Area code 740

North American Area code 740 is a telephone area code serving southeastern and central Ohio. (Columbus and rate centers in Franklin County use the 614 area code.) 740 is the area code in the Ohio cities of Athens, Belpre, Chillicothe, Circleville, Coshocton, Delaware, Gallipolis, Heath, Ironton, Jackson, Lancaster, Laurelville, Logan, Marietta, Marion, Mount Vernon, Nelsonville, Newark, Pataskala, Portsmouth, Rockbridge, Steubenville, Washington Court House, Zanesville, Shadyside and surrounding areas. Area code 740 was established on December 6, 1997; it split from area code 614 in 1998. On November 7, 2013, it was announced that the 740 area code would run out of numbers sometime in 2015. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chose to remedy the situation by implementing an overlay with area code 220, effective April 22, 2015. This requires all calls within the numbering plan area to be dialed using the full ten-digit telephone number.