Text-to-911 is Here

Four major U.S. carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, now offer text-to-911 in select areas. This new option is NOT yet live across all states and counties in the U.S. and how these texts are handled will vary from region to region.

It is up to each 911 call center to decide if and when to begin accepting texts. Some call centers have started to accept text messages already. Even so, in areas where text-to-911 is available, consumers should continue to contact 911 by making a voice call if they can, and use text only if voice is not a feasible or safe option.

Consumers sending a text in areas where the service has yet to go live will receive an automatic “bounce-back” message informing them that the service is not available.

States that have participating counties include Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provides details on deployment status as of May 16, 2014.

Learn More: http://www.fcc.gov/text-to-911