Evolution of Indiana area codes [Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission website http://www.in.gov/iurc/2703.htm  ]
Make room for a possible new area code downstate. The state has scheduled a series of public meetings beginning in March to discuss that possibility for southern and south-central Indiana. Under the so-called overlay proposal requested by the telecom industry, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor says all customers in the 8-1-2 area would keep their current 812 numbers, and a new area code would be assigned to new customers, phones, and devices throughout that region.
The state says 812, which includes cities like Terre Haute, Evansville and Bloomington, is the last of Indiana's 3 original area codes to need long term relief through the addition of a new code.
Before 2005, most new area codes were implemented using a geographic split. That's what happened when new area codes were added to the original 2-1-9 in northern Indiana in 2001, and for the central Indiana's 317 area code in 1996.   The 812 area code is projected to run out of numbers in 2015.
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