Get it while it’s hot, because the 502 area code is running out of new numbers. Five public meetings across the region will give residents the chance to weigh in on what happens before a new plan is selected. The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) is holding five public input meetings over the course of June to allow residents the chance to share their thoughts.
The North American Numbering Plan Administrator, the national group that monitors the phone number supply, said the area code will run out of numbers by the end of 2027, and the state needs to come up with a plan before then.
PSC Chair Angie Hatton said in a statement the process of creating the state’s sixth area code will be an open one.
“We want to hear from the telecommunications industry, from businesses that might be affected by the change, and from area code 502 residents,” she said. “We seek public input so that we will have a full understanding of the issues before we make a decision that may have a significant impact on the economy and on people’s daily lives.”
According to the PSC, the group submitted five possible “relief” plans in October 2024; however, they suggested a new overlay area code, which would replace the area code in all new numbers created, leaving old ones in place.
The PSC already recently added a new area code in Kentucky. In 2014, they overlaid the 364 area code on top of the 270 area code in western Kentucky.
There are other ways to solve the phone number shortage. A geographic split would break up the 502 area: one part would keep the 502 code and the other piece would get a new one. The PSC said that was the usual method in Kentucky until 2014.
Here’s a list of the PSC’s public input meetings, all at 6 p.m.:
- June 2 in Bardstown at the Nelson Co. Fiscal Courtroom
- June 3 in Georgetown at the Scott Co. Fiscal Courtroom
- June 5 in Louisville at the Jefferson Community & Technical
- College Southwest Campus
- June 16 in Carrollton at the Carroll Co. Fiscal Courtroom
- June 17 in Frankfort at the Kentucky Public Service Commission
