{"industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"emergency-calling","label":"Emergency Calling","description":"911, E911, and NG911 for VoIP and SIP: registration, location accuracy, and call routing.","schemaKind":null},"answer":{"id":"dc46b870-84ce-4ca3-97d2-5d91dd4818de","slug":"what-is-enhanced-911-e911","question":"What is Enhanced 911 (E911)?","answerMarkdown":"Enhanced 911, usually written E911, is the set of network capabilities that delivers a 911 caller's callback number and location to the public safety answering point handling the call, instead of just connecting the voice path. The FCC describes it as a capability that \"was developed to provide PSAPs with the caller's location and a call-back number as part of each 911 call.\"[5] Two data elements do most of that work: Automatic Number Identification (ANI), which identifies the calling party and can serve as the callback number, and Automatic Location Identification (ALI), which lets emergency responders identify where the caller is.[1] In the United States the term also covers a body of FCC rules in 47 CFR Part 9 that place E911 duties on wireless carriers, interconnected VoIP providers, and the multi-line telephone systems used in offices, hotels, campuses, and schools.[2][3][4] Since January 6, 2022, most of those platforms have had to deliver a validated street address plus the suite, floor, or room detail needed to find the caller, which the rules call dispatchable location.[1][4]","answerText":"Enhanced 911, usually written E911, is the set of network capabilities that delivers a 911 caller's callback number and location to the public safety answering point handling the call, instead of just connecting the voice path. The FCC describes it as a capability that \"was developed to provide PSAPs with the caller's location and a call-back number as part of each 911 call.\"[5] Two data elements do most of that work: Automatic Number Identification (ANI), which identifies the calling party and can serve as the callback number, and Automatic Location Identification (ALI), which lets emergency responders identify where the caller is.[1] In the United States the term also covers a body of FCC rules in 47 CFR Part 9 that place E911 duties on wireless carriers, interconnected VoIP providers, and the multi-line telephone systems used in offices, hotels, campuses, and schools.[2][3][4] Since January 6, 2022, most of those platforms have had to deliver a validated street address plus the suite, floor, or room detail needed to find the caller, which the rules call dispatchable location.[1][4]","answerHtml":"<p>Enhanced 911, usually written E911, is the set of network capabilities that delivers a 911 caller&#39;s callback number and location to the public safety answering point handling the call, instead of just connecting the voice path. The FCC describes it as a capability that &quot;was developed to provide PSAPs with the caller&#39;s location and a call-back number as part of each 911 call.&quot;<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a> Two data elements do most of that work: Automatic Number Identification (ANI), which identifies the calling party and can serve as the callback number, and Automatic Location Identification (ALI), which lets emergency responders identify where the caller is.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> In the United States the term also covers a body of FCC rules in 47 CFR Part 9 that place E911 duties on wireless carriers, interconnected VoIP providers, and the multi-line telephone systems used in offices, hotels, campuses, and schools.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a> Since January 6, 2022, most of those platforms have had to deliver a validated street address plus the suite, floor, or room detail needed to find the caller, which the rules call dispatchable location.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a></p>\n","summary":"E911 adds two things to a plain 911 call: a callback number and a location the dispatcher can act on. It began as a wireline and wireless capability and is now a compliance obligation for VoIP platforms and business phone systems, with dispatchable location, on-site notification, and direct 911 dialing written into FCC rules. Next Generation 911 is gradually replacing the selective router and location database design underneath it.","publishedAt":"2026-07-20T16:31:50.28","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","editorialStatus":"APPROVED","lastReviewedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","nextReviewDueAt":"2026-10-17T00:00:00","templateVersion":"v2","aliases":["What does E911 mean?","Enhanced 911 definition","What is Enhanced 9-1-1?","How does E911 work?","E911 vs 911","What is E911 service?","What does Enhanced 911 give dispatchers?","E911 meaning in telecom","What are E911 requirements for businesses?","What is ALI and ANI in 911?","Is E911 the same as NG911?","What is dispatchable location for 911?"],"confidenceScore":94,"confidenceLabel":"High","canonicalUrl":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"contributorOrganizationProfile":{"entityId":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","legalName":null,"description":null,"websiteUrl":null,"imageUrl":null,"slogan":null,"subtitle":null,"facts":[],"coiNote":null,"foundingDate":null,"numberOfEmployeesText":null,"contactPoint":null,"address":null,"headquartersText":null,"organizationType":null},"contributorPerson":{"slug":"answerstack-editorial-team","displayName":"AnswerStack Editorial Team"},"sections":[{"id":"3c3a366e-a76b-4313-84ca-0b2c537b8634","sectionKey":"what_e911_does","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What does Enhanced 911 do that basic 911 does not?","introMarkdown":"Basic 911 connects a caller to an answering point and stops there. Enhanced 911 attaches a callback number and a location record to that same call, delivered automatically so the call taker is not depending on a frightened or injured person to describe where they are. The FCC states the purpose in one line: E911 \"was developed to provide PSAPs with the caller's location and a call-back number as part of each 911 call.\"[5]\n\nThe number is older than the data behind it. Congress designated 9-1-1 as the universal emergency assistance number in the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, which also set out federal support for states upgrading their 911 capabilities.[7] The rules that attach data to that number now sit in 47 CFR Part 9, which defines a public safety answering point, or PSAP, as \"an answering point that has been designated to receive 911 calls and route them to emergency services personnel.\"[1]\n\n### The two data elements\n\nAutomatic Number Identification identifies the calling party and may be used as the callback number, so an answering point can reestablish a 911 call that drops.[1] Automatic Location Identification is defined in the same rule as information \"transmitted while providing E911 service that permits emergency service providers to identify the geographic location of the calling party.\"[1] On a legacy landline that record was a street address tied to the billing telephone number, while a wireless call returns latitude and longitude and a properly configured business phone system returns an address with a floor or room attached.[1][2]\n\n### How the scope kept widening\n\nE911 began as a wireline capability and reached wireless in stages. Phase I required carriers to give the PSAP the caller's number and the location of the cell site handling the call, and Phase II required latitude and longitude accurate to somewhere between 50 and 300 meters depending on the technology in use.[8][2] Interconnected VoIP providers then picked up their own E911 duties, including an obligation to warn subscribers in plain language about the circumstances in which E911 may be limited or unavailable and to keep a record that each subscriber acknowledged that warning.