When your business moves, your phones move with you — but the emergency address does not update itself. Because internet-based 911 sends responders to the registered address, an old address after a move is one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make.
RAY BAUM'S Act, in plain language
In the United States, RAY BAUM'S Act requires a dispatchable location with every 911 call: the street address plus the building, floor, suite or room. In a large office, a street address alone might send paramedics to the lobby while the emergency is on the fourth floor. Add these details to every emergency address that needs them.
What to update when you move
- Update the emergency address. On Emergency (E911) → Addresses, edit the address (everyone using it is updated) or add the new one, and include the floor, suite or room. If it is now your main office, choose Set as company default.
- Check Coverage. On Emergency (E911) → Coverage, make sure every user, extension, number and trunk at the new site shows the new address. Select several rows to assign the new address to all of them at once.
- Review your notification groups. On the Notifications tab, make sure the right people are alerted for the new address, and that the new address is ticked in the group that covers it. See Kari's Law: Alerting Your Team When Someone Dials 911.
Confirm with a 933 test
Wait about 5 minutes, then dial 933 from a phone at the new site. You should hear the new address read back. See Testing Your 911 Setup Safely with 933.
Special situations
- Opening a second site. Add it as a new emergency address and assign it to the people, extensions and numbers there.
- Remote and hybrid staff. Give the person their own emergency address (their home office) from Coverage or their user page. When someone signs in to the web phone from a new network, we ask "Where are you right now?" so they can pick a saved address or add a new one. That becomes their current address. 911 is never blocked by the question.
- Temporary sites. Add the temporary address and remember to switch back when you leave.
A safe rule of thumb
Update the emergency address before you make your first call from a new location. Until a 933 test confirms it, use a mobile phone for 911 from the new site.
Related articles
- Registering and Updating Your Emergency Address
- Testing Your 911 Setup Safely with 933
- How 911 Works on an Internet Phone Service
For a real emergency, always dial 911.