Area code 540

Area code 540 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the north-western region of the U.S. State of Virginia.

History[]

Area code 540 was established on July 15, 1995, when numbering plan area 703 was divided. Due to the continued growth of telecommunication services in the area, it was necessary to split the area as well. On September 1, 2001, the farthest western region of Virginia was established as a separate numbering plan area with area code 276.

The pool of telephone numbers in 540 is projected to exhaust in 2022. For relief, the Virginia State Corporation Commission approved a plan in June 2020 to add 826 as an all-service overlay. Implementation of the overlay is projected to be on June 14, 2022. This will make ten-digit dialing mandatory in the overlay area.^[1]

Permissive calling will start in November 2021, and end in May 2022, when mandatory calling will start.

Service area[]

The numbering plan area with area code 540 includes the communities of Buchanan, Buena Vista, Cave Spring, Eagle Rock, Fincastle, Floyd County, Fredericksburg, Franklin County, Giles County, Greenville, Harrisonburg, King George, Lexington, Madison, Montgomery County, Pulaski County, Radford, Roanoke County, Salem, Springwood, Staunton, Warren, Waynesboro, and Winchester. It serves the counties of Augusta, Caroline, Culpeper, Spotsylvania, Rockbridge, Orange, Fauquier, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Shenandoah. It also partially serves western Loudoun County, whereas most of the county is in the numbering plan area 703/571.

References[]

External links[]

• NANPA area code map of Virginia
• List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 540 Area Code