Maine Will Likely Be Getting a New Area Code

It's hard to imagine dialing something other than 207 when making a call to a Maine phone number. It's the only area code Maine has ever had since it was established. According to All Area Codes, Maine's 207 was one of the original 86 area codes that was established by AT&T and the Bell System back in 1947.

You may be aware of the major influx of people relocating to Maine during the pandemic. That said, according to the US Census Bureau, the Maine population was 1,362,359 as of April 1, 2020. That number is likely much higher now. It's unknown how many numbers are currently in use, but between the the growing population and business phone numbers, it appears we will soon max out our 8,000,000 possible phone number combinations.

Maine is a special place in many ways, one of which is its single area code. There is a TV show named after it, as well as apparel, coffee mugs, and so on.

According to News Center Maine, the predicted timeframe of the area code expiring was by the fourth quarter of 2025. However, they also stated that the Maine Public Utilities Commission said that they have been able to extend that prediction about 15 months, bringing us into the first quarter of 2027 before a new area code needs to be established. News Center Maine was also able to reach out to MPUC Chair Philip Bartlett regarding the extension, who released this statement last month (October 2023).

“These additional months are the direct result of multiple actions taken by dedicated Commission staff who have been persistent in efforts to preserve Maine’s single area code. That work includes scrutinizing unnecessary requests for numbering resources.”

News Center Maine also said that the MPUC will continue to look into additional options to extend it beyond the first quarter of 2027.

How many of our 50 states still have only one area code? 11. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, make up three of them.

At this time, it is unknown what the new three-digit number will be, but with the Maine Public Utilities Commission diligently working on extending the 207 expiration, we're hopeful that we won't need to find out anytime in the near future.