SC getting new area code in near future. Here’s when and which counties will have it
A new area code for Upstate South Carolina has been in the works for more than a year and is expected to be in use by sometime next year.
New phone customers will be given an 821 area code rather than 864. It’s what’s called an overlay — both codes covering the same geographic location, including the largest cities of the region, Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson.
The counties are Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, Oconee, Greenwood, Laurens, Cherokee, Union, Abbeville, Saluda, McCormick, and Newberry.
The reason is numbers are running out.
The South Carolina Public Service Commission approved the split in September 2022 and petitioned the North American Numbering Plan Administration on behalf of South Carolina’s telecommunications industry to create the new area code.
When 864 numbers run out, the 821 area code will begin to be issued, estimated to be in the third quarter of 2024. People with the 864 area code will not be affected.
Once, the 803 area code covered the entire state. It was created by AT&T and the Bell System in 1947. The 864 area code, officially called an NPA for Number Planning Area, was created in 1995. It was the first geographic split of the 803 area code.
The 843 area code was created in 1998 to serve the Lowcountry and South Carolina coast. An overlay was added to the 843 area in 2015, creating 854 numbers.
In 2020 the 839 overlay was added to the Midlands.
In case you’re wondering, the 843 area code has the most numbers, serving 1.6 million of South Carolina’s 4.6 million residents.
“New area codes are assigned to encourage the most efficient operation of the public switched telecommunications network,” said Cecilia McCabe, NPA Relief Planner at NANPA. “The number chosen should also minimize customer confusion.”
There are 86 area codes in the United States and Canada associated with the North American Numbers Plan.
The SC Public Service Commission said more information on precisely when the new area code will start being issued will be announced in January.
