Area code 904

Area Code 904 is the telephone area code in use for most of the First Coast (northeast) region of the state of Florida, including all of the metropolitan area of Jacksonville. It includes all of Duval County, St. Johns County, Nassau County, Baker County and Clay County.

The entire state of Florida was originally assigned Area Code 305 in 1947. Due to population growth, the southwest portion was split off from 305 in 1953 to form area code 813, and then all of the northern half of Florida, including the Florida Panhandle, was assigned area code 904 in 1965.

This lasted through 1988, when the East Coast of Florida from Palm Beach County north through Brevard County, as well as the Orlando metropolitan area was assigned to Area Code 407.

In 1995, the area of central Florida surrounding Gainesville was removed from Area Code 904 by the creation of Area Code 352. Later in 1995 year, the Florida Public Service Commission planned a three-way split to relieve the overcrowded 904 Area Code. In this plan, the Jacksonville area would move into the proposed Area Code 234 while the Daytona Beach LATA would be assigned to Area Code 386. The Pensacola, Panama City, and Tallahassee areas would have kept Area Code 904.

Complaints from the public and businesses in the Jacksonville region, as well as opposition from NANPA and the Federal Communications Commission, compelled the Florida PSC to change course and adopt a different plan. The panhandle was assigned to Area Code 850, with Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tallahassee, and the surrounding areas keeping Area Code 904.

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