Area code 302 is a telephone

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

in the

North American Numbering Plan The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international callin ...

(NANP) for the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. It is Delaware's only area code, and was assigned in 1947 as one of the

original North American area codes The original North American area codes were established by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1947, following the demonstration of regional Operator Toll Dialing during the World War II period. The program had the goal of speedin ...

. Despite the rapid growth in telecommunication services in the northern part of the state, area code 302 is not projected to exhaust its numbering pool until 2033. Prior to October 2021, area code 302 had telephone numbers assigned for the

central office code The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international calling ...

988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) is a United States-based suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preven ...

, which created a conflict for exchanges that permit

seven-digit dialing Seven-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure customary in some territories of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for dialing telephone numbers in the same numbering plan area (NPA). NANP telephone numbers consist of ten digits, of wh ...

. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to

ten-digit dialing Ten-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure in the countries and territories that are members of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when dialing to initiate a telep ...

by October 24, 2021. Delaware shares a

LATA Lata (Hindi: लता) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "vine". Lata may refer to: Notable people named Lata *Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian singer. * Lata (born 1975), Musician. *Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2 ...

with

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

side of the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

Central office prefixes

Unless otherwise stated, most of the prefixes were introduced on or before February 4, 1994. Prefixes located in the Ocean View area also serve Bethany Beach, Millville and Fenwick Island. 976 is assigned to Wilmington, and requires dialling "1+302" first.

References

External links

{{Area code list 302 302 Telecommunications-related introductions in 1947