What are Kari's Law and RAY BAUM'S Act?
- Audience: Admins
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Kari's Law and RAY BAUM'S Act are two US laws about 911 calls. This page explains the idea behind each one in plain words and points to the CallSprout features that relate to them. It's an overview, not legal advice.
Kari's Law in plain language
Kari's Law is about reaching help fast and letting people nearby know. It centers on two ideas:
- Direct dialing. A person can reach 911 by dialing 911, with no prefix like 9 in front and nothing slowing the call down.
- Notification. When someone dials 911, a person or place your company chooses, such as a front desk or security team, is notified so they can help responders.
RAY BAUM'S Act in plain language
RAY BAUM'S Act is about where the caller is. Its focus is a dispatchable location sent with a 911 call: an address precise enough for responders to find the person, such as a street address plus the floor or room.
What the CallSprout features do
These features relate to the ideas above. Turning them on is not the same as meeting a law. Whether your setup is enough for your business is your call to make with your advisers.
| Idea | Related feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Direct dialing | 911 from any phone or app | People dial 911 directly, without a 9 or any other code first. |
| Direct dialing | Hot desking | A setting can make shared desk phones start the hot desk login automatically when someone picks up the handset. It's off by default. Leaving it on can slow down a 911 call. |
| Notification | 911 alerts | Calls the numbers, extensions or ring groups you chose and plays a message naming the extension that dialed 911. An email can go out too. |
| Location | Registered emergency addresses | Each phone number has one registered address, set by CallSprout support. Desk phones and the Communicator apps send the address registered to the phone number on the extension. A number with no address sends none. |
| Location | Communicator GO on a cell phone | Hands a 911 call to the phone's own dialer, so it goes out over the mobile network like any cell phone 911 call. |
Emergency addresses work only on US accounts.
CallSprout support registers emergency addresses. See how emergency addresses work, and how to change one. CallSprout support sets up 911 alerts too. The details are in get alerted when someone dials 911.
What stays with you
You are responsible for deciding which rules apply to your business and what they ask of you. That can include how you set up these features, keeping addresses current, and telling your team how 911 works on their phones. How 911 works is a good page to share with staff.
Talk to your counsel about what applies to your business.
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