988 3-digit dialing providing direct access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – to launch in July 2022
Suicide claimed the lives of more than 48,000 Americans in 2018, resulting in about one death every 11 minutes. In 2019, the FCC in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the North American Numbering Council released a report recommending the use of 988 as the 3-digit code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 3-digit new phone number – 988 – is for Americans in crisis to connect with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors on a national scale. The transition will result in all 988 calls to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by July 16, 2022.
The impact of 988 3-digit dialing is a change to mandatory 10 or 1+ 10-digit dialing in many states and area codes effective October 24, 2021, where 988 is used as an area code or as a working prefix. This includes all wireless and landline clients.
