What is the new 369 area code overlay?
To ensure local customers have access to enough phone numbers, the California Public Utilities Commission is adding a new 369 area code to serve parts of California. This new area code is scheduled to go live on February 1, 2023.
What is an area code overlay?
Area code overlays are used to increase the supply of local phone numbers for specific regions. Making sure area codes and phone numbers stay available is vital in areas with a growing population.
Where is the new 369 area code located and who is affected?
Because the addition of the new 369 area code aims to augment the number of phone numbers available in the existing 707 area code, it will serve the same geographic area. As a result, both the new 369 area code and the existing 707 area code will serve the same areas, which include Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama and Trinity counties, and encompasses cities such as American Canyon, Arcata, Benicia, Calistoga, Clearlake, Cloverdale, Cotati, Crescent City, Dixon, Eureka, Fairfield, Ferndale, Fort Bragg, Healdsburg, Lakeport, Napa, Petaluma, Point Arena, Rio Dell, Rio Vista, Rohnert Park, Saint Helena, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Suisun City, Trinidad, Ukiah, Vacaville, Vallejo, Windsor, Willits, and Yountville.
If I’m based in California and have a 707 area code, am I affected?
No. Adding the new 369 area code will allow for more numbers to be available to California residents, but existing 707 numbers will not be affected.
When does the new 369 area code become effective?
The 369 area code will be available in the same region as the 707 area code beginning on February 1, 2023. New subscribers and customers who are adding lines will be able to select a 369 area code.
What is changing for me?
The 861 area code will function just like any other area code. If you are an existing customer in the area and you are not adding new services to your phone plans, nothing will change for you.
The only change is that anyone setting up a new phone line in a region previously served exclusively by the 309 area code. Starting February 24, these customers will now be offered phone numbers with an 861 area code.
What do I need to do?
No action is needed from your side. In the coming weeks, you’ll see the addition of the 861 area code. People you know and businesses around you will begin to have numbers with this new area code. Be sure to dial “1” and then the full ten-digit phone number when you make a call, even if they are local.