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GlossaryDispatch and call records

Text-to-911

Text-to-911 lets people contact a supported emergency center by text. Learn what a text session represents in records and why availability must be checked locally.

Text-to-911 is a supported way to contact an emergency communications center by sending a text message to 911. It can provide access when a voice call is not possible or safe. Availability and accepted message formats depend on the local service. A sent text does not by itself establish that a center received or acted on it.

A communication channel with its own records

A text exchange can involve several messages about one event. The conversation may produce one dispatch record, no dispatch, or a transfer or referral under local procedures. Counting messages, sessions, and incidents therefore produces different measures.

The National 911 Program advises calling when possible and texting when a voice call cannot be made. Its public FAQ explains that where text service is unavailable, the sender should receive a bounce-back message indicating nondelivery. National 911 Program text guidance

This is a communication method, not a promise that every attachment or messaging application can reach 911. A jurisdiction's instructions should identify its supported service rather than relying on assumptions about a phone's ordinary messaging features.

Example

Hypothetical example: A person who cannot make a voice call sends a text with the location and a request for assistance. The call taker asks two clarifying questions, receives replies, and creates a dispatch event. The complete exchange contains seven messages.

Under a session-based measure, this is one text conversation. Under an individual-message measure, it is seven messages. Under an event-based measure, it is one dispatch. A report saying “seven emergency incidents” would misstate the example. A copy of the text conversation would also be a different record from the public dispatch summary.

Common confusion

A text-to-911 contact is different from messaging an agency's social-media account, sending an email, or submitting a non-emergency online report. Those channels have their own monitoring and acceptance rules.

Text-to-911 is also distinct from a complete Next Generation 911 implementation. NG911 is a broader infrastructure and interoperability framework. A center offering text service has established that capability; it has not necessarily established every other planned digital feature. National 911 Program NG911 overview

Reading text-contact statistics

Check whether the source counts messages or conversations, how it handles failed deliveries, and whether telephone follow-up is counted separately. An apparent increase can reflect a newly available channel rather than more emergencies. For interpreting a particular event, distinguish message sent time, center receipt, staff response, resource assignment, and arrival. Each marks a different step, and a public record may show only some of them.

Sources