NYC could have a new area code by 2026

New York City telephone numbers could look different in the next few years – that is, if the state’s Public Service Commission approves a request for a brand new area code.

The North American Numbering Plan Administrator, or NANPA, is in charge of phone numbers for 20 countries in North America and the Caribbean. In May, NANPA filed a petition on behalf of New York’s telecom industry seeking to implement a new area code before the city fully exhausts its 347, 718, 917 and 929 area codes – which is projected to happen at the end of 2026.

If approved, the new area code would be used in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan’s Marble Hill exclave, and would be implemented sometime in 2026. Telephone customers within those areas would retain their current phone numbers, and the new code would be assigned to new phone numbers in the area after the current area codes are fully used up.

An alternative solution would eliminate boundaries between the 347, 718, and 929 codes, which are used outside Manhattan, and the 212, 332 and 646 area codes, which are used in Manhattan's numbering plan. The 917 code is used throughout New York City.

New York City also confronted this issue over a decade ago, when it exhausted its supply of 212 numbers as cellphones began to eclipse landlines. Phone numbers with that coveted area code now sell for hundreds of dollars . The last time New York City got a new area code was when 929 debuted in April 2011. Before that, it was October 1999, when 347 was implemented.

The Public Service Commission will hold virtual hearings on Tuesday, Oct. 1, to receive comments from the public about the new numbering plan. More information about those hearings can be found here .