985 Area Code: Houma, Louisiana
Area code 985 serves Houma, Hammond and Slidell, Louisiana in the Central time zone, in service since 2001. Consumers have filed 3,058 unwanted-call complaints against 2,606 different 985 numbers, 656 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 985 at a glance
- State
- Louisiana
- Main cities
- Houma, Hammond, Slidell, Covington, Morgan City, Mandeville + 37 more
- Counties
- St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Lafourche Parish, Terrebonne Parish + 6 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- February 12, 2001
- Split from
- 504
- Local dialing
- 7 digits allowed
- Exchanges
- 45 rate centers, 447 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 985 numbers
No single 985 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 985 numbers are about
1,728 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 985 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is medical & prescriptions, at 9% of complaints (77% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 86% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Dropped call / no message86350%
- Other / unspecified37622%
- Medical & prescriptions1629%
- Debt reduction1227%
- Impostor (government, business, family)835%
- No subject given785%
- Warranties & protection plans181%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice10167%
- Live Voice4228%
- Text Message75%
Live-voice calls are from a person; prerecorded calls are robocalls.
When 985 spam calls come in
35% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 9am and 12pm. 98% came Monday to Friday, most on Fridays, 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?
645 FTC complaints about 985 numbers in the last four weeks, up 9% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 985 numbers peaked in 2015 (267); 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
79% of the FTC complaints about 985 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 985, and 82% from Louisiana. 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
- Louisiana1,42182%
- Texas262%
- Mississippi201%
- Florida191%
- California191%
What people with 985 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 985 filed 2,517 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 54% were about calls showing another 985 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 985 (same code)1,36154%
- 504783%
- 225693%
- 877 (toll-free)673%
- 833 (toll-free)633%
Busiest 985 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (985) 529-xxxx | 11 | 11 | Fractel, LLC | Houma |
| (985) 355-xxxx | 10 | 9 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Amite City |
| (985) 324-xxxx | 10 | 8 | AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Thibodaux |
| (985) 397-xxxx | 9 | 9 | Voicestream Gsm I, LLC | Morgan City |
| (985) 314-xxxx | 9 | 8 | AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Paradis |
Carriers operating in 985
NANPA has assigned 447 985 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 45 rate centers: 34% to wireless carriers, 63% to landline and VoIP operators; 75% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 2 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-04-13). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BellSouth (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 108(24%) | 38 | 2008-07-28 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 67(15%) | 20 | 2025-03-21 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 35(8%) | 13 | 2025-03-25 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 35(8%) | 17 | 2010-10-19 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 28(6%) | 21 | 2026-01-05 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 24(5%) | 22 | 2024-06-18 |
| Voicestream Gsm I, LLC | Wireless | 24(5%) | 7 | 2023-12-10 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 18(4%) | 10 | 2014-12-23 |
| Ton80 Communications, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 14(3%) | 14 | 2022-02-24 |
| Comcast (Xfinity Voice) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 11(2%) | 10 | 2008-03-12 |
| Advanced Tel., INC. | Unclassified | 9(2%) | 9 | 2018-10-18 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 9(2%) | 9 | 2021-12-08 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Houma (53), Hammond (44), Slidell (39), Covington (32), Morgan City (25), Mandeville (23), Thibodaux (22), Laplace (16), Bogalusa (14), Larose (12). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 985 numbers
Before you call back
- Medical & prescriptions is the top named complaint here. Don't confirm your Medicare or insurance number to a caller. Medicare won't cold-call you to sell braces, test kits or plans. Read about Medicare scam calls.
- Look up the full number above. A missed call from 985 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 Louisiana
- 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: Louisiana Attorney General.
- Louisiana is one of the states that maintains its own Do Not Call registry alongside the federal National Do Not Call Registry, so telemarketers calling Louisiana numbers are expected to check both lists. Registering on the federal list at donotcall.gov is free and never expires; the state list is administered separately and may have its own registration process and renewal period.
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 985: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 985?
Area code 985 serves Houma, Hammond and Slidell, Louisiana, covering St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish and Lafourche Parish and 7 more counties. It has been in service since February 12, 2001. It was split from area code 504.
What time zone is area code 985 in?
Area code 985 is in the Central time zone (UTC−6, or UTC−5 during daylight saving time). The current local time is shown at the top of this page.
What are calls from 985 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,728 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 985 numbers. The most common named subject was medical & prescriptions: 9% of complaints, 77% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 86% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 985 spam calls happen?
35% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 9am and 12pm, and 98% came on weekdays, most often on Friday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 985 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 79% of the FTC complaints about 985 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 985, and 82% from Louisiana. 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 985 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 645 FTC complaints about 985 numbers, 9% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 985 scam call in Louisiana?
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 Louisiana, the Louisiana Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Louisiana 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.