New 323 Area Code to Become Official

The new 323 area code becomes effective on Saturday, replacing the 213 code for several communities, including all or parts of Commerce, Highland Park, Huntington Park, Hyde Park, Los Angeles exclusive of downtown, Monterey Park, Montebello, South Gate, Watts and West Hollywood. Starting Saturday, callers who use the wrong area code will hear a recording directing them to redial using the new area code. Facing a shortage of numbers in the 213 region, state regulators split off some areas and assigned them a new code. The 213 code covers just a 3-mile-diameter region in downtown Los Angeles. The new 323 code, the state’s 21st, was introduced over the summer, but customers have been able to use either area code for most numbers ahead of Saturday’s formal introduction. The change does not affect the price of phone calls.