The 911 emergency access tax is a surcharge on your phone bill that funds the local dispatch centers and equipment used to answer emergency calls. The national average is about $1.09 per line per month, and in 2024 these charges brought in a combined $4.3 billion.1Federal Communications Commission. Seventeenth Annual Report to Congress on State Collection and Distribution of 911 and Enhanced 911 Fees and Charges Every state imposes some version of it, though the exact amount and how it gets collected depend on where you live and what kind of phone service you use.
What the Fee Pays For
Federal rules limit acceptable uses of 911 fee revenue to two things: supporting the implementation of 911 services, and covering the operational expenses of public safety answering points, which are the call centers where dispatchers pick up 911 calls.2Federal Communications Commission. 911 Fee Reports and Reporting In practical terms, the money pays for phone systems, computer-aided dispatch software, mapping tools, and staff salaries and training.
A growing share now goes toward Next Generation 911. Legacy 911 infrastructure was built for voice calls over copper phone lines; NG911 runs on internet-protocol networks that can handle text messages, photos, and video from callers. The transition is expensive, and there is no dedicated federal funding stream for it. Several bills introduced in Congress have proposed anywhere from $10 billion to $15 billion in federal NG911 grants, but none had been enacted as of the most recent congressional session.3Congressional Research Service. Funding the Transition to Next Generation 911 The cost of upgrading falls largely on state and local 911 fee revenue.
How Much You Pay
State legislatures and local governments set the specific rates, so the charge varies. The FCC’s most recent annual report puts the national average for wireline, wireless, and VoIP at $1.09 per line per month.1Federal Communications Commission. Seventeenth Annual Report to Congress on State Collection and Distribution of 911 and Enhanced 911 Fees and Charges Individual jurisdictions range from well under a dollar to several dollars per line, especially where state and local fees stack on top of each other.
Most places use a flat monthly fee per line. A smaller number calculate it as a percentage of your monthly bill. Either way, it shows up as a separate line item, often labeled “911 charge” or “E911 surcharge.” The FCC notes that wireless providers may bill E911 costs directly to customers.4Federal Communications Commission. Understanding Your Telephone Bill
The fees are per line, not per household. If you have a landline, two cell phones, and a VoIP line, you are paying four separate 911 surcharges every month. Businesses with dozens of lines can face significant aggregate costs, though some jurisdictions cap the total monthly fee per location.
Which Services and Devices Get Charged
The fee applies to virtually every service that can connect you to a 911 dispatcher. Traditional landlines were the original target and still carry the charge. Wireless phones are subject to the same type of fee, sourced to your “place of primary use,” the street address where you live or do business.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 116 – Rules for Determining State and Local Government Treatment of Charges Related to Mobile Telecommunications Services That rule ensures the fee flows to the jurisdiction that actually handles your 911 calls, not wherever the cell tower happens to be.
Voice over Internet Protocol services are treated the same way. Federal law caps VoIP 911 fees at whatever the same class of traditional phone subscribers pays, so states cannot charge internet-based callers more than landline customers.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 US Code 615a-1 – Duty to Provide 9-1-1 and Enhanced 9-1-1 Service
Prepaid wireless customers pay the fee differently. Instead of a monthly charge, the surcharge is collected at the point of sale when you buy a prepaid phone card or add minutes. Some states assess a flat amount per transaction (the national average is about $0.93); others charge a percentage of the purchase price, averaging around 3.19%.1Federal Communications Commission. Seventeenth Annual Report to Congress on State Collection and Distribution of 911 and Enhanced 911 Fees and Charges The retailer collects the fee and remits it to the state, so you may not see a separate line item the way a postpaid subscriber would.
Who Is Exempt
Very few phone subscribers are exempt, but a handful of categories exist. Federal government agencies generally do not pay state and local 911 fees on their official communication lines, based on the longstanding constitutional principle that states cannot tax the federal government’s operations. Diplomatic missions and international organization personnel may also qualify under applicable treaties and federal recognition.
Participants in the Lifeline program, which subsidizes phone and internet service for low-income households, are often exempt from 911 surcharges. This exemption depends on the rules of the individual state or jurisdiction. A number of states explicitly waive the fee for Lifeline subscribers, but not all do.
If a business or organization qualifies for an exemption, it typically needs to provide a valid exemption certificate to its telecom provider. Without that certificate on file, the provider is obligated to collect and remit the fee regardless of the subscriber’s status.
When States Spend the Money on Something Else
One of the persistent problems with 911 fees is that some states siphon the revenue into their general fund or spend it on programs unrelated to emergency dispatch. Federal law defines this as “diversion,” meaning spending 911 fee revenue on anything other than the designated purposes of supporting 911 services and PSAP operations.7eCFR. 47 CFR 9.22 – Definitions The FCC is required to report to Congress annually on which states are diverting funds and how much they are spending on non-911 purposes.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 615a-1 – Duty to Provide 9-1-1 and Enhanced 9-1-1 Service
In 2024, the FCC identified three states as diverting 911 fees: Nevada, New Jersey, and New York. The total amount diverted across all reporting jurisdictions was roughly $225 million, or about 5.24% of total collections.1Federal Communications Commission. Seventeenth Annual Report to Congress on State Collection and Distribution of 911 and Enhanced 911 Fees and Charges Some went to non-911 public safety programs, some to entirely unspecified uses. That represents an improvement from earlier years; in 2020, five states were flagged.
The consequences are real but limited. A state found to be diverting 911 fees becomes ineligible to participate in or send representatives to FCC advisory committees and panels related to public safety communications.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 615a-1 – Duty to Provide 9-1-1 and Enhanced 9-1-1 Service Separately, any state applying for federal 911 implementation grants must certify that it is not diverting 911 fees, so a state that cannot truthfully make that certification is locked out of federal grant money.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 942 – Coordination of 911, E911, and Next Generation 911 The same offending states tend to appear on the FCC’s list year after year.
Multi-Line Systems in Hotels, Offices, and Schools
If you run a business, hotel, or school with a multi-line phone system, you face additional 911 requirements beyond the surcharge itself. Under Kari’s Law, which took effect in February 2020, any multi-line telephone system manufactured, sold, or installed in the United States must allow users to dial 911 directly without first dialing a prefix like “9” for an outside line.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 623 – Multi-Line Telephone Systems The law is named after Kari Hunt, who was killed in a hotel room in 2013 while her daughter repeatedly dialed 911 but could not reach dispatchers because the hotel’s phone system required dialing “9” first.
Kari’s Law also requires multi-line systems to send an automatic notification to a designated on-site person, such as a front desk or security office, whenever someone dials 911 from the system.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 623 – Multi-Line Telephone Systems On-site staff can then guide first responders to the right room or floor, since large buildings often share a single street address that does not help dispatchers pinpoint the caller. If your business still runs a phone system that requires a prefix for outside calls, it is out of compliance and should be reconfigured.
On the billing side, 911 fees for multi-line systems typically apply to each line or equivalent line that can make outbound calls. A small office with ten phone extensions generally pays the surcharge on each one. Some jurisdictions cap the total monthly 911 fee for a single business location or PBX system, but the caps and thresholds vary widely.