Area code 814 is one of the original numbering plan area codes established in 1947. Its geographic area is the largest in the state. It is the only one of Pennsylvania's original four NPAs that still has its original boundaries, and is one of the few original ones not comprising the entire state that have never been split or overlaid as of 2020. With NPA 717 having been overlaid with area code 223 in 2017, as of 2020, NPA 814 is the only portion of Pennsylvania where seven-digit dialing is still possible. The largest cities in the area are Johnstown, Altoona, State College, and Erie; otherwise this region is largely rural. On May 14, 2020, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission decided to assign area code 582 in an overlay plan to the existing number plan area 814, in relief of its impending central office code exhaustion. The new area code is scheduled to commence service on May 1, 2021. Ten-digit dialing is scheduled to be mandatory on April 3, 2021 for all calls in the region, making it also a statewide requirement.
Split controversy
When numbering pool exhaustion became a threat in the 2000s, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a numbering plan split in December 2009, that would have assigned area code 582 to Erie and most of the northwestern part as of early 2012. Under the proposed split, area code 582 would comprise Erie, Crawford, Warren, Venango, Forest, Clarion, Jefferson, Elk, and McKean counties, while the remaining counties would've remained in 814. Parts of Armstrong, Clearfield, Indiana, and Mercer counties also were to be switched to 582. Under the plan, most of Clearfield and Indiana counties would have retained 814; most of Armstrong and Mercer counties would continue in area code 724. This would have been the first split in the NANP since 2007. After the decision, a grassroots movement circulated an online petition to request the commission to cancel the action in favor of an overlay plan. The telecommunications industry also supported the overlay of area code 582. By February 27, 2012, the projected exhaustion date for 814 was changed to the second quarter of 2018. On April 26, 2012 the PUC voted 5–0 to dismiss the plans to split 814 and revoke the implementation schedule. Current estimates suggest that 814 will be exhausted around 2021, by which time remedial action may need to be revisited. The split never came to be, and eventually the PUC changed their plans from a split to an overlay.
Counties
Area code 814 serves parts of twenty-seven counties in Pennsylvania.
