Area code 404

Area code 404 covers Atlanta and its immediate neighbors, roughly within Interstate 285.

Originally, it covered all of Georgia when the area code system was first created in the 1940s and implemented in 1951. On July 1, 1954, area code 912 was assigned to southern and middle Georgia. (Since August 1, 2000 most 912 split, including southwest Georgia, now area code 229, and central Georgia, now area code 478.) That long-standing relationship came to an end on May 3, 1992 when north Georgia beyond metro Atlanta was pushed into area code 706 (which is now overlaid with area code 762).

Residents of exurban areas complained about no longer being identified with 404, and BellSouth (now AT&T) brought them back in, also adding them to what was already (and still is) the world's largest toll-free calling zone. This, however, hastened the addition of another area code to metro Atlanta, forcing all of its suburbs and exurbs into area code 770 on August 1, 1995, but leaving all cellphones in 404. On January 1, 1998, area code 678 was overlaid onto all of both 404 and 770, and the FCC then forced ten-digit dialing for every call. Because the FCC would not allow an area code to apply only to cellphones, this also threw open the doors to new mobile numbers also having 678 or 770 instead of just 404.

On September 2, 2001, area code 470 was overlaid on top of the 404, 770, and 678 area codes. Once phone numbers in the 678 area code are exhausted, phone numbers in the 470 area code will be assigned. This is likely to create confusion however, as it is common local shorthand to write only the first digit of the area code. Also potentially leading to misdialed calls is that it ends in "70" just like 770, and can easily be mistaken in the south metro area for adjacent area code 478. The number was chosen by the Georgia Public Service Commission and approved by NANPA, as was the repeated and arbitrary flip-flopping between splits and overlays for new area codes in the state.

High-capacity telephone numbers, such as for contest lines for radio stations, are assigned prefix 741. When 770 was split, these numbers continued to work as both 404-741-xxxx and as 770-741-xxxx, so that only seven-digit dialing was necessary. This lasted until 678 came into use. There are also other prefixes which are not assigned to just one exchange, such as 499 and 528 used by Cobb county government and formerly SPSU. These were completely moved into 770.

In the video game Blitz: The League II, there is a fictional team called the Atlanta 404, an obvious reference to the area code.

In the music video for "Whatever You Like" by T.I., T.I. hands the girl at the fast food restaurant a piece of paper with his phone number on it. The area code is 404.