Area code 561

Area code 561 is the telephone area code in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was created on May 13, 1996, in a split from area code 407. Notable cities within 561 are Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Wellington, Boynton Beach, Jupiter, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade.

The creation of 561 was intended as a long-term solution. However, within only five years, 561 was close to exhaustion once again due to rapid growth in the Palm Beaches/Treasure Coast region and the proliferation of cell phones. The supply of numbers was further limited because all of South Florida from the Treasure Coast to the Florida Keys is a single LATA, meaning numbers in Miami's 305/786 and Fort Lauderdale's 954/754 were not available for use. To solve the problem, in 2002 the northern part of 561 (the Treasure Coast) became area code 772.

Because of the Palm Beaches' continued growth, 561 is close to exhaustion; the Palm Beaches will likely need a second area code by 2023. An overlay plan with a yet-to-be-determined new area code was approved for implementation in late 2022 or early 2023.[1]

Prior to October 2021, area code 561 had telephone numbers assigned for the central office code 988. In 2020, 988 was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which created a conflict for exchanges that permit seven-digit dialing. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to ten-digit dialing by October 24, 2021.[2]