The 540 area code is located in northern and southwestern Virginia, covering cities such as Roanoke, Harrisonburg, and Blacksburg. The area code was established on July 15, 1995, when numbering plan area 703 was divided. In June 2020, the Virginia State Corporation Commission approved an overlay, which is the addition of another area code (826) to the same geographic region served by an existing area code (540) . Beginning June 14, 2022, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the new 826 area code, and ten-digit dialing became mandatory in the overlay area. However, residents and businesses that already have phone numbers with the 540 area code will get to keep them, and their phone numbers will not change.