Marin Readies for New '628' Area Code This Weekend

By Bay City News Service:

Beginning Saturday, residents within the 415 area code will have to dial the area code of the number they are calling in preparation for the new 628 area code that debuts next month.

Starting on March 21, the 628 area code is being added to the area currently served by the existing 415 area code that covers Marin and San Francisco counties and a portion of San Mateo County.

The process of adding an additional area code in the same geographic region as an existing area code is known as an overlay.

The new area code has been in the works since 1998, when the California Public Utilities Commission was first petitioned for a new 628 area code.

Number conservation efforts, however, extended the use of the 415 area code, first established in 1947.

Marin County officials notified residents about the impending new area code in July 2014 and the CPUC and the 415 Public Education Program Task Force began urging all Marin County residents to get in the habit of dialing area codes on all calls.

Starting Saturday, calls made without area codes will not be completed and a recording will instruct callers to hang up and redial, county officials said.

A month later on March 21, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers with the 628 area code.

All automatic dialing equipment and devices that are programmed with a seven-digit number will have to be reprogrammed.

The price of a local call will not change and dialing 911, 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711 and 811 will still be allowed.