Virginia?
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 Virginia, the Virginia 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.