Area codes 215, 267, and 445 are telephonearea codes in theNorth American Numbering Plan (NANP) forPhiladelphia and adjacent portions ofBucks andMontgomery counties in theU.S. state ofPennsylvania. Area code 215 was one of theoriginal North American area codes established in 1947, while 267 and 445 areoverlay codes for the same numbering plan area (NPA).
When theAmerican Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) organized the telephone networks of North American with a universaltelephone numbering plan in 1947, Pennsylvania was divided into four numbering plan areas, which received the area codes 215,412,717, and814.
Area code 215 was assigned to theDelaware andLehigh valleys in southeastern Pennsylvania, including thePhiladelphia metropolitan area.
On January 8, 1994, the western and northern portions of the original 215 territory, including Philadelphia's western suburbs, most ofBerks County, and the Lehigh Valley, changed toarea code 610, while Philadelphia and its northern suburbs retained 215. However, three central offices were moved from 215 to east-central Pennsylvania's717, namely 267 inDenver, 484 inAdamstown and 445 inTerre Hill, with 215-267 becoming 717-336 because 717-267 was already in use. These exchanges were originally slated to move into 610, but were served by non-Bell telephone companies which sought to consolidate their eastern Pennsylvania customers into one area code.
This was intended as a long-term solution, but within two years 215 was close to exhaustion due to the rapid growth of the Philadelphia area and the proliferation of cell phones and pagers. For relief, area code 267 was established as an overlay on the 215 numbering plan area on July 1, 1997. Local calls across the Delaware/Pennsylvania border requiredten-digit dialing.
Area code 445 was first proposed in July 2000 as an overlay code on numbering plan area 215/267.[1] However, these plans were delayed and then rescinded in 2003 by thePennsylvania Public Utility Commission.[2] The need for new phone numbers in area codes 215/267 was delayed until 2018. Area code 445 was activated as an additional overlay code on February 3, 2018.[3] This assigned 23 million telephone numbers to a service territory of four million people, and 215/267/445 is not projected by the NANP to require relief action until beyond 2050.[4]
The service area comprises all or parts of five counties in Pennsylvania.[5]
Places with over 30,000 inhabitants:
39°59′24″N75°09′14″W / 39.990°N 75.154°W /39.990; -75.154
| North:484/610/835,908 | ||
| West:484/610/835 | 215/267/445 | East:609/640 |
| South:856 | ||
| New Jersey area codes:201/551,609/640,732/848,856,908,973/862 | ||
