What is the 571 Area Code? Time Zone and Location
- Area code 571 is located in northeastern Virginia and covers Arlington, Alexandria, Centreville, Dale City, and Reston — it is an overlay for area code 703 and serves the same area.
- Combined with overlay 703, it covers 32 cities across 8 counties in Northern Virginia, serving a population of 2,533,158.
- Major cities covered include Arlington, Alexandria, Herndon, Woodbridge, Manassas, Leesburg, Reston, Centreville, McLean, Ashburn, Falls Church, Fairfax, Vienna, Springfield, Sterling, Oakton, and Dale City.
- The 571 area code is located entirely within the Eastern Time Zone, following Eastern Standard Time (EST) at UTC−5 during standard time and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) at UTC−4 during daylight saving time.
- Area code 571 was put into service on March 1, 2000, and was the 276th area code in service — one of 14 area codes introduced in 2000 — created to relieve the pressure on the 703 area code as numbers in 703 were being exhausted.
- 10-digit dialing is mandatory for all local calls within the 703/571 overlay complex.
Quick Facts
| Area Code | 571 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State / Region | Virginia (Northern Virginia — Washington, D.C. suburbs) |
| Area Code Type | Overlay area code (shares region with area code 703) |
| Overlay Codes | 703 |
| Major Cities Covered | Arlington, Alexandria, Herndon, Woodbridge, Manassas, Leesburg, Reston, Centreville, McLean, Ashburn, Falls Church, Fairfax, Vienna, Springfield, Sterling, Lorton, Oakton, Haymarket, Aldie, Triangle |
| Primary City Association | Arlington, Virginia |
| Geographic Coverage | 46 cities across 5 counties in Northern Virginia, including Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Arlington, and Alexandria City — the heart of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area |
| Time Zone | Eastern Time Zone (ET) |
| Standard Time Offset | UTC −5 hours |
| Daylight Saving Time | UTC −4 hours (EDT) |
| DST Period (2026 Example) | March → November |
| Introduced / Activation Date | March 1, 2000 |
| Reason for Creation | Created as an overlay to the 703 area code in 2000, as the explosive growth of Northern Virginia's technology sector and federal contractor workforce rapidly exhausted available numbers in the 703 area code |
| Dialing Requirement | 10-digit dialing mandatory (due to 703/571 overlay complex) |
| Coverage Nature | Overlay complex — 571 and 703 share the same Northern Virginia geography |
| Population Coverage | Combined with overlay 703, serves a population of 2,533,158 across Northern Virginia's most affluent and economically active counties |
| Nearby / Related Area Codes | 202/771 (District of Columbia), 227/240/301 (Germantown, MD), 410/443/667 (Baltimore, MD), 434 (Lynchburg, VA), 540/826 (Roanoke, VA), 703 (571 overlay/parent) |
| Telecom System | North American Numbering Plan (NANP) |
| Common Legitimate Callers | Federal government contractors, political consultants and pollsters, Department of Defense officials, and Capital One fraud alerts are among the most frequently recognized legitimate callers from 571 numbers |
| Example Phone Format | (571) XXX-XXXX |
| Usage Type | Mobile, landline, VoIP numbers |
| Business Use | One of the most strategically valuable area codes in the US, Northern Virginia, is the global hub of internet infrastructure, federal contracting, cybersecurity, and cloud computing |
| Number Availability | Currently uses 613 prefixes, assigned from 571-200-XXXX through 571-999-XXXX, with 70% of prefixes assigned to carriers |
| Area Code Status | Active and widely used |
| Notable Distinction | With a median household income of $140,160 and average per capita income of $97,482 in Arlington County alone, the 571 area code covers one of the wealthiest and most highly educated regions in the entire United States — home to more federal agencies, defense contractors, and cybersecurity firms than any other county in America |
Is the 571 Area Code a Scam?
