Area code 780 — Alberta
Northern Alberta including Edmonton. Relief assignment, in service since 1999.
At a glance
- Country
- Canada
- Province / territory
- Alberta
- Service area
- Northern Alberta including Edmonton
- Time zone
- Mountain Time (MST/MDT, UTC-7/-6) · current offset -06:00
- Type
- Relief
- In service since
- 1999
- Country code
- +1 (NANP)
Map
Cities served by 780
Related & overlay area codes
Area code 780 shares geography with 3 other codes serving the same region. A call placed inside this overlay must dial all 10 digits regardless of which code your own line uses.
Carriers operating in 780
The following national and regional telecommunications carriers hold central office (CO) code assignments within numbering plan area 780. Number portability means a phone number originally issued by one carrier may now ride on another carrier's network.
About area code 780
Area code 780 is a Canadian numbering plan area covering Northern Alberta including Edmonton. It was placed into service in 1999 as a relief code, and today operates under the Mountain Time (MST/MDT, UTC-7/-6) time zone.
Numbers in the 780 NPA are issued in central office (CO) blocks of 10,000 to local exchange carriers, who then assign them to subscribers. Because Canada uses a competitive carrier model under CRTC oversight, multiple carriers — both incumbent and competitive — hold blocks within 780. The current carrier of record for any specific number can be looked up via the Canadian Local Number Portability Consortium, but the originally issued carrier is no longer a reliable signal of who actually serves that line.
If you receive a call from a number beginning with 780, the caller is either physically located in or has historically been associated with Northern Alberta including Edmonton. The same applies to overlay codes 587, 825, 368: any of these area codes can correspond to a phone in the same geography, and many households carry numbers from two or three different overlays simultaneously across landlines and mobile devices.
To call a number in 780 from outside Canada and the United States, dial your country's international access prefix, then +1 780 followed by the 7-digit local number. Within the NANP, simply dial 1 followed by all 10 digits — or just the 10 digits if you are also located in an overlay region where 7-digit local dialling is no longer permitted.
Frequently asked questions
Where is area code 780?
Area code 780 serves Northern Alberta including Edmonton in Alberta, Canada.
What time zone is 780?
Numbers in 780 are in the Mountain Time (MST/MDT, UTC-7/-6) time zone.
Is 780 a toll-free or mobile-only code?
No. Canadian area codes are geographic — they apply to both landline and mobile numbers in Northern Alberta including Edmonton. Toll-free codes in the NANP (800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888) are a separate category.
Why do I see calls from 780 if I do not know anyone there?
Two reasons. First, mobile portability: someone who moved away from Alberta can keep their 780 number anywhere in the world. Second, scam callers frequently spoof Canadian area codes to appear local. If you do not recognise the number, it is generally safe to let it go to voicemail.