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Palm Beach County's community can now send text messages to 911 during a life threatening situation or emergency.  Text to 911 is an alternate solution for requesting emergency help allowing citizens to contact 911 via text messaging using basic text messaging on their cell phones when making a voice call is not possible.  Photos, videos and emojis cannot be sent to 911, and multiple recipients are not supported.  A voice call to 911 is often the best and fastest way for the 911 call taker to deliver life saving information.  A text message may take longer.

​Things to know about Text-to-911

• Your location will not be automatically texted to 911
• Your first text message should be brief and include the location of the emergency
• Text-to-911 messages can take longer to receive, can get out of
  order or may not be received
• A text or data plan is required to place a text-to-911
• If texting to 911 is not available in your area, or is temporarily unavailable, you will
  receive a message to contact 911 by other means
• Photos and videos cannot be sent to 911 at this time
• Use plain language, NO abbreviations, shortcuts, slang, or emojis
• Text-to-911 cannot include more than one recipient
• Do not set your "SOS" setting on your phone to dial or text 911
• English is the preferred language for text to 911 at this time
• Language interpretation is not available at this time
• Text communication takes longer, therefore it is best to call as long as you are in a safe environment

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