571 Area Code – Arlington, Virginia: Location, Time Zone & History

The 703/571 numbering plan area sits at the center of the federal government's presence outside Washington, D.C., and its economy reflects that role directly. Area code 571 was introduced as an all-services overlay on 703 in Northern Virginia, entering service March 1, 2000 after approval by the Virginia SCC, a response to the rapid population growth and surge in cell phones, pagers, and fax lines that followed the 1995 split creating area code 540. From the start, ten-digit local dialing was mandatory across the combined territory.

• Federal government and federal contracting
• Defense and national security
• Information technology and telecommunications
• Higher education and research
• Professional and business services

Arlington, the primary city served, is home to the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, which anchors much of the region's employment base in defense and federal contracting work. Beyond Arlington, the numbering area extends to Alexandria, Fairfax, Reston, Leesburg, and Ashburn, communities that together supply the technology and professional-services workforce feeding the federal economy. Arlington National Cemetery and the historic Old Town district of Alexandria add a layer of civic and historic weight to a region otherwise defined by its proximity to national institutions.