310 Area Code

What 310 actually covers

310 is the area code of the west and southwest of Los Angeles County. Running roughly from Malibu down the coast to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, it takes in Santa Monica, Venice, Westwood, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood's western edge, Culver City, Inglewood, the airport, the beach cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, then Torrance, Gardena, Compton and the Palos Verdes hills. Santa Catalina Island, 26 miles offshore, dials 310 as well, and a small sliver of eastern Ventura County around the coast does too.

It does not cover downtown Los Angeles or Hollywood, which are 213 and 323, the San Fernando Valley, which is 818 and 747, Long Beach and Whittier, which became 562, or Orange County, which is 714, 949 and 657.

Since 2006 the whole 310 territory has shared a second code, 424, as an overlay. Any address in the area may have a number under either code, and every local call is dialled with all ten digits.

How 310 got here

• November 1991: 310 was carved out of 213, which had covered most of Los Angeles since 1947. 213 kept downtown and the central city; the Westside, South Bay and, at the time, the Long Beach and Whittier areas moved to 310.
• 1995: a plan to overlay a new code for cell phones and pagers was dropped after the state utilities commission decided it would put smaller carriers' customers at a disadvantage.
• January 1997: the southeast of the territory, including Long Beach and Whittier, was split off as 562. Businesses there had reprinted everything twice in six years.
• 1999 to 2006: a 424 overlay was announced in 1999 and ran straight into opposition from Westside and South Bay residents, partly over ten-digit dialling and partly over the idea that 310 would lose its exclusivity. The state legislature passed an area code relief act that September and the overlay was shelved.
• July 2006: 424 finally went live as the first overlay in California. From that point new lines on the Westside could be issued either code, and in practice most new ones are 424.

That history is why 310 carries some of the same cachet in Los Angeles that 212 does in Manhattan. A 310 number reads as "Westside, and here a while". Two things follow from that for anyone judging a caller: a long-established business is more likely to have a 310 than a 424, and scammers who want to look like a Beverly Hills law office or a Santa Monica clinic will display a 310 number, not buy one.

What a real 310 caller usually looks like

• Landline on an established carrier is the typical result for the offices, medical practices, studios, schools and older homes that fill the Westside. Cedars-Sinai, UCLA and the big talent agencies all sit in 310 territory.
• Mobile 310 numbers are very common, unlike in Manhattan. Cell phones were issued 310 numbers for fifteen years before 424 arrived, so a mobile result on its own tells you little.
• VoIP results deserve attention. App-based business lines and resellers issue plenty of legitimate 310 numbers, but a VoIP line with a carrier you have never heard of is also the standard footprint of a spoofed call.
• Ported numbers are frequent in 310 because the area has changed codes twice and because prestige numbers get bought and moved between carriers.

The line type will not tell you who the caller is, but it will tell you whether the caller's story fits. A city department or a utility does not phone you from a freshly issued VoIP line.

Scams that use 310 caller IDs

"LADWP" shut-off threats. Callers claim to be the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and say service will be disconnected within the hour unless you pay, usually by prepaid card or a payment app. LADWP has warned that these callers spoof genuine department numbers. The utility states it never calls demanding immediate payment in cash, through Zelle or Venmo, or by prepaid card, and it publishes 1-800-342-5397 for checking any call. Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, the beach cities and Torrance are served by Southern California Edison instead, which says it has no "disconnection department", takes no payments over the phone and never accepts prepaid cards, Bitcoin or Zelle. Either way, hang up and dial the number printed on your bill.

LAPD and sheriff impersonation. The Los Angeles Police Department has issued repeated alerts about callers posing as officers or detectives, sometimes displaying real LAPD station numbers, who claim there is a warrant, a missed court date or an identity theft case and demand payment by prepaid debit card or wire, or ask for Social Security and bank details "to clear your name". The department's position is simple: it never requests money or payment over the phone. Victims can call LAPD detectives at 213-922-8205 or 877-527-3247.

Medical and insurance calls. With Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health and hundreds of private practices in the area, calls "from the billing office" about an unpaid balance or a Medicare card replacement sound routine here. Real billing departments do not take card numbers on an unsolicited call and never need a one-time code sent to your phone.

Entertainment and casting pitches. A local specialty: calls offering an audition, a casting slot, a modelling contract or a "verified" industry listing, with an upfront fee. Legitimate agencies in California are barred from charging talent advance fees, and no studio cold-calls the public.

Neighbour spoofing. Robocall operations display a 310 number with your own first six digits so the call looks like it comes from down the street. The number shown often belongs to an unrelated resident, which is why some 310 numbers collect angry reports from people who were never called by them at all.

How to check a 310 number

1. Enter the ten-digit number in the panel at the top of this page. The 310 is already filled in.
2. Compare the line type and carrier with what the caller claimed. A utility, court or police station calls from an established landline, not a VoIP reseller.
3. Read the risk level and community reports. Several "scam" or "robocall" reports in the same week is a robocall campaign, not a coincidence.
4. Still unsure? Unlock the risk details for the fraud score and abuse history, or call the organisation back on the number printed on your bill or its official website.

Where to report a 310 scam call

• LA County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs: 800-593-8222, with an online complaint portal for consumer issues.
• California Attorney General, Public Inquiry Unit: online complaint form at oag.ca.gov, or 800-952-5225.
• LAPD: 213-922-8205 or 877-527-3247 for police impersonation calls; non-emergency line 877-275-5273 for anything else.
• LADWP: 800-342-5397 to report or verify a utility call. SCE customers: sce.com/scamalert.
• Federal Trade Commission: reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reports feed the complaint data carriers use to block robocallers.
• CallerTracer: report the number on the Who Called Me page or straight from a lookup result. It shows on this page and on every lookup of that number within minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Is 310 Beverly Hills?

Beverly Hills is inside 310, along with Santa Monica, Malibu, Westwood, Culver City and the South Bay. Since 2006 the same area also uses 424, so a Beverly Hills business or resident may have either code.

Are new 310 numbers still issued?

Yes, but sparingly. Carriers assign from whichever code has numbers available in the pool, and most new Westside lines since 2006 have come out as 424. That is why an older business is more likely to hold a 310.

Does a 310 number mean the caller is in Los Angeles?

Only that the number was issued there. Mobile numbers move with their owners, VoIP numbers can be used anywhere, and a spoofed call can display any number at all. Judge the call by the carrier and line type from a lookup, not by the area code.

What time zone is 310?

Pacific Time, with daylight saving from March to November. The clock at the top of this page shows the current time on the Westside.

Which area codes are next to 310?

424 shares the same territory. 213 and 323 cover downtown and central LA to the east, 818 and 747 the San Fernando Valley to the north, 562 Long Beach to the southeast, and 805 the Ventura County coast to the northwest.