Vermont and New Hampshire Calls Must Start With "802"

  • Print
Details
Created on Sunday, 24 October 2021 15:23
Written by Alexandra Huff

Article Written in Collaboration by Quinlan Peer and Alexandra Huff

VERMONT - If you're looking to make a call today, make sure you dial "802" or "603" for any local numbers. Why? Because starting today, all local outgoing phone calls made in Vermont and New Hampshire must be preceded by the states' area codes.

 

This change is due to a national movement to a three-digit phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The FCC approved the number "988" to be assigned to the lifeline in July 2022. Because of this move, the FCC ordered 36 states with local NXX codes beginning with "988" to move to a ten-digit or eleven-digit dialing system to include the state code and possibly the country extension.

Consolidated Communications customers in Troy, Vermont have "988" at the beginning of their phone numbers. To prevent calls meant for these neighbors and businesses in Troy going to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, "802" must be dialed first, and was a policy thus adopted across the state. Similarly, Sprint Spectrum customers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire have a "988" prefix to their numbers, and New Hampshire had to also adopt a ten-digit dialing system.

The full number to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can still be reached at 1-800-273-8255 after the 988 code takes effect. Service numbers like 911, 411, and 711 are not affected and can still be dialed as normal.