[3] Multi-line telephone systems in offices, hotels, campuses, and schools came last, through Kari's Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM'S Act.[4][5]","introHtml":"<p>Basic 911 connects a caller to an answering point and stops there. Enhanced 911 attaches a callback number and a location record to that same call, delivered automatically so the call taker is not depending on a frightened or injured person to describe where they are. The FCC states the purpose in one line: E911 &quot;was developed to provide PSAPs with the caller&#39;s location and a call-back number as part of each 911 call.&quot;<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a></p>\n<p>The number is older than the data behind it. Congress designated 9-1-1 as the universal emergency assistance number in the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, which also set out federal support for states upgrading their 911 capabilities.<a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ81/html/PLAW-106publ81.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[7]</a> The rules that attach data to that number now sit in 47 CFR Part 9, which defines a public safety answering point, or PSAP, as &quot;an answering point that has been designated to receive 911 calls and route them to emergency services personnel.&quot;<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a></p>\n<h3>The two data elements</h3>\n<p>Automatic Number Identification identifies the calling party and may be used as the callback number, so an answering point can reestablish a 911 call that drops.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> Automatic Location Identification is defined in the same rule as information &quot;transmitted while providing E911 service that permits emergency service providers to identify the geographic location of the calling party.&quot;<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> On a legacy landline that record was a street address tied to the billing telephone number, while a wireless call returns latitude and longitude and a properly configured business phone system returns an address with a floor or room attached.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a></p>\n<h3>How the scope kept widening</h3>\n<p>E911 began as a wireline capability and reached wireless in stages. Phase I required carriers to give the PSAP the caller&#39;s number and the location of the cell site handling the call, and Phase II required latitude and longitude accurate to somewhere between 50 and 300 meters depending on the technology in use.<a href=\"https://transition.fcc.gov/hspc/factsheets/enhanced911.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[8]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a> Interconnected VoIP providers then picked up their own E911 duties, including an obligation to warn subscribers in plain language about the circumstances in which E911 may be limited or unavailable and to keep a record that each subscriber acknowledged that warning.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a> Multi-line telephone systems in offices, hotels, campuses, and schools came last, through Kari&#39;s Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM&#39;S Act.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a><a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a></p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":0},{"id":"dc54a113-8e6b-4230-a3d8-49675ae72a84","sectionKey":"building_blocks_table","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"What are the four building blocks of an E911 call?","introMarkdown":"An E911 call carries more than voice. The network identifies the caller, attaches a location record, chooses an answering point based on that location, and hands the call taker an address precise enough to dispatch on.[1][5] The table below summarizes who supplies each piece, and the sections after it explain what each one is for and what tends to go wrong with it.","introHtml":"<p>An E911 call carries more than voice. The network identifies the caller, attaches a location record, chooses an answering point based on that location, and hands the call taker an address precise enough to dispatch on.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a><a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a> The table below summarizes who supplies each piece, and the sections after it explain what each one is for and what tends to go wrong with it.</p>\n","outroMarkdown":"Each block has its own failure mode and its own owner, which is why enterprise compliance work usually starts with an inventory of which system holds which piece of the chain.","outroHtml":"<p>Each block has its own failure mode and its own owner, which is why enterprise compliance work usually starts with an inventory of which system holds which piece of the chain.</p>\n","contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["Automatic Number Identification (ANI)","The calling party's number, usable as the callback number [1]","Originating wireless carrier or VoIP provider [2][3]","47 CFR 9.3, 9.10(d), 9.11(b)(2) [1][2][3]"]},{"cells":["Automatic Location Identification (ALI)","The record that lets responders identify the caller's geographic location [1]","The ALI database serving the PSAP, populated by the service provider [3]","47 CFR 9.3, 9.11(b)(2)(iv) [1][3]"]},{"cells":["Selective routing over the Wireline E911 Network","Delivery of the call to the answering point that serves the caller's location [1]","The 911 system service provider operating the selective router [1]","47 CFR 9.3, 9.11(b)(2)(iii) [1][3]"]},{"cells":["Dispatchable location","Validated street address plus suite, floor, or room detail [1]","Wireless carrier, VoIP provider, or MLTS operator [2][4]","47 CFR 9.3, 9.10(i), 9.16(b)(3) [1][2][4]"]}],"columns":["Building block","What it carries","Who supplies it","Where the rule lives"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":1},{"id":"1f3fbc8a-cf24-4af5-81a3-580407a6fa38","sectionKey":"ani","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How does automatic number identification work in a 911 call?","introMarkdown":"ANI is the calling party's number, delivered with the call and used by the answering point as the callback number.[1] The FCC's Phase I wireless rules were built directly on it, requiring licensees to provide the PSAP with the telephone number of the 911 caller and the location of the cell site receiving the call, through the use of ANI and Pseudo-ANI.[2]\n\nPseudo-ANI covers the cases where a real directory number will not do the job. Part 9 defines it as a number with the same digit count as an ANI that is not a North American Numbering Plan directory number and that carries a special meaning agreed between the systems that originate and route the call.[1] Legacy wireless and enterprise deployments used it as a routing and lookup key, which is how a single physical building could present separate location records for separate floors.\n\nThe practical failure here is a callback that reaches the wrong phone. If a business phone system presents its main billing number rather than the extension that dialed, the PSAP calls a switchboard instead of the person in trouble, which is why the MLTS notification rules require a valid callback number in the alert sent to on-site staff.[1]","introHtml":"<p>ANI is the calling party&#39;s number, delivered with the call and used by the answering point as the callback number.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> The FCC&#39;s Phase I wireless rules were built directly on it, requiring licensees to provide the PSAP with the telephone number of the 911 caller and the location of the cell site receiving the call, through the use of ANI and Pseudo-ANI.