Area codes · +1
Area code 686
Area code 686 covers Richmond, Virginia. We hold 245 allocated blocks for it across 15 rate centres, split 60% mobile, 2% landline and 38% VoIP.
The other area codes laid over 686
Area code 686 does not have Richmond to itself. 1 other code — 804 — serves the same rate centres, laid over the same ground rather than dividing it. That is an overlay: a new code added when the old one ran out of numbers, covering the same streets. Two neighbours can hold different area codes, so the code says roughly when a number was issued rather than where it sits.
8046,656 blocks, 55 rate centres, mostly landline
Each holds its own blocks and its own carrier mix, so a 686 number and a 804 number from the same street can report different line types. Filtering Richmond by area code needs all 2 of them.
686 is not confined to Richmond itself: its blocks sit across 15 rate centres, named in the table below.
Virginia is split across 10 area codes — 540, 804, 571, 757, 703, 686 and others. By allocated blocks 686 is the 10th largest of them, holding 1% of the Virginia total.
Where 686 numbers are concentrated
NANPA truncates rate-centre names to ten characters and drops the spaces, which is why Charles Cy and Heathsvl are shortened. Names are reproduced as recorded rather than expanded — the abbreviation is the key the block data is filed under.
| Rate centre | Blocks | Share of 686 |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 172 | 70% |
| Chester | 11 | 4% |
| Tappahnnck | 11 | 4% |
| Ashland | 10 | 4% |
| Charles Cy | 8 | 3% |
| Petersburg | 5 | 2% |
| Waverly | 5 | 2% |
| Bethia | 3 | 1% |
| Dawn | 3 | 1% |
| Heathsvl | 3 | 1% |
| Irvington | 3 | 1% |
| Kilmarnock | 3 | 1% |
| Kingwillim | 3 | 1% |
| Montross | 3 | 1% |
| Cartersvl | 2 | 1% |
Carriers holding the most 686 blocks
AT&T Wireless85 blocks
Onvoy71 blocks
Verizon Wireless47 blocks
Bandwidth9 blocks
Omnipoint Communications Cap Operations, Llc8 blocks
Hd Carrier Llc5 blocks
The largest holder, AT&T Wireless, has 35% of the code.
These are original allocations. A number keeps its digits and its block when its subscriber moves network, so a ported 686 number still reports the carrier it started with. Closing that gap needs a live query against the routing database. How line type is derived.
Check a single 686 number, or run a whole list through the free cleaner — neither uploads anything.
Common questions
Where is area code 686?
Area code 686 covers Richmond, Virginia. It is not the only code there: 804 is an overlay on the same rate centres, so a Richmond, Virginia number can start with any of them.
Is a 686 number a mobile or a landline?
It can be either, and the digits do not say which. North American mobile and landline numbers share the same ranges, so the answer comes from the carrier holding the block. In 686 the split runs 60% mobile, 2% landline and 38% VoIP, so mobile is the most likely single answer.
Which carriers hold 686 numbers?
The largest holders are AT&T Wireless, Onvoy, Verizon Wireless. That is the carrier the block was allocated to, which is not necessarily the network a given number sits on today.
How many 686 numbers are there?
The code holds 245 allocated blocks in our copy of the numbering plan. A block is 1,000 or 10,000 consecutive numbers depending on how deeply it has been pooled, so 686 covers on the order of 245,000 possible numbers — most of which have never been issued to anyone.