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Area codes 818 and 747

Telephone area codes in Los Angeles County, California, U.S.

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
3 min read
Source updated June 19, 2026
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Area codes 818 and 747 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California.

Area code 818 was created in a split from area code 213 on January 7, 1984. On June 14, 1997, 818 was reduced in size to create a separate numbering plan area (NPA) for most of the San Gabriel Valley with area code 626. On May 18, 2009, area code 818 was overlaid with area code 747.

01History

After the introduction of American telephone area codes in 1947, almost all of Los Angeles County used area code 213. During the 1980s and 1990s, the population and the demand for telecommunication services grew substantially in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, so that area code 213 came under resource pressure. In relief the numbering plan area was divided with several new area codes, including area code 818 and area code 310. Area code 818 entered service on January 7, 1984, making Los Angeles one of the first major cities to be split into multiple numbering plan areas. Area code 626 was assigned to a portion of the eastern part on June 14, 1997.

In November 1999, telephone administrations proposed an additional area code "at some future date". NPA 747 would be would split from 818, for the southern and western portions of the San Fernando Valley. This proposal sat dormant until 2007, when the telephone industry and the California Public Utilities Commission commenced resource utilization studies for relief action. Public sentiment indicated a preference for overlay action rather than a split, since 818 customers would retain the area code. Only new service would require the new area code.

On April 24, 2008, the CPUC decided that area code 747 would overlay area code 818 effective May 18, 2009. From that date, new numbers could be assigned to the new area code. All calls within the numbering plan area now required ten-digit dialing. A permissive dialing period started October 11, 2008 during which seven-digit dialing was still possible. As of mid-April 2009, calls must be dialed with the area code and number.

The first telephone number block was assigned to area code 747 on October 11, 2009.

02Service area

The numbering plan area is home to the following cities:

Neighborhoods/districts in Los Angeles City

Los Angeles County

Ventura County

Watch videos about Area codes 818 and 747Explainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Area codes 818 and 747”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

List of California area codes

As of March 2025, the U.S. state of California is served by 41 area codes in the North American Numbering Plan.

List of North American Numbering Plan area codes

The North American Numbering Plan divides the territories of its members into geographic numbering plan areas (NPAs). Each NPA is identified by one or more numbering plan area codes (NPA codes, or area codes), consisting of three digits that are prefixed to each local telephone number having seven digits.