984 Area Code: Complete Guide to Location, Cities, and How to Get a Number (2026)

BySarah Angela
Area code 984

The 984 area code serves North Carolina’s Research Triangle region, including Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill, as an overlay for the 919 area code. It began service on April 30, 2012, and both codes now cover the same geographic area in the Eastern Time Zone.

What Is the 984 Area Code?

The area code 984​ serves North Carolina’s Research Triangle metro area. It does not cover a separate region. Instead, officials use it as an overlay for area code 919, so both area codes share the same geographic area rather than replacing each other. As a result, people and businesses in the same city, and even on the same street, can have either a 919 or 984 phone number.

Where Is Area Code 984 Located?

Area code 984 location​ covers a wide swath of central North Carolina, commonly known as the Research Triangle. Major cities and areas served include:

  • Raleigh — state capital and the largest city in the coverage area
  • Durham — home to Duke University and a major tech/biotech hub
  • Cary
  • Chapel Hill and Carrboro
  • Apex and Morrisville
  • Goldsboro
  • Sanford (to the south) and Oxford (to the north)
  • Mebane (to the west)

984 vs. 919: What’s the Difference?

919 and 984 numbers function the same way; both work identically for calls, texts, and business listings. The only distinction is history and number assignment:

919984
Introduced1954 (split from 704)April 30, 2012 (overlay)
Coverage areaResearch Triangle, NCIdentical to 919
Why it existsOriginal area code for the regionCreated because 919 numbers ran out
Dialing10-digit dialing required for local calls10-digit dialing required for local calls

Time zone:

Time zone: Eastern Time (ET), UTC-5 in winter (EST), UTC-4 during daylight saving time (EDT).

984 area code

Why Was the 984 Area Code Created?

By the early 2010s, the 919 area code was running out of available phone numbers due to rapid population growth in the Triangle, the rise of smartphones, and increased demand for multiple lines per household and business. Rather than force a geographic split, which would require some existing residents to change their number, regulators added country code 984​ as an overlay, letting the region keep growing without disrupting existing 919 numbers.

Is 984 a Legitimate Area Code, or a Scam?

The 984 area code location​ is completely legitimate; it’s an official North American Numbering Plan (NANP) area code assigned to North Carolina, like 919, 704, or 336. It is not a scam, a premium-rate number, or a toll line.

How to Get a 984 Area Code Phone Number

You can get a 984 number whether or not you live in North Carolina:

  • Mobile carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) can often assign a 984 number if you’re opening a new line in the Triangle area, or by special request.
  • VoIP and virtual phone services (Google Voice, RingCentral, VoIPstudio, Voiply, OpenPhone, and similar providers) let you choose a 984 number from anywhere in the world — useful for businesses wanting a local Raleigh/Durham presence without a physical office there.
  • Business phone systems often let you port or provision a 984 number as a secondary line for local marketing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Yes. It’s an officially assigned NANP area code for North Carolina’s Research Triangle, in service since 2012.

Yes. Since 984 is an overlay, not a replacement, existing 919 numbers were never required to change. New numbers issued in the region may be either 919 or 984 depending on availability.

This depends on your carrier, but most areas with overlay codes require 10-digit dialing (area code + number) without dialing “1” first for local calls, though some phone systems still require it. Check with your provider if a call doesn’t go through.

Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Apex, Morrisville, and Carrboro are among the largest cities covered.

No. Calling a 984 number costs the same as calling any other domestic U.S. number; charges depend on your phone plan, not the area code itself.

Conclusion

The 984 area code is a legitimate North Carolina area code serving the Research Triangle Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill as an overlay to the long-standing 919 code. Since its launch in 2012, it hasn’t replaced 919 numbers or changed how calls work; it simply gave the fast-growing Triangle region room to keep issuing new numbers once 919 ran low.

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