ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis area will be the home of a new area code later this year, the 557 area code.
The existing 314 area code is currently used for St. Louis, Overland, Bridgeton, Florissant, Webster Groves, Creve Coeur, Kirkwood and other nearby jurisdictions, but the number of new 314 numbers that can be issued is running low. According to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, the last of the 314 phone numbers will be exhausted by the third quarter of 2022.
Because of the short supply, the Missouri Public Service Commission and the North American Numbering Plan Administrator will roll out the new area code as early as August of 2022 in what is called an area code overlay. That is when two area codes serve the same area.
Once the 314 numbers run out, new phone numbers in the area will be issued 557 area codes.
Existing phone numbers will not be affected.
Public Service Commission Chairman Ryan Silvey said a telephone number conservation effort delayed the need for a new area code by 20 years, but they will need the new area code by this year.
The Missouri Public Service Commission provided the following points to keep in mind for the new rollout:
- Telephone numbers, including current area code, will not change.
- The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to the overlay.
- What is a local call now will remain a local call.
- Customers in the overlay region must dial 10 digits for local calls and 1+10 digits for long-distance calls.
- Three-digit abbreviated dialing, to the extent currently available, such as 911, as well as 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711, or 811 will continue to work and not be affected.