Mandatory 10 Digit Dialing for National Suicide Prevention

Mandatory 10 Digit Dialing For National Suicide Prevention

Mandatory 10 Digit Dialing for National Suicide Prevention

Starting July 16, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is adopting 988 as a new three-digit number to be used nationwide to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline. Customers must continue to dial 1-800-273-TALK to reach the Lifeline until July 16, 2022. For 988 to work in the following area codes, mandatory 10 digit dialing will be implemented starting on October 24, 2021. On and after this date, local calls dialed with only 7 digits may not be completed, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. You must hang up and and dial again using the area code and the 7-digit number.

Dialing Codes for Multiple States/Area Codes

STATECODE(S)STATECODE(S)
Alaska907Minnesota218, 952
Alabama251Mississippi662
Arkansas501Missouri314, 417, 660, 816
Arizona480, 520, 928 Montana406
California209, 530, 562, 626, 650, 707, 925, 949, 951Nevada775
Colorado719, 970New Hampshire603
Delaware302New Jersey856, 908
Florida321 (Brevard County), 352, 561, 941 New Mexico505, 575
Georgia478, 912 New York516, 607, 716, 845, 914
Guam671North Carolina910
Hawaii808Ohio440, 513
Illinois309, 618, 708 South Dakota605
Indiana219, 574 Tennessee731, 865
Iowa319, 515 Texas254, 361, 409, 806, 830, 915, 940
Kansas620, 785 Vermont802
Kentucky859Virginia276, 804
Louisiana337, 504 Washington509
Michigan616, 810, 906, 989 Wisconsin262, 414, 608, 920

What will be the new dialing procedure?

To complete all local calls, you will now need to dial area code + telephone number. This applies to all calls within your area code that are currently dialed with seven digits.

Who will be affected?

Anyone with a telephone number from your area code will need to make a change from 7-digit local dialing to 10-digit local dialing.

When will the change begin?

Beginning October 24, 2021, you must dial 10 digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls. On and after this date, local calls dialed with only 7 digits may not be completed, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. You must hang up and dial again using the area code and the 7-digit number.

Beginning July 16, 2022, dialing “988” will route your call to the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline.

What will you need to do?

In addition to changing the way you dial local calls, all services, automatic dialing equipment or other types of equipment programmed to complete calls to 7-digit local numbers will need to be reprogrammed to complete calls as 10-digit numbers. Some examples include: Life safety systems or medical monitoring devices, PBXs, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, fire or burglar alarm and security systems or gates, speed dialers, mobile or other wireless phone contact lists, call forwarding settings, voicemail services and other similar functions.

Be sure to check your website, personal and business stationery, advertising materials, personal and business checks, contact information, your personal or pet ID tags, and other such items to ensure the area code is included.

What will remain the same?

  • Your telephone number, including current area code, will not change
  • The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to the dialing change
  • What is a local call now will remain a local call regardless of the number of digits dialed
  • You will continue to dial 1+ area code + telephone number for all long distance calls
  • You can still dial just three digits to reach 711 (relay services) and 911 (emergency services)
  • Any 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, or 811 services available in your community can still be reached by dialing their three-digit codes
  • The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can still be reached by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Hungerford Is Here to Help!

If you have any questions regarding information provided in this notice, please call Hungerford Technologies at (616) 949-4020 or open a ticket at support@hungerford.tech. You can also visit the FCC website for info on the Suicide Prevention Hotline.

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