British Columbia, Canada
Pacific Time
12:16 AM
Area Code
257
State / Province
British Columbia
Country
Canada
Time Zone
Pacific Time
Area code 257 covers 17 cities and communities across British Columbia, based on telephone company rate center data.
Use the E.164 format for clickable phone links (RFC 3966):
<a href="tel:+12575550100">+12575550100</a><a href="tel:+12575550199">+12575550199</a>257 was activated on May 24, 2025 as an overlay covering British Columbia (province-wide). It shares the same geography as 236, 250, 604, 672, and 778, which means ten-digit dialing is required for local calls in this region — dial the area code even when calling a neighbor.
A new 257 number does not indicate a different city than 236, 250, 604, 672, or 778. Overlays are added when the existing code runs out of available prefixes.
See every North American overlayArea code 257 is a North American Numbering Plan (NANP) telephone area code assigned to British Columbia, Canada. It is one of 6 area codes serving British Columbia. As population and demand for phone numbers grew, the region was divided into multiple numbering plan areas to avoid exhausting the available 7-digit number pool.
Yes. 257 is an active North American Numbering Plan (NANP) area code, currently assigned to British Columbia, Canada. It is safe to answer or dial calls using this area code.
Area code 257 covers 17 cities and communities in British Columbia, including Abbotsford, Cloverdale, Fort Langley, Ganges, Haney, and 12 more localities. This is based on telephone company rate center data — the geographic areas carriers use to determine local calling boundaries and to assign numbers when a business or individual requests a phone number in a specific city.
All numbers in the 257 area code observe Pacific Time (IANA timezone: America/Los_Angeles). Pacific Time is UTC−8 in winter (PST) and UTC−7 in summer (PDT). When placing a call to a 257 number from a different time zone, check the current local time above to avoid calling outside of business hours.
From within British Columbia, dial the 7-digit local number directly if calling within the same rate center, or dial 1 + 257 + 7-digit number for long-distance calls within North America. From outside the US or Canada, dial your country's international exit code followed by 1 257 XXX XXXX. The country code for both the United States and Canada in NANP is +1.
Format 257 numbers using E.164 notation as required by RFC 3966: prefix with +1 and omit dashes and parentheses (e.g., +12575550100). This format ensures tel: links work correctly on all mobile browsers and VoIP apps. See the tel: URI formatting guide for complete examples.