Miami Beach to Launch Text to 911 Service

Miami Beach, FL – The Miami Beach Fire Department’s Public Safety Communications Division will activate a new Text-to-911 service beginning on Sunday, June 1, 2025 — providing an alternative emergency contact method for residents and visitors.

The new feature will also be available throughout Miami-Dade County at that time, including all seven 911 centers. These include the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (serving Unincorporated Miami-Dade and 29 municipalities) in addition to Miami Beach and the cities of Miami, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Aventura as well as the Village of Pinecrest.

“Text-to-911 makes it easier to ask for help when calling may not be possible,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner. “It's a practical tool that can make a life-saving difference — as we further enhance public safety measures.”

Text-to-911 allows individuals to send a text message to emergency services from any major wireless carrier. It is beneficial for hearing- and/or speech-impaired individuals. It can also be used in situations where making a voice call could put someone in danger or where poor mobile reception makes it difficult to make a voice call.

“The implementation of Text-to-911 is a vital step toward making emergency services more accessible to everyone in our community,” added Miami Beach Fire Chief Digna Abello. “This technology will give people in emergency situations another way to reach us when every second counts.”

To use Text-to-911, messages must be addressed to 911 without any additional spaces, dashes or other characters. The body of the text should indicate the exact location and nature of the emergency. If safety is a concern, phones should be silenced to avoid unwanted attention. Emergency text messages should not include abbreviations, slang, emojis, photos or videos. Since the Text-to-911 service does not support group texts, 911 must be the only recipient listed in the address field.

All 911 voice calls and texts will be handled in the same manner to ensure a seamless and coordinated emergency response. For faster and more efficient communication in times of emergency, please continue to dial 911 whenever practical to do so.

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