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a></p>\n<p>Pseudo-ANI covers the cases where a real directory number will not do the job. Part 9 defines it as a number with the same digit count as an ANI that is not a North American Numbering Plan directory number and that carries a special meaning agreed between the systems that originate and route the call.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> Legacy wireless and enterprise deployments used it as a routing and lookup key, which is how a single physical building could present separate location records for separate floors.</p>\n<p>The practical failure here is a callback that reaches the wrong phone. If a business phone system presents its main billing number rather than the extension that dialed, the PSAP calls a switchboard instead of the person in trouble, which is why the MLTS notification rules require a valid callback number in the alert sent to on-site staff.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a></p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":2},{"id":"7880a74d-724f-4b55-9f14-adf941e77a9c","sectionKey":"ali","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What does automatic location identification actually deliver?","introMarkdown":"ALI is the location half of E911, defined in Part 9 as information transmitted while providing E911 service that permits emergency service providers to identify the geographic location of the calling party.[1] In the legacy architecture it is a database lookup rather than something the call itself carries. The call arrives with a number, the answering point queries an ALI database with that number, and the database returns a stored record.\n\nThat indirection explains most of the historical weak points, because the record is only as good as whatever was last written to it. A phone that moved to a different floor in March still reports its January address until somebody updates the database. The FCC's interconnected VoIP rules attack the same problem from the provider side, requiring that location information be available to the PSAP from or through the appropriate ALI database, and requiring nomadic services to obtain a Registered Location from the customer before service starts and then either prompt for a new one or update it automatically when the service is used somewhere else.[3]\n\nWhat ALI returns depends on the call type. A wireline call returns a civic address, while a wireless Phase II call returns latitude and longitude held to accuracy standards that run from 50 meters for 67 percent of calls on handset-based technology up to 300 meters for 90 percent of calls on network-based technology.[2] A correctly configured business phone system returns a civic address with the floor or room attached, which is the standard the MLTS rules now require.[4]","introHtml":"<p>ALI is the location half of E911, defined in Part 9 as information transmitted while providing E911 service that permits emergency service providers to identify the geographic location of the calling party.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> In the legacy architecture it is a database lookup rather than something the call itself carries. The call arrives with a number, the answering point queries an ALI database with that number, and the database returns a stored record.</p>\n<p>That indirection explains most of the historical weak points, because the record is only as good as whatever was last written to it. A phone that moved to a different floor in March still reports its January address until somebody updates the database. The FCC&#39;s interconnected VoIP rules attack the same problem from the provider side, requiring that location information be available to the PSAP from or through the appropriate ALI database, and requiring nomadic services to obtain a Registered Location from the customer before service starts and then either prompt for a new one or update it automatically when the service is used somewhere else.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a></p>\n<p>What ALI returns depends on the call type. A wireline call returns a civic address, while a wireless Phase II call returns latitude and longitude held to accuracy standards that run from 50 meters for 67 percent of calls on handset-based technology up to 300 meters for 90 percent of calls on network-based technology.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a> A correctly configured business phone system returns a civic address with the floor or room attached, which is the standard the MLTS rules now require.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a></p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":3},{"id":"7cde266f-1316-4e11-b31e-20d0c57cc0e0","sectionKey":"routing","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How does an E911 call reach the right answering point?","introMarkdown":"Routing is a separate problem from location, and in the legacy design it runs over dedicated infrastructure. Part 9 defines the Wireline E911 Network as a dedicated wireline network that is interconnected with but largely separate from the public switched telephone network, that includes a selective router, and that is used to route emergency calls and related information to PSAPs.[1] Interconnected VoIP providers are required to route all 911 calls through that network using ANI and, where necessary, pseudo-ANI, unless the call goes first to a national emergency call center because the provider cannot confirm the caller's location.[3]\n\nWireless routing has been the weaker link. Because a wireless 911 call was historically routed on the location of the tower handling it, a call placed near a jurisdictional boundary could land at a neighboring answering point and need a transfer before help was dispatched. The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions estimated that on average 12 percent of wireless legacy E911 voice calls nationwide are misrouted.[9]\n\nThe FCC's answer was location-based routing, adopted in January 2024, which requires wireless providers to route 911 voice calls and real-time text using precise device location rather than tower sector. Nationwide providers were given six months to implement it for voice calls, while non-nationwide providers and all providers implementing it for real-time text were given 24 months.[9] AT&T told the Commission that its own nationwide implementation gave roughly 10 percent of wireless 911 voice calls on its network a better route, so those calls no longer needed a transfer.[9]","introHtml":"<p>Routing is a separate problem from location, and in the legacy design it runs over dedicated infrastructure. Part 9 defines the Wireline E911 Network as a dedicated wireline network that is interconnected with but largely separate from the public switched telephone network, that includes a selective router, and that is used to route emergency calls and related information to PSAPs.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> Interconnected VoIP providers are required to route all 911 calls through that network using ANI and, where necessary, pseudo-ANI, unless the call goes first to a national emergency call center because the provider cannot confirm the caller&#39;s location.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a></p>\n<p>Wireless routing has been the weaker link. Because a wireless 911 call was historically routed on the location of the tower handling it, a call placed near a jurisdictional boundary could land at a neighboring answering point and need a transfer before help was dispatched. The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions estimated that on average 12 percent of wireless legacy E911 voice calls nationwide are misrouted.<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-4A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[9]</a></p>\n<p>The FCC&#39;s answer was location-based routing, adopted in January 2024, which requires wireless providers to route 911 voice calls and real-time text using precise device location rather than tower sector. Nationwide providers were given six months to implement it for voice calls, while non-nationwide providers and all providers implementing it for real-time text were given 24 months.