Area codes 904 and 324

The northern half of Florida, including Jacksonville, was assigned area code 904 in 1965.

[2] In 1995, central Florida surrounding Ocala and Gainesville was removed from 904 by the creation of area code 352.

[3] Later in 1995, the Florida Public Service Commission planned a three-way split to relieve the overcrowded 904 area code.

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 adopt a different plan.

[5][6] An alternative option that was considered was a boundary elimination overlay with 386 (erasing the 2001 split and its non-contiguous area) but that would result in a relatively short period of relief.