256 Area Code — Alabama

256 is a North American Numbering Plan area code for Alabama, the United States. It covers about 1,558,907 people in 149 towns and 207 ZIP codes, including Huntsville, Madison and Decatur.

Where area code 256 is used

Area code 256 is assigned to Alabama, the United States, inside the North American Numbering Plan. Numbers in the code are written (256) NXX-XXXX at home and +1 256 NXX-XXXX when dialled from outside Canada and the United States. Since the NANP moved to 10-digit dialling you must always include the area code, even for a local call.

Other area codes in this footprint: 938. They serve towns in the same territory, so a single street can contain numbers from more than one code. That is normal in the NANP and does not change how you dial.

Towns and cities in area code 256

The 149 towns below are the largest in the 256 footprint, ranked by population. Every one of them links to its own page with the full list of area codes and ZIP codes for that town.

Counties covered

Other area codes serving the same towns

Nearby area codes

How to dial area code 256

• Within North America: 256 + 7-digit number (256-NXX-XXXX). The leading 1 is optional on a mobile phone and required on most landlines for long-distance.
• From abroad: your country's international prefix, then 1, then 256, then the 7-digit number — for example 00 1 256 NXX-XXXX from most of Europe.