<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-4A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[9]</a> AT&amp;T told the Commission that its own nationwide implementation gave roughly 10 percent of wireless 911 voice calls on its network a better route, so those calls no longer needed a transfer.<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-4A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[9]</a></p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":4},{"id":"907f9cbb-77f5-4755-839a-9ab7f449be07","sectionKey":"dispatchable_location","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What counts as a dispatchable location, and who has to provide one?","introMarkdown":"Part 9 defines dispatchable location as a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911 call consisting of the validated street address of the calling party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.[1] Validation carries as much weight as the address itself, since the wireless version of the definition adds that the street address must be validated and, to the extent possible, corroborated against other location information before it is delivered.[2]\n\n### What Kari's Law requires\n\nKari's Law Act of 2017 amended the Communications Act to require that a multi-line telephone system be pre-configured so a user can dial 911 directly from any station equipped with dialing facilities, without any additional digit, code, prefix, or trunk-access code such as the digit 9.[6] The law is named for Kari Hunt, who was killed in a motel room in Marshall, Texas in 2013 while her nine-year-old daughter tried four times to reach 911 from the room phone and never got through, because she did not know the system required dialing 9 first.[5] It applies to any MLTS manufactured, imported, first sold or leased, or installed after February 16, 2020.[5]\n\nThe same rule adds MLTS notification, meaning an alert to a security desk or other monitored location that goes out contemporaneously with the 911 call and must not delay it. At minimum that alert has to report that a 911 call was made, give a valid callback number, and repeat the location conveyed to the PSAP.[1][4]\n\n### What RAY BAUM'S Act added\n\nSection 506 of RAY BAUM'S Act directed the FCC to ensure that dispatchable location travels with a 911 call regardless of the technological platform used.[5] The resulting deadlines are specific. On-premises fixed telephones on an MLTS had to provide automated dispatchable location no later than January 6, 2021, and on-premises non-fixed devices and off-premises devices had until January 6, 2022, with a fallback to an end-user manual update or, for off-premises devices, coordinate-based enhanced location where automation is not technically feasible.[4] Fixed interconnected VoIP services carry the same automated dispatchable location duty, while non-fixed VoIP services work down a feasibility ladder through Registered Location, alternative location information, and routing to a national emergency call center.[3] Compliance vendors read the scope the same way, describing the obligations as reaching any US organization operating an MLTS, from hotels and hospitals to schools and offices.[13]\n\n### The wireless equivalent\n\nWireless carriers are held to a parallel standard expressed in coordinates. Nationwide providers had to deliver either dispatchable location or an x/y location within 50 meters for 80 percent of wireless 911 calls at the six-year benchmark, and they had until April 3, 2025 to deploy either dispatchable location or z-axis technology on a nationwide basis.[2] Where z-axis is used, the metric is within 3 meters above or below the handset for 80 percent of calls from a z-axis capable device, reported as Height Above Ellipsoid, with floor level added when the carrier has it.[2] Since January 6, 2022, all CMRS providers have had to provide dispatchable location with wireless E911 calls where doing so is technically feasible.[2]","introHtml":"<p>Part 9 defines dispatchable location as a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911 call consisting of the validated street address of the calling party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a> Validation carries as much weight as the address itself, since the wireless version of the definition adds that the street address must be validated and, to the extent possible, corroborated against other location information before it is delivered.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a></p>\n<h3>What Kari&#39;s Law requires</h3>\n<p>Kari&#39;s Law Act of 2017 amended the Communications Act to require that a multi-line telephone system be pre-configured so a user can dial 911 directly from any station equipped with dialing facilities, without any additional digit, code, prefix, or trunk-access code such as the digit 9.<a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-115publ127/html/PLAW-115publ127.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[6]</a> The law is named for Kari Hunt, who was killed in a motel room in Marshall, Texas in 2013 while her nine-year-old daughter tried four times to reach 911 from the room phone and never got through, because she did not know the system required dialing 9 first.<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a> It applies to any MLTS manufactured, imported, first sold or leased, or installed after February 16, 2020.<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a></p>\n<p>The same rule adds MLTS notification, meaning an alert to a security desk or other monitored location that goes out contemporaneously with the 911 call and must not delay it. At minimum that alert has to report that a 911 call was made, give a valid callback number, and repeat the location conveyed to the PSAP.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a></p>\n<h3>What RAY BAUM&#39;S Act added</h3>\n<p>Section 506 of RAY BAUM&#39;S Act directed the FCC to ensure that dispatchable location travels with a 911 call regardless of the technological platform used.<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a> The resulting deadlines are specific. On-premises fixed telephones on an MLTS had to provide automated dispatchable location no later than January 6, 2021, and on-premises non-fixed devices and off-premises devices had until January 6, 2022, with a fallback to an end-user manual update or, for off-premises devices, coordinate-based enhanced location where automation is not technically feasible.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a> Fixed interconnected VoIP services carry the same automated dispatchable location duty, while non-fixed VoIP services work down a feasibility ladder through Registered Location, alternative location information, and routing to a national emergency call center.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a> Compliance vendors read the scope the same way, describing the obligations as reaching any US organization operating an MLTS, from hotels and hospitals to schools and offices.<a href=\"https://www.intrado.com/blog/e911-compliance-karis-law-and-ray-baums-act\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[13]</a></p>\n<h3>The wireless equivalent</h3>\n<p>Wireless carriers are held to a parallel standard expressed in coordinates. Nationwide providers had to deliver either dispatchable location or an x/y location within 50 meters for 80 percent of wireless 911 calls at the six-year benchmark, and they had until April 3, 2025 to deploy either dispatchable location or z-axis technology on a nationwide basis.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a> Where z-axis is used, the metric is within 3 meters above or below the handset for 80 percent of calls from a z-axis capable device, reported as Height Above Ellipsoid, with floor level added when the carrier has it.