Area codes 215, 267, and 445

Area codes 215, 267, and 445 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The numbering plan area includes the city of Philadelphia and the city's northern suburbs in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

History

The Area code 215 was one of the original area codes established in 1947 under the North American Numbering Plan. It originally served the entire southeastern part of Pennsylvania including Philadelphia. In 1994, most of the old 215 territory, to the west of the Delaware River, was split off as Area code 610, and 215 was retained by Philadelphia and its suburbs to the east of the Delaware River.

Area code 267 was overlaid on area code 215 on July 1, 1997. Before that, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission considered an area code split, with nearly all of the old 215 territory outside of Philadelphia getting the new area code. However, overlays were a new concept at the time, and met with some resistance due to the requirement for ten-digit dialing.

Area code 445 was first proposed in July 2000 as an overlay code for the 215 and 267 area codes. However, these plans were delayed and then rescinded in 2003. The proposed overlay was resurrected in 2013, when it was revealed that 215 and 267 were expected to exhaust by the second quarter of 2018. The new area code, 445, was implemented on March 3, 2018.

Geographic coverage

The numbering plan area comprises most of the city of Philadelphia, the majority of Bucks County and a large portion of Montgomery County. The Pennsylvania side of the Delaware Valley, which includes the towns of Bensalem, Bristol, Doylestown, Langhorne, Levittown, Norristown, Pottstown, and Willow Grove, is also included in this numbering plan area.

See also

• List of Pennsylvania area codes
• List of NANP area codes
• North American Numbering Plan