# Area code 908

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Area_code_908
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Area_code_908.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_908
> Source revision: 1340737836
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Telephone area code for north-central New Jersey}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2026}}
thumb|Numbering plan areas and area codes of New Jersey
'''Area code 908''' is a [telephone](/source/telephone) [area code](/source/area_code) in the [North American Numbering Plan](/source/North_American_Numbering_Plan) (NANP) in the [northern part](/source/North_Jersey) of the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey). The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises communities in [Union County](/source/Union_County%2C_New_Jersey), [Somerset County](/source/Somerset_County%2C_New_Jersey), northern parts of [Middlesex County](/source/Middlesex_County%2C_New_Jersey), [Hunterdon County](/source/Hunterdon_County%2C_New_Jersey), [Warren County](/source/Warren_County%2C_New_Jersey), and parts of [Morris County](/source/Morris_County%2C_New_Jersey) as well as some cell phones in [Monmouth](/source/Monmouth_County%2C_New_Jersey) and [Ocean](/source/Ocean_County%2C_New_Jersey) Counties.

==History==
[Area code 201](/source/Area_code_201), originally the only area code for New Jersey when the first nationwide [telephone numbering plan](/source/telephone_numbering_plan) was created in 1947, had been the area code for all of northern and central New Jersey since 1956.

In June 1989, New Jersey Bell announced a split of numbering plan area 201 to create a new area code, 908, in North Jersey. During a permissive dialing period, which ended on June 8, 1991, existing telephone numbers in the service area could be dialed with area codes 201 or 908.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nanpa.com/sites/default/files/planning_letters/IL-89-09-010.pdf
|title=Information Letter IL-89-09-010: Split of the 201 Numbering Plan Area
|date=1989-09-01
|publisher=Bell Communications Research (NANPA)
|access-date=2023-05-26
}}</ref><ref>The Star Gazette, ''New 908 are code will take effect this Saturday'', Thursday, June 6, 1991</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.verizonnj.com/about/community/nj/about/history/1985_1998.asp|title=About Verizon New Jersey: Years 1985 to 1998|access-date=2025-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113172317/http://www.verizonnj.com/about/community/nj/about/history/1985_1998.asp|archive-date=2007-11-13|date=2007-11-13|website=Verizon Communications}}</ref> Customers in the remaining 201 area had to prefix existing and new numbers in 908 with 1-908. At the time of the split, 1.5 million access lines were served by the new area code.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

On January 1, 1997, 908 was reduced to its western portion, forming [area code 732](/source/area_code_732) in the central-eastern region of New Jersey.<ref>Newman, Andy. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/02/nyregion/new-area-codes-introduced.html?sq=area+code+732&scp=3&st=nyt "New Area Codes Introduced"], ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'', June 2, 1997. Accessed January 23, 2008.</ref> It was the penultimate area code added in the X0X format when [909](/source/area_code_909) was added a year later in California.

[Middlesex County](/source/Middlesex_County%2C_New_Jersey) is largely 908 in [South Plainfield](/source/South_Plainfield%2C_New_Jersey) and parts of [Edison](/source/Edison%2C_New_Jersey) (particularly Inman Avenue and north of Oak Tree Road) and [Piscataway](/source/Piscataway%2C_New_Jersey) (particularly the New Market area near [Plainfield](/source/Plainfield%2C_New_Jersey)). 908 and the [Delaware Valley](/source/Delaware_Valley)'s [856](/source/area_code_856) are the only area codes in the state that have yet to be overlaid.

Before October 2021, area code 908 had telephone numbers assigned for the [central office code](/source/central_office_code) 988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the [National Suicide Prevention Lifeline](/source/National_Suicide_Prevention_Lifeline), which created a conflict for exchanges that permit [seven-digit dialing](/source/seven-digit_dialing). This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to [ten-digit dialing](/source/ten-digit_dialing) by October 24, 2021.<ref name="pl556">{{cite web|url=https://www.nanpa.com/sites/default/files/planning_letters/PL-556.pdf|date=2021-01-08|publisher=NANPA|title=Planning Letter 566: Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline)|access-date=2025-02-20}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|New Jersey}}
*[List of New Jersey area codes](/source/List_of_New_Jersey_area_codes)
*[List of North American Numbering Plan area codes](/source/List_of_North_American_Numbering_Plan_area_codes)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Area_code_footer|Map=NJ}}

{{Area code box|State=NJ
| This=908| 
| N=[862/973](/source/Area_codes_862_and_973)
| S=[215/267/445](/source/Area_codes_215%2C_267%2C_and_445), [609/640](/source/Area_codes_609_and_640), [732/848](/source/Area_codes_732_and_848)
| E=[347/718/929](/source/Area_codes_718%2C_347%2C_and_929)/[917](/source/Area_code_917)
| W=[484/610](/source/Area_codes_610_and_484), [570/272](/source/area_codes_570_and_272)
| S1=NY|S2=PA}}

{{Coord|40.4744|-74.4258|display=title}}

908
908

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Area code 908](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_908) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_908?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.