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a> Since January 6, 2022, all CMRS providers have had to provide dispatchable location with wireless E911 calls where doing so is technically feasible.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a></p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":5},{"id":"9e4a8660-8a96-4afe-a255-74958bac2aa0","sectionKey":"contributor_perspective","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How this answer was researched","introMarkdown":"This entry was assembled from the primary regulatory record rather than from vendor marketing. The definitions, deadlines, and accuracy thresholds above come from the text of 47 CFR Part 9 as currently in force, from the FCC Report and Order that implemented Kari's Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM'S Act, and from the statutes as published by the Government Publishing Office.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Vendor documentation is cited only where it shows how a specific platform implements a rule, and third-party commentary only where it corroborates a date or a scope question.[12][13][14] Rules in this area move quickly: the location-based routing and Next Generation 911 orders both changed obligations after 2023, and one 911 rule provision was repealed as obsolete in 2026.[9][10][11] Practitioners with field experience of PSAP delivery, ALI database administration, or MLTS location management are invited to submit corrections and additions.","introHtml":"<p>This entry was assembled from the primary regulatory record rather than from vendor marketing. The definitions, deadlines, and accuracy thresholds above come from the text of 47 CFR Part 9 as currently in force, from the FCC Report and Order that implemented Kari&#39;s Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM&#39;S Act, and from the statutes as published by the Government Publishing Office.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a><a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a><a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[5]</a><a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-115publ127/html/PLAW-115publ127.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[6]</a><a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ81/html/PLAW-106publ81.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[7]</a> Vendor documentation is cited only where it shows how a specific platform implements a rule, and third-party commentary only where it corroborates a date or a scope question.<a href=\"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-are-emergency-locations-addresses-and-call-routing\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[12]</a><a href=\"https://www.intrado.com/blog/e911-compliance-karis-law-and-ray-baums-act\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[13]</a><a href=\"https://www.atlantech.net/blog/nomadic-e911\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[14]</a> Rules in this area move quickly: the location-based routing and Next Generation 911 orders both changed obligations after 2023, and one 911 rule provision was repealed as obsolete in 2026.<a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-4A1.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[9]</a><a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-09-24/html/2024-18603.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[10]</a><a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/html/2026-00612.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[11]</a> Practitioners with field experience of PSAP delivery, ALI database administration, or MLTS location management are invited to submit corrections and additions.</p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":"This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.","noteHtml":"<p>This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.</p>\n","sortOrder":6},{"id":"0a66aecb-5dd3-47e8-b487-3c73936ce8ca","sectionKey":"limits_and_successor","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Where does E911 fall short, and what is replacing it?","introMarkdown":"### The location record can be stale\n\nIn the legacy architecture E911 location data is a stored record rather than a live measurement. A desk phone that moved floors, or a softphone signed in from a hotel room, can produce a call that routes and displays confidently to the wrong address. The FCC's response for nomadic VoIP is a duty on the provider to detect that the service is being used somewhere other than the Registered Location and then either prompt the customer for a new one or update it without customer action.[3]\n\n### Remote and mobile users are the hard case\n\nOff-premises devices on a business system are allowed to fall back to coordinate-based enhanced location when automated dispatchable location is not technically feasible, which is a materially lower bar than a street address with a floor number.[4] Platform vendors close some of that gap with network mapping. Microsoft, for example, ties Teams emergency locations to validated civic addresses carrying geo codes, and lets administrators associate subnets and Wi-Fi access points with those locations so the client reports where it actually is.[12] Nomadic implementations track the endpoint's current location instead of a static record, either through that kind of network mapping or by carrying location in the SIP signaling itself.[12][14]\n\n### The architecture underneath is being replaced\n\nNext Generation 911 moves emergency traffic onto IP networks and away from selective routers and ALI database lookups. In September 2024 the FCC adopted rules defining the responsibilities of originating service providers and setting deadlines for delivering 911 calls to NG911 systems, while preserving the authority of state, territorial, regional, Tribal, and local governments over configuration, timing, and cost.[10] The transition runs at different speeds in different jurisdictions, so a national enterprise will be delivering into legacy and NG911 systems at the same time for years.\n\n### The rulebook itself keeps shifting\n\nIn January 2026 the FCC published a direct final rule removing provisions it considered obsolete, including the pre-2021 transitional VoIP E911 paragraph at 47 CFR 9.11(a) and the dispatch-service exception at 9.10(n), effective March 16, 2026.[11] A compliance document written against older citations can now point at paragraphs that no longer exist.","introHtml":"<h3>The location record can be stale</h3>\n<p>In the legacy architecture E911 location data is a stored record rather than a live measurement. A desk phone that moved floors, or a softphone signed in from a hotel room, can produce a call that routes and displays confidently to the wrong address. The FCC&#39;s response for nomadic VoIP is a duty on the provider to detect that the service is being used somewhere other than the Registered Location and then either prompt the customer for a new one or update it without customer action.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a></p>\n<h3>Remote and mobile users are the hard case</h3>\n<p>Off-premises devices on a business system are allowed to fall back to coordinate-based enhanced location when automated dispatchable location is not technically feasible, which is a materially lower bar than a street address with a floor number.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a> Platform vendors close some of that gap with network mapping. Microsoft, for example, ties Teams emergency locations to validated civic addresses carrying geo codes, and lets administrators associate subnets and Wi-Fi access points with those locations so the client reports where it actually is.