502
Area code
KY
United States geographic area code, in service since 1947-01-01. Part of the 502/761 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required. NANPA has flagged this area code for relief planning.
Statusin service
Introduced1947-01-01
JurisdictionKY, US
Local dialing7D
Time zoneEastern
ReliefPlanning
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 95.2% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%754 of ~792 assignable NXX values (200–999 excl. N11)100%
Prefix-level assignment does not equal number-level exhaustion; thousands-block pooling extends capacity. First assignment on record 2001-02-06, most recent 2026-09-14.
Relief planning is under way for area code 502.
No planning letter has been issued yet for this cycle — this page will be updated the day one is published. Subscribe to the change-event feed to be notified.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “KY” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | BELLSOUTH TELECOMM INC DBA SOUTH CENTRAL BELL TEL | 195 | 25.9% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - GA | 87 | 11.5% |
| 03 | POWERTEL KENTUCKY LICENSES, INC. | 55 | 7.3% |
| 04 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - KY | 53 | 7% |
| 05 | ONVOY, LLC - KY | 50 | 6.6% |
| 06 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - KY | 36 | 4.8% |
| 07 | METROPCS, INC. | 33 | 4.4% |
| 08 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 29 | 3.8% |
| 09 | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - KY | 26 | 3.4% |
| 10 | TWC IP ENABLED SERVICES, LLC | 23 | 3.1% |
Important: these are initial assignees from NANPA CO-code records — the carrier a prefix was originally assigned to. Because of number portability, the current serving carrier of any individual number may differ.
Change history
Recorded events for this NPA- 1998-10-05 Jeopardy Conservation Procedures Announced for Kentucky NPA 502 jeopardy
- 1947-01-01Area code 502 entered service.
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 1999-02-01 | PL-155 ↗ | NANP-Split of 502 Numbering Plan Area (NPA) in Kentucky |
| 1998-10-05 | PL-140 ↗ | Jeopardy Conservation Procedures Announced for Kentucky NPA 502 |