Area code 540


Area code 540 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan 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 public service commission announced a plan in June 2020 to overlay the numbering plan area with a second area code, 826. Implementation of the overlay is projected to take at least thirteen months. This will make ten-digit dialing mandatory in the overlay area.

Service area

The numbering plan area with area code 540 includes the communites 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, and parts of Stafford County, most of which are in area code 703 and area code 571.