<a href=\"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-are-emergency-locations-addresses-and-call-routing\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[12]</a> Nomadic implementations track the endpoint&#39;s current location instead of a static record, either through that kind of network mapping or by carrying location in the SIP signaling itself.<a href=\"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-are-emergency-locations-addresses-and-call-routing\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[12]</a><a href=\"https://www.atlantech.net/blog/nomadic-e911\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[14]</a></p>\n<h3>The architecture underneath is being replaced</h3>\n<p>Next Generation 911 moves emergency traffic onto IP networks and away from selective routers and ALI database lookups. In September 2024 the FCC adopted rules defining the responsibilities of originating service providers and setting deadlines for delivering 911 calls to NG911 systems, while preserving the authority of state, territorial, regional, Tribal, and local governments over configuration, timing, and cost.<a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-09-24/html/2024-18603.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[10]</a> The transition runs at different speeds in different jurisdictions, so a national enterprise will be delivering into legacy and NG911 systems at the same time for years.</p>\n<h3>The rulebook itself keeps shifting</h3>\n<p>In January 2026 the FCC published a direct final rule removing provisions it considered obsolete, including the pre-2021 transitional VoIP E911 paragraph at 47 CFR 9.11(a) and the dispatch-service exception at 9.10(n), effective March 16, 2026.<a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/html/2026-00612.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[11]</a> A compliance document written against older citations can now point at paragraphs that no longer exist.</p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":7},{"id":"28cc7a71-c930-47e5-8bdf-0d28913c193a","sectionKey":"what_e911_is_not","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What Enhanced 911 is not","introMarkdown":"### It is not the same thing as 911\n\nBasic 911 is the duty to deliver the call. Wireless carriers must transmit all 911 calls to a PSAP regardless of whether the caller subscribes to their service, and that obligation exists independently of the Phase I and Phase II location duties layered on top of it.[2][8]\n\n### It is not Next Generation 911\n\nNG911 is the IP-based replacement architecture, with its own FCC implementation rules adopted in 2024.[10] E911 describes the legacy capability set that NG911 is designed to absorb and extend, so a given answering point can be receiving E911 data today and NG911 data next year with nothing changing on the caller's handset.\n\n### It is not a product you buy once\n\nThe rules assign duties to different parties at different stages. Manufacturers and importers may not ship a multi-line telephone system unless it is pre-configured for direct 911 dialing and capable of providing dispatchable location, and installers, managers, and operators may not run one unless it stays configured that way with current location data.[4] An organization that buys an E911 solution and never revalidates addresses after an office move is still exposed under the operator duty, whatever the product does.\n\n### It is not a guarantee of per-call accuracy\n\nThe wireless standards are statistical thresholds rather than promises about any individual call, which is why they are written as 50 meters for 67 percent of calls or z-axis within 3 meters for 80 percent of calls.[2] Interconnected VoIP providers must also warn every subscriber, prominently and in plain language, about the circumstances in which E911 may be unavailable or limited, including loss of electrical power and relocation of the end user's equipment.[3]","introHtml":"<h3>It is not the same thing as 911</h3>\n<p>Basic 911 is the duty to deliver the call. Wireless carriers must transmit all 911 calls to a PSAP regardless of whether the caller subscribes to their service, and that obligation exists independently of the Phase I and Phase II location duties layered on top of it.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a><a href=\"https://transition.fcc.gov/hspc/factsheets/enhanced911.pdf\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[8]</a></p>\n<h3>It is not Next Generation 911</h3>\n<p>NG911 is the IP-based replacement architecture, with its own FCC implementation rules adopted in 2024.<a href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-09-24/html/2024-18603.htm\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[10]</a> E911 describes the legacy capability set that NG911 is designed to absorb and extend, so a given answering point can be receiving E911 data today and NG911 data next year with nothing changing on the caller&#39;s handset.</p>\n<h3>It is not a product you buy once</h3>\n<p>The rules assign duties to different parties at different stages. Manufacturers and importers may not ship a multi-line telephone system unless it is pre-configured for direct 911 dialing and capable of providing dispatchable location, and installers, managers, and operators may not run one unless it stays configured that way with current location data.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[4]</a> An organization that buys an E911 solution and never revalidates addresses after an office move is still exposed under the operator duty, whatever the product does.</p>\n<h3>It is not a guarantee of per-call accuracy</h3>\n<p>The wireless standards are statistical thresholds rather than promises about any individual call, which is why they are written as 50 meters for 67 percent of calls or z-axis within 3 meters for 80 percent of calls.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]</a> Interconnected VoIP providers must also warn every subscriber, prominently and in plain language, about the circumstances in which E911 may be unavailable or limited, including loss of electrical power and relocation of the end user&#39;s equipment.<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11\" class=\"citation-ref\" data-citation-index=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]</a></p>\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":8}],"citations":[{"title":"47 CFR 9.3, Definitions: Interconnected VoIP service","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3","excerpt":"Automatic Location Information (ALI). Information transmitted while providing E911 service that permits emergency service providers to identify the geographic location of the calling party.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Regulatory definitions of ALI, ANI, Pseudo-ANI, PSAP, dispatchable location, automated dispatchable location, MLTS, MLTS notification, Registered Location, and the Wireline E911 Network.","domain":"law.cornell.edu","publisherName":"Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School"},{"title":"47 CFR § 9.10: 911 Service","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10","excerpt":"CMRS providers that deploy z-axis technology must do so consistent with the following z-axis accuracy metric: Within 3 meters above or below (plus or minus 3 meters) the handset for 80% of wireless E911 calls made from the z-axis capable device.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Basic 911 transmission duty, Phase I ANI and cell site requirements, Phase II latitude and longitude, network-based and handset-based accuracy standards, indoor horizontal 50 meter benchmarks, z-axis accuracy of plus or minus 3 meters for 80 percent of calls, the April 3, 2025 nationwide deployment ","domain":"law.cornell.edu","publisherName":"Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School"},{"title":"47 CFR 9.11: E911 service requirements for interconnected VoIP","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11","excerpt":"Providers of fixed interconnected VoIP services must provide automated dispatchable location with each 911 call.