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What Are Kari's Law and RAY BAUM's Act (E911 Rules for Business Phones)?

Direct 911 dialing, on-site notification and a dispatchable location. What it means for your phones.

Kari's Law requires that any multi-line business phone system let users dial 911 directly without a prefix and notify someone on site when a 911 call is placed. RAY BAUM's Act requires that 911 calls send a dispatchable location, meaning an address plus enough detail (floor, suite, room) for responders to find the caller. Both are federal requirements enforced by the FCC and apply to VoIP systems, including Teams Phone and RingCentral.

Kari's Law

Named for Kari Hunt, who was killed in a Texas motel room in 2013 while her daughter tried to call 911 but could not get an outside line without dialing 9 first. The law requires:

  • Direct dialing. 911 must work with no prefix.
  • Notification. When 911 is dialed, the system must alert a central location on site (front desk, security, an admin) with at least the fact of the call and the caller's location if available.

RAY BAUM's Act

Requires the 911 call to carry a dispatchable location. For fixed desk phones that means the configured address and location detail for that phone. For softphones and mobile apps it means the system must determine or ask for the user's current location, since a laptop can be at the office today and at home tomorrow.

What this means in practice

  • Every user and phone in the VoIP system needs an accurate emergency address, kept current when people move desks, offices or homes.
  • Multi-floor and multi-suite offices need location detail beyond the street address.
  • On-site notification must be configured and tested, and someone must actually receive it.
  • Remote workers using softphones must be prompted to confirm their location.
  • Multi-location businesses need this done per site. See IT support for multiple locations.

Who is responsible

The business operating the phone system, not just the vendor. Both RingCentral and Teams Phone provide the features; someone has to configure and maintain them. See RingCentral vs Microsoft Teams Phone and what is VoIP.

E911 configuration is part of every VoIP deployment Mentis Group performs. This article is a summary, not legal advice; the FCC publishes the full requirements.

Have a question about your own environment? Schedule a consultation with Mentis Group or call (866) 901-7808.