| Spam Growth | Spam calls in Virginia increased by 146.26% over the past year, with the highest volume recorded in September 2025, accounting for 15.18% of all calls — one of the sharpest statewide increases in the country |
|---|---|
| Most Common Complaint Type | Political calls make up 32.53% of complaints — by far the dominant category — reflecting Northern Virginia's status as one of the most politically active and targeted regions in the US, followed by auto warranty (6.84%), health insurance (4.07%), mortgage loans (3.33%), and Medicare/Medicaid (2.96%) |
| Top Reported Cities for Complaints | Fredericksburg, VA leads with 8.88% of complaints, followed by Arlington, VA (8.01%), Fairfax, VA (3.76%), Alexandria, VA (3.23%), and Falls Church, VA (2.34%) |
| Peak Complaint Period | November 2025 saw the highest volume of complaints — reflecting the surge in political robocalls preceding election cycles — with March 2026 showing a 12.5% decrease compared to February 2026 |
| Common Labels | Political robocaller, phantom debt collector, SSA impersonator, realtor harasser, PCH prize fraudster, fake civil lawsuit filer |
| Spoofing Risk | Scammers fake their caller ID to display local or familiar 571 numbers — if you live in or near Virginia (Arlington, Alexandria, Centreville), or have a 571 number yourself, scammers know you are more likely to answer what appears to be a local Northern Virginia call |
| "Security Clearance" Threat Unique to 571 | Because Northern Virginia has the highest concentration of federal employees and contractors with security clearances in the nation, scammers specifically exploit fear about clearance revocation — threatening that failure to comply will result in their clearance being flagged or suspended |
| Typical Strategy | Neighbor spoofing — appearing as a familiar Arlington, McLean, or Reston number, then leveraging the region's dense federal workforce to make government impersonation threats more credible |
| Signature Scam — "Omar/AJ" Realtor Harassment Campaign | A man identifying as "Omar," "AJ," or "Omar Kassam" targets female real estate agents across Northern Virginia via text, opening with "Are you a realtor?" before insisting on FaceTime or WhatsApp video calls, becoming verbally abusive if declined, making bizarre requests about cash apps or paying to kiss someone, and avoiding any legitimate real estate questions — using agent contact information to harass with inappropriate personal requests |
| Signature Scam — "Davidson & Associates" Phantom Debt | Callers posing as mediators from fake firms like "Davidson & Associates" — with a hostile woman sometimes named "Candace Crawford" — accuse victims of "theft by deception" for old payday loans they never took, threaten federal charges and lawsuits, demand around $500 to make the "civil claim" disappear, refuse to provide a physical address or mail a debt validation letter as required by law, and use extreme hostility to intimidate victims into immediate payment |
| Signature Scam — SSA Magistrate Judge Threat | A robocall claims your Social Security Number will be terminated by a "Magistrate Judge" due to suspicious activity, threatens legal consequences, and provides a 571 callback number — exploiting Northern Virginia residents' proximity to federal courts and government agencies to make the threat seem credible |
| Signature Scam — PCH Prize Elderly Fraud | Scammers pose as Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol using 571 numbers, telling vulnerable elderly victims they've won multi-million dollar prizes — in one documented case, an 82-year-old victim in Northern Virginia lost $280,000 paying fraudulent "fees" and "taxes" to claim a non-existent $3 million prize |
| Signature Scam — Civil Lawsuit Demand | Callers claim a civil case has been filed against the recipient and demand around $2,000 to drop the suit — using Northern Virginia's dense legal and government community to make the threat of federal court proceedings more frightening to local residents |
| Key Risk Indicator | Hostile debt collectors who refuse to mail validation letters, SSA threats mentioning a "Magistrate Judge," realtor texts insisting on video calls, or prize notifications requiring upfront fees |
| Safety Tip | Under federal law, every debt collector must mail you a written validation notice within 5 days of first contact — any collector who refuses to provide this is violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and is almost certainly a scammer. State clearly, "I dispute this debt — mail me a validation letter," and hang up |
What Are the Business Benefits of the 571 Area Code?
| Local Presence | A 571 number establishes immediate local credibility in Northern Virginia — one of the wealthiest, most educated, and most commercially active regions in the United States, home to more federal agencies and defense contractors than anywhere else in the country |
|---|---|
| Customer Trust Factor | A local Arlington, Reston, or McLean 571 number dramatically increases answer rates vs. unknown out-of-state numbers in a sophisticated, high-income market where local credibility drives purchasing decisions |
| Federal & Defense Corridor Advantage | Northern Virginia is home to the Pentagon, CIA, DHS, NSA, and hundreds of federal agencies and contractors — a 571 number is essential for any business seeking to work with or serve this massive government ecosystem |
| Technology Hub Access | Ashburn, Virginia — within the 571 coverage area — is known as "Data Center Alley" and is home to more internet exchange points and data centers than anywhere else on Earth, processing roughly 70% of the world's internet traffic |
| Coverage Advantage | One number covers 32 cities across 8 counties in Northern Virginia, spanning from the DC border communities of Arlington and Alexandria to the outer suburbs of Leesburg, Manassas, and Fredericksburg |
| VoIP Compatibility | Easily available for SaaS platforms, call centers, and remote teams serving the Northern Virginia and Washington metro market |
| Scalability | Covers roughly 5.65 million unique phone numbers with 70% of prefixes assigned — solid availability remains across the 703/571 overlay complex |
| Affluent Market Advantage | Arlington County's median household income of $140,160 and average per capita income of $97,482 make the 571 region one of the wealthiest suburban markets in the entire nation, particularly valuable for financial services, technology, healthcare, and luxury consumer businesses |
| Marketing Use | Ideal for local SEO, digital ads, and customer outreach across Arlington, Alexandria, Reston, Herndon, McLean, Ashburn, Centreville, Manassas, Leesburg, Falls Church, and surrounding communities |
| Startup Friendly | Highly attractive for cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI, and GovTech startups, given Northern Virginia's unparalleled concentration of federal buyers, defense contractors, and venture capital focused on national security technology |
| Call Routing Flexibility | Can route calls globally while appearing local to Northern Virginia customers — particularly valuable for international technology and defense companies seeking US government contracts |
| Top Industries | Federal government contracting, cybersecurity and national security technology, cloud computing and data centers, defense and aerospace, healthcare, financial services (Capital One HQ in McLean), real estate, and higher education (George Mason University) benefit most from a local 571 presence |
| Use Case Examples | AI receptionist, federal contractor support lines, cybersecurity and GovTech firm hotlines, cloud and data center services, defense industry supplier lines, healthcare practices, real estate agencies (particularly the luxury Northern Virginia market), financial advisory services, and university-affiliated businesses |
