Area code 504

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Area code 504" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Area code 504 is a telephone area code that covers greater New Orleans, Louisiana. Besides New Orleans itself (Orleans Parish), it includes all of St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes and most of Jefferson Parish.

504 was one of the original area codes created in 1947, and originally covered all of Louisiana. In 1957, most of the state west of the Mississippi River was split off as area code 318. In 1998, the western portion of the old 504 territory, including Baton Rouge, became area code 225. In 2001, much of southeastern Louisiana was split off as area code 985, to both the west and the north of 504.

Several of New Orleans' downriver suburbs switched to 985 in 2001 as well. However, much of this area switched back to 504 in 2007. These communities are now being served with dialtone from telephone switching facilities in New Orleans following near-total destruction of local switching facilities due to flooding from Hurricane Katrina. Permissive dialing of 504 alongside 985 in this area began on July 29, 2007. Mandatory use of 504 to again reach these communities began on May 1, 2008. These communities are on both sides of the Mississippi River in lower Plaquemines Parish, including Pointe à la Hache on the east bank, with Port Sulphur, Buras, and Boothville on the west bank.

Prior to October 2021, area code 504 had telephone numbers assigned for the central office code 988. In 2020, 988 was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which created a conflict for exchanges that permit seven-digit dialing. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to ten-digit dialing by October 24, 2021.^[1]