Area codes 843 and 854

Area codes 843 and 854 serve the eastern third of South Carolina. They cover the Grand Strand, the Lowcountry, the Pee Dee, and the Sandhills. Major cities in the region include Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Beaufort, Hilton Head Island and Florence. 843 is the main area code, while 854 is an overlay that was implemented in 2015.

843 entered service on March 22, 1998, as a split from 803. In 2013, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator determined that 843 would run out of numbers in 2015.[1] In addition to the rapid growth of the Grand Strand, Charleston and Beaufort/Hilton Head areas, most of the southern portion of the area code is part of the Savannah, Georgia LATA, meaning several numbers in Savannah's area code 912 are not available for use.

On December 9, 2013, it was decided that the 843 territory would receive the state's first overlay, to be effective probably in early 2015.[2] On December 16, 2013, the new area code of 854 was announced.[3] 854 entered service on March 14, 2015. Permissive dialing continued until September 18, 2015, during which both seven- and ten-digit dialing were allowed. On September 19, 2015, ten-digit dialing became mandatory in the 843/854 territory. The first new 854 numbers were issued sometime in the fall of 2015.[4]