748 Area Code to Take Place of 970 Starting March 2026

Your phone number starting with the area code 970 may soon be a collector’s item and, for some, a badge of honor as a new area code is introduced to Northern and Western Colorado in the first part of 2026.
Area code 970, which callers have been dialing to connect with a large portion of the state for the last 30 years, is projected to run out of available phone numbers by March 2026. The affected area includes Lake City along with population centers like Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Montrose, and Durango.
In a process called an overlay, the 748 area code will be introduced to the same geographic region currently covered by the 970 area code. Existing phone numbers will not change; however telephone customers who request new service, an additional line, or to move their service may be assigned the new 748 area code once 970 numbers are exhausted. The plan was first announced by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in December 2023.
PUC emphasized the following facts about the 748 area code overlay:

What is a local call now will remain a local call.

All current customers will keep their existing phone numbers and area codes.

The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change.Customers in the overlay region will continue to dial 10 digits for local calls within and between the overlay area codes, and 1+10 digits for long-distance calls and operator-assisted calls.

Customers can still dial just three digits to reach 911, as well as any other available N11 numbers.
The United States shares a pool of three-digit area codes with Canada and twenty-plus Caribbean countries. Officials coordinate the issuance of new area codes as phone numbers are doled out to customers. Each area code can accommodate nearly 8 million unique phone numbers. The Colorado PUC estimates the 748 code won’t run dry for another 38 years.
Colorado began with just one area code, 303, established in 1947. Since that time, population growth and technological development have prompted the addition of five new area codes, with 748 being the latest.
Area codes have long been a source of identity and pride in American pop culture, most notably spurned by hip hop artists using an area code as shorthand for establishing their roots within a particular community and the local culture that influenced them.
Colorado’s iconic original statewide area code has had an enduring influence. As of 2025, March 3rd, sometimes referred to as “303 Day,” has been named an official state holiday called “Buy Colorado Day”, during which consumers are encouraged to support local brands and businesses in celebration of the Rocky Mountain lifestyle. “The 303” has morphed into more of a cultural and geographic descriptor than a practical one, though: Denver’s code has been overlaid twice, with 720 added in 1998 and 983 in 2022.
Soon, the 970 area code will differentiate longtime residents from newcomers to Northern and Western Colorado. With the addition of a fifth area code, it’s now just a little tougher to place Coloradans by their phone number. But don’t even bother trying that with visitors from Texas – they’re spread across 19 area codes.