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When someone at your office dials 911, does the dispatcher see your exact address? With VoIP, the answer isn't automatic. Here's how to make sure E911 is set up correctly.
When you dial 911 from a traditional copper landline, the telephone company automatically sends your address to the 911 dispatcher. The system was built that way โ each copper line is physically connected to a specific address, so the dispatcher knows where you are even if you can't speak.
VoIP works differently. Your phone connects over the internet, and the internet doesn't inherently know your physical location. A VoIP phone system must be configured to send the correct address to 911 dispatchers. This is called E911 (Enhanced 911), and it's your responsibility as the business to make sure it's set up correctly.
If it's not configured โ or configured with the wrong address โ a 911 call from your office could send responders to the wrong location, or provide no location at all.
When Callifi installs a hosted VoIP system, we register each physical location's address in the E911 database. When someone dials 911 from a desk phone at your office, the system sends that registered address to the 911 call center (called a PSAP โ Public Safety Answering Point).
For a single-location business, this is straightforward: we register your office address and every phone at that location sends the same address. For multi-location businesses, each location gets its own E911 registration so a 911 call from your Brooklyn office sends the Brooklyn address, not your Manhattan headquarters.
Multi-floor buildings. If your company occupies multiple floors, a 911 call needs to specify which floor. "16 East 40th Street" isn't enough โ responders need "16 East 40th Street, 4th Floor" to find the right office. We configure E911 with floor-level detail for multi-floor deployments.
Remote workers. When an employee uses the VoIP mobile app or softphone from their home, the E911 address registered to their desk phone is your office โ not their home. If they dial 911 from the app, the dispatcher could get your office address instead of their home address. Most VoIP systems allow remote users to register their home address for E911 purposes. This should be done for every remote employee who uses the VoIP app as their primary phone.
Shared/hot desk offices. If employees move between desks or your office uses hot-desking, the E911 registration should be tied to the physical location, not the user. As long as all desks are in the same building and floor, a single E911 address covers all of them.
Schools have specific E911 requirements. Kari's Law (2020) requires that any multi-line phone system allow 911 dialing without a prefix (no dialing 9 first). Ray Baum's Act requires that dispatchable location information (building, floor, room) be transmitted with every 911 call. For schools, this means the 911 dispatcher should know not just that the call came from PS 123, but that it came from Room 204.
Medical offices should ensure that 911 calls from any exam room, waiting area, or staff area transmit the correct address. This is especially important for medical practices with multiple suite numbers in the same building.
If you already have a VoIP phone system, here's how to check:
E911 configuration is part of every Callifi installation. We register the correct address (including floor and suite) for every physical location, verify the registration in the E911 database, and test 911 routing during the installation process. For schools, we ensure Kari's Law and Ray Baum's Act compliance โ direct 911 dialing with room-level location data.
If you're not sure whether your current VoIP system has E911 configured correctly, call (212) 423-1234 and we'll check. This isn't a sales call โ it's a safety issue and we'll help you verify it regardless of whether you're a Callifi customer. Contact us here.
