Area codes required on all Washington calls starting July 16

LACEY, Wash. - Starting July 16, calls placed without an area code will no longer work in the state of Washington. 

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) announced this change on Monday, along with the new three-digit dialing code 988 to connect callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 

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In October 2021, telecommunications companies in Eastern Washington began requiring the three-digit area code when placing a call on a landline. Western Washington already made this switch in 2017. 

Callers in Eastern Washington without landlines or other affected devices may not have noticed the change, but now all calls placed in Washington must include the area code. 

However, UTC noted that these changes will not affect the price of calls, areas of coverage, local and long-distance rates or any other existing three-digit lines such as 911, 711 and 211.