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Residents in the Central Valley will have to work a little harder to dial local phone numbers starting next Wednesday, Feb. 26, as the new 357 area code overlay takes effect.

Municipalities have taken to social media and phone carriers including Verizon have sent text alerts warning about the upcoming change.

The Central Valley region joins 16 other areas nationwide that have seen additions of new area codes since February 2024. The addition of area code overlays provides additional numbering options for geographic areas that are expected to run out of available 3-digit prefix numbers (the first three numbers following the area code).

Beginning next Wednesday, local residents will be required to dial 1+ the corresponding area code (559 or 357) for all outgoing local calls, even if they reside within the same area code.

The announcement of the new area code was first reported in December 2023.

The 559 area code, introduced in 1998, is set to run out of 3-digit prefix numbers by this September. In 1998, the 559 area code was introduced after a geographic split of the 209 area code, which covers much of the northern Central Valley.

The 209 area code still covers small portions of Fresno and Madera counties.

The announcement of the new area code in 2023 brought with it several recommendations from the California Public Utilities Commission, including:

• Contact security and/or alarm vendors to update dial-up numbers
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• Reprogram equipment including automatic dial, speed-dial and call forwarding, as well as modems for computers or internet dial-up access
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• Update stationary items to reflect the change
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• Provide area codes when sharing phone numbers and request area codes from those who share numbers with you
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• Remember previous area codes and the new area code will coexist within the same geographic region
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• The area code will be the 474th area code in service, according to AllAreaCodes.com, a website that tracks the listing of area codes in the US.

  “No existing customers will be required to change their area code or specific telephone number,” the California Public Utilities Commission stated on their website. “The new overlay area code of 357 will be available for new telephone number assignments in the same region as the 559 area code upon exhaust of available prefixes in the existing 559 area code.”