In this work, we investigate through a formal approach the effects of multiple access interference and polarization mode dispersion on the blocking probability in optical code paths (OCP)s. These paths are determined by the data encoding with non‐coherent codes from code division multiplexing using prime code sequences. We modeled the blocking probability in the OCPs considering the outage probability like a threshold to determine the number of acceptable active OCPs in each wavelength. In this model, new OCPs are granted until the number of active OCPs on the wavelength reaches the blocking threshold; after that, requests are blocked. Results show quantitatively the contribution of multiple access interference effects and polarization mode dispersion constraints on the outage probability and their impact on the blocking probability in the OCPs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.