Area code 334 covers southeastern Alabama, including the cities of Montgomery, Auburn, Opelika, and Dothan. It was created on January 15, 1995, in a split from Alabama’s original 205 area code , becoming the state’s first new area code since the 1940s. Notably, 334 was the first U.S. area code that did not require a 0 or 1 as the middle digit, having been implemented just one minute before Washington’s 360 area code in 1995. The original 334 region covered the entire southern half of Alabama, but its southwestern portion (including Mobile) was split off in 2001 to form area code 251. Today, 334 remains the code for Alabama’s capital region and beyond, even extending to Phenix City on the Alabama–Georgia border (part of the Columbus, GA metro area). With growing demand, an overlay code (483) has been approved for 334 by 2026 to ensure ample number supply