Text-to-911 is available in Johnson County, Iowa.

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Spanish brochure to print or share on your website

When to use Text-to-911

• Call if you can, text if you can’t! Calling 911 is still the best way to report an emergency. Calltakers can get vital information more quickly through a voice call. It can also take more time for calltakers to respond to a text.
• Text-to-911 is designed for situations where you cannot speak safely, such as a home invasion, active shooter or domestic violence incident.
• It is also an ideal option for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty speaking.
• Just like 911 calls, texts to 911 should only be sent during actual emergencies.

Who can use Text-to-911

• Anyone within Johnson County, Iowa. This include the cities of Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty.
• All of the major phone carriers — Verizon, US Cellular, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — offer text to 911 service to their wireless customers in Johnson County. Depending on the technology and the device used, customers of other carriers may be able to send a text to 911.
• A text or data plan with a participating carrier is necessary to text to 911. The type of cell phone you have may also impact your ability to text to 911.
• Text-to-911 is not available when roaming. If you attempt to send a text to 911 where that service is not available or your phone is in roaming status, you should receive a bounce-back message informing you that the service is unavailable.

What to expect when you send a Text-to-911

• A dispatcher will reply to you by text. Be sure to silence your ringtone if staying quiet is important to your safety.
• If your text to 911 fails to go through, you will receive a bounce-back message saying the service is not available and instructing you to make a voice call to 911.
• 911 call centers cannot identify your exact location when you send a text to 911.
• Carriers treat texts to 911 like any other text message. Until the Federal Communications Commission sets specific guidelines, texts to 911 will not receive priority on wireless networks. Emergency texts will also experience the same service speeds and delays as other text messages.

How to send a Text-to-911

• Give an accurate address or location as quickly as possible.
• Identify the type of help you need — police, fire or ambulance.
• Be brief, but don’t use abbreviations or slang.
• Text in English. Translation services are not yet available for texts to 911.
• Do not copy other people on texts to 911. Group messages will not go through.
• Do not use emoticons or attach photos or videos. Texts with any images or multimedia will not go through.
• Texts sent to 911 have the same 160-character limit as other text messages.

Calling 911 when there is no emergency is against the law. The same applies to texting 911. Don't "test" it to see if it works. You could tie up resources and prevent someone from receiving the help they need.

For more information on Text-to-911, please visit the Text-to-911 page on the Iowa Homeland Security website.