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Interconnected VoIP E911 duties: delivery of ANI and location, routing over the Wireline E911 Network, ALI database availability, automated dispatchable location for fixed service, the Registered Location and alternative location ladder for non-fixed service, and the customer notification and acknow","domain":"law.cornell.edu","publisherName":"Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School"},{"title":"47 CFR § 9.16: General obligations for direct 911 dialing, notification, and dispatchable location","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16","excerpt":"An on-premises fixed telephone associated with a multi-line telephone system shall provide automated dispatchable location no later than January 6, 2021.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"MLTS direct 911 dialing without a trunk-access prefix, manufacturer and installer and operator duties, MLTS notification rules, and the January 6, 2021 and January 6, 2022 dispatchable location deadlines for on-premises fixed, on-premises non-fixed, and off-premises devices.","domain":"law.cornell.edu","publisherName":"Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School"},{"title":"Implementing Kari's Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM'S Act, Report and Order (FCC 19-76)","url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf","excerpt":"Enhanced 911 (E911) was developed to provide PSAPs with the caller's location and a call-back number as part of each 911 call.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"The FCC's own statement of what E911 was developed to do, the Kari Hunt background, the February 16, 2020 applicability date of Kari's Law, and the RAY BAUM'S Act Section 506 mandate on dispatchable location.","domain":"docs.fcc.gov","publisherName":"Federal Communications Commission"},{"title":"Kari's Law Act of 2017, Public Law 115-127","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-115publ127/html/PLAW-115publ127.htm","excerpt":"a user may directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 from any station equipped with dialing facilities, without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit `9'","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Statutory text requiring multi-line telephone systems to be pre-configured for direct 911 dialing without a trunk-access code, plus the on-site notification requirement.","domain":"govinfo.gov","publisherName":"U.S. Government Publishing Office"},{"title":"Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, Public Law 106-81","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ81/html/PLAW-106publ81.htm","excerpt":"To promote and enhance public safety through use of 9-1-1 as the universal emergency assistance number, further deployment of wireless 9-1-1 service, support of States in upgrading 9-1-1 capabilities and related functions","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Congressional designation of 9-1-1 as the universal emergency assistance number and federal support for state 911 upgrades.","domain":"govinfo.gov","publisherName":"U.S. Government Publishing Office"},{"title":"Enhanced 9-1-1 (E911) consumer fact sheet","url":"https://transition.fcc.gov/hspc/factsheets/enhanced911.pdf","excerpt":"This location information must meet FCC accuracy standards. Generally, it must be accurate to within 50-300 meters (depending on the type of technology used).","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Plain-language summary of basic 911, Phase I, and Phase II wireless rules, including the 50 to 300 meter accuracy range depending on technology.","domain":"transition.fcc.gov","publisherName":"Federal Communications Commission"},{"title":"Location-Based Routing for Wireless 911 Calls, Report and Order (FCC 24-4)","url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-4A1.pdf","excerpt":"The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) estimates that on average 12% of wireless legacy E911 voice calls nationwide are misrouted.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Legacy tower-based routing and misrouted calls, the ATIS estimate that 12 percent of wireless legacy E911 voice calls are misrouted nationwide, AT&T's reported 10 percent routing improvement, and the six month and 24 month implementation windows.","domain":"docs.fcc.gov","publisherName":"Federal Communications Commission"},{"title":"Facilitating Implementation of Next Generation 911 Services (NG911); Location-Based Routing for Wireless 911 Calls","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-09-24/html/2024-18603.htm","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"The 2024 NG911 Report and Order defining originating service provider responsibilities and deadlines for delivering 911 calls to NG911 systems, and the preservation of state, territorial, regional, Tribal, and local authority over configuration, timing, and cost.","domain":"govinfo.gov","publisherName":"Federal Register, U.S. Government Publishing Office"},{"title":"Delete, Delete, Delete (direct final rule)","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/html/2026-00612.htm","excerpt":"Section 9.11 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (a).","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Removal and reservation of 47 CFR 9.11(a) and 9.10(n) as obsolete, with an effective date of March 16, 2026.","domain":"govinfo.gov","publisherName":"Federal Register, U.S. Government Publishing Office"},{"title":"Plan and manage emergency calling - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-are-emergency-locations-addresses-and-call-routing","excerpt":"Dynamic emergency calling for Microsoft Calling Plans, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, and Direct Routing provides the capability to configure and route emergency calls and notify security personnel based on the current location of the Teams client.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Vendor implementation of dispatchable location: validated emergency addresses, places, emergency locations with geo codes, dynamic emergency calling based on the client's current location, and security desk notification.","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Kari's Law and RAY BAUM'S Act: E911 compliance","url":"https://www.intrado.com/blog/e911-compliance-karis-law-and-ray-baums-act","excerpt":"Kari's Law requires businesses to enable the direct dialing of 911 and directs the FCC to establish necessary 911 calling regulations for the MLTS.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Independent corroboration of the compliance scope and dates: direct 911 dialing and on-site notification under Kari's Law, dispatchable location under RAY BAUM'S Act, and applicability to any US organization operating an MLTS including hotels, hospitals, schools, and offices.","domain":"intrado.com","publisherName":"Intrado"},{"title":"Deep Intel on Nomadic E911 Service","url":"https://www.atlantech.net/blog/nomadic-e911","excerpt":"Nomadic E911 uses PIDF-LO (Presence Information Data Format-Location Object) to embed location information in SIP headers using XML format.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"SUPPORTING","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Practitioner description of nomadic E911, including carrying location in SIP signaling with PIDF-LO rather than relying on a static database record. Corroborated for the same claim by [12].","domain":"atlantech.net","publisherName":"Atlantech Online"}],"revisions":[],"relatedAnswers":[{"id":"15ad4570-a86c-44b3-9049-dbaeab431c77","slug":"can-i-dial-911-from-a-voip-phone","question":"Can I dial 911 from a VoIP phone?","publishedAt":"2026-07-20T16:37:02.316","confidenceScore":93,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"emergency-calling","label":"Emergency Calling","description":"911, E911, and NG911 for VoIP and SIP: registration, location accuracy, and call routing.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"United States rules treat 911 as a mandatory feature of interconnected VoIP rather than an add-on. The real variable is location. A fixed line reports a street address the provider registered, while a softphone or a business handset depends on whatever address the platform can detect or an administrator last entered. Calling apps that never touch the public phone network sit outside the rules entirely.","url":"/q/can-i-dial-911-from-a-voip-phone"},{"id":"b03c7fc2-b75b-407b-94c2-28d16792a61d","slug":"how-do-i-register-a-voip-phone-for-911","question":"How do I register a VoIP phone for 911?","publishedAt":"2026-07-20T16:31:58.611","confidenceScore":92,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"emergency-calling","label":"Emergency Calling","description":"911, E911, and NG911 for VoIP and SIP: registration, location accuracy, and call routing.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Registering a VoIP phone for 911 has five parts: find out whether you or an administrator controls the record, enter a validated street address, attach it to the right line and device, add dynamic location for anything portable, and confirm the result with a 933 test call. Fixed desk phones can run on a static address, while laptops and mobile apps need location derived from Wi-Fi, subnet, or switch data at call time.","url":"/q/how-do-i-register-a-voip-phone-for-911"},{"id":"eec6f088-b596-4007-a107-81939f09ee74","slug":"what-is-a-psap-public-safety-answering-point","question":"What is a PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point)?","publishedAt":"2026-07-20T16:31:56.115","confidenceScore":93,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"emergency-calling","label":"Emergency Calling","description":"911, E911, and NG911 for VoIP and SIP: registration, location accuracy, and call routing.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"A PSAP is the designated 911 answering center that sits between the phone network and emergency responders. This answer covers the regulatory definition, the difference between primary, secondary, and backup answering points, how a call reaches the right center under legacy E911 and Next Generation 911, and the practical limits of what any single PSAP can do.","url":"/q/what-is-a-psap-public-safety-answering-point"},{"id":"d646fe66-5b68-41ac-9f7a-3a885825df52","slug":"what-is-next-generation-911-ng911-and-how-is-it-different-from-e911","question":"What is Next Generation 911 (NG911), and how is it different from E911?","publishedAt":"2026-07-20T16:31:53.296","confidenceScore":92,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"emergency-calling","label":"Emergency Calling","description":"911, E911, and NG911 for VoIP and SIP: registration, location accuracy, and call routing.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Legacy E911 hands a 911 call to a selective router that consults a stored address table to pick an answering center. NG911 carries the same call as a SIP session over an Emergency Services IP Network, chooses the destination by mapping a validated location against response zone boundaries, and can accept text, images, video, and data. US rules make the switch request-driven rather than scheduled: providers get six or twelve months to comply once a 911 authority certifies its network is ready.","url":"/q/what-is-next-generation-911-ng911-and-how-is-it-different-from-e911"}],"contributorStats":{"verifiedAnswers":224,"openDisputes":0},"schemaJson":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Question","name":"What is Enhanced 911 (E911)?","text":"What is Enhanced 911 (E911)?","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-is-enhanced-911-e911","answerCount":1,"datePublished":"2026-07-20T16:31:50.28","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Emergency Calling"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Telecommunications"}],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Enhanced 911, usually written E911, is the set of network capabilities that delivers a 911 caller's callback number and location to the public safety answering point handling the call, instead of just connecting the voice path. The FCC describes it as a capability that \"was developed to provide PSAPs with the caller's location and a call-back number as part of each 911 call.\"[5] Two data elements do most of that work: Automatic Number Identification (ANI), which identifies the calling party and can serve as the callback number, and Automatic Location Identification (ALI), which lets emergency responders identify where the caller is.[1] In the United States the term also covers a body of FCC rules in 47 CFR Part 9 that place E911 duties on wireless carriers, interconnected VoIP providers, and the multi-line telephone systems used in offices, hotels, campuses, and schools.[2][3][4] Since January 6, 2022, most of those platforms have had to deliver a validated street address plus the suite, floor, or room detail needed to find the caller, which the rules call dispatchable location.[1][4]","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-is-enhanced-911-e911","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2026-07-20T16:31:50.28","dateModified":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"citation":[{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"47 CFR 9.3, Definitions: Interconnected VoIP service","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.3"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"47 CFR § 9.10: 911 Service","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.10"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"47 CFR 9.11: E911 service requirements for interconnected VoIP","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.11"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"47 CFR § 9.16: General obligations for direct 911 dialing, notification, and dispatchable location","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/9.16"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Implementing Kari's Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM'S Act, Report and Order (FCC 19-76)","url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-76A1.pdf"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Kari's Law Act of 2017, Public Law 115-127","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-115publ127/html/PLAW-115publ127.htm"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, Public Law 106-81","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ81/html/PLAW-106publ81.htm"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Enhanced 9-1-1 (E911) consumer fact sheet","url":"https://transition.fcc.gov/hspc/factsheets/enhanced911.pdf"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Location-Based Routing for Wireless 911 Calls, Report and Order (FCC 24-4)","url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-4A1.pdf"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Facilitating Implementation of Next Generation 911 Services (NG911); Location-Based Routing for Wireless 911 Calls","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-09-24/html/2024-18603.htm"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Delete, Delete, Delete (direct final rule)","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/html/2026-00612.htm"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Plan and manage emergency calling - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-are-emergency-locations-addresses-and-call-routing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Kari's Law and RAY BAUM'S Act: E911 compliance","url":"https://www.intrado.com/blog/e911-compliance-karis-law-and-ray-baums-act"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Deep Intel on Nomadic E911 Service","url":"https://www.atlantech.net/blog/nomadic-e911"}]}}}