How to Give Emergency Services Your Exact Location

When you ring 999, the call handler's first job is to find out where you are. London Ambulance Service says the handler will ask for the location of the emergency, for example the postcode or any landmarks¹. Northern Ireland Ambulance Service puts it plainly: you will be asked to confirm the address of the emergency, and this information is important for getting the initial help sent out². So the single most useful thing you can do is know, and be able to say, exactly where you are.

If you do not know the address, you can still give a good location. A six-figure Ordnance Survey grid reference is helpful, and the what3words app gives a precise three-word location³. Emergency services across the UK now use three-word addresses to find and share locations in emergencies⁴. Landmarks, road names and features such as a public house or a church all help when there is no street address⁵.

The best time to sort this out is before anything happens. Download a location app, learn how to read the marker posts on a motorway, and register your phone for the text service if you need it. The rest of this page sets out what to do, in the order you would need it.

Tell the call handler where you are first

The order of a 999 call matters. Before the questions about what has happened, the handler needs the address. Northern Ireland Ambulance Service says you will be asked to tell them exactly what happened and to confirm the address of the emergency, which is important for getting the initial help sent out². Give your whole address, including the town⁹. If you are calling about a fire, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service asks for your full address, and suggests using the what3words app to describe your location with only three words⁹.

Staying calm helps you give that location clearly. Simon Dowling of Manchester Fire and Rescue Service puts it this way:

If you are calling from a campsite, give the exact location of your campsite, with a map reference or a landmark if possible¹¹. If you are calling about someone in the water, give a location or describe any visible landmarks or signs¹². The principle is the same wherever you are: location first, then detail.

What your phone sends automatically when you call 999

It is a common assumption that the emergency services can see exactly where your phone is the moment you call. Do not rely on that. The guidance is consistent: you need to be ready to tell them. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service says to make sure you know your location, so that if you need to dial 999 you know exactly where you are¹³. The call handler will ask for the location, for example the postcode or any landmarks¹.

There is one clear exception in a vehicle. If your car has an eCall system, when activated it contacts a 999 operator and provides your vehicle's exact location directly to emergency services¹⁴. That is a built-in feature of some cars, not something every phone does.

For everyone else, the phone is a tool for describing your location, not a transmitter of it. The what3words app is described by Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service as the simplest way to communicate that precise location in an emergency¹⁵. National Grid suggests using it to help them locate you quickly, particularly in a remote or unfamiliar location or where you do not know the street name¹⁶.

Describing where you are when you do not know the address

Most of us know our home address, but emergencies rarely happen only at home. If you are in a field, on a beach, on a boat or at a caravan site, you need another way to say where you are.

Start with what you can see. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service says it can be hard to give the location for an open area, so mention any landmarks, such as a public house or a church in the vicinity⁵. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service makes the same point for open spaces: landmarks, road names or topographical features help, and the what3words app is an excellent tool for locating an open space incident¹⁸.

Then use a precise tool if you have one. A six-figure Ordnance Survey grid reference is helpful, or you can use the what3words app³. For ice and water rescues, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service says what3words is ideal for providing an exact location, especially in more remote areas¹⁹. For a boat, use what3words to give emergency services a precise location of the boat²⁰.

Where location is hardest to give: roads, countryside, coast and water

Some places make location genuinely difficult, and it is worth knowing how each is handled before you are in one.

On the road. The Highway Code says that to identify your location to the emergency services you can press the SOS button if your vehicle has one, use a mobile telephone mapping application, or quote the numbers and letters on marker posts or driver location signs along the edge of the road⁷. If you are on the motorway with no phone signal, locate the nearest emergency phone; blue and white marker posts decorated with arrows will show you where the nearest SOS phone is²¹.

In the countryside. Wildfire guidance from Wiltshire and Swindon Prepared suggests using the Ordnance Survey app or what3words to give an accurate location¹⁷. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service says that if possible you should provide an accurate location using landmarks, what3words or a mapping app²². If you live in a rural area, Fire Scotland suggests downloading apps like what3words or Ordnance Survey Locate, which give emergency crews your exact coordinates²³.

On the coast and in water. Give as accurate a location as possible²⁴. London Fire Brigade says to give a location, or describe any visible landmarks or signs¹². For boats, mooring locations are often difficult to access, which can make it challenging for fire and rescue services to quickly locate and reach the scene, so a precise location matters even more²⁰.

At a caravan or campsite. Caravan sites can be spread over a large area, so apps like what3words or the GPS coordinates on your phone can help emergency crews get to you as soon as possible. Send someone to meet the fire crews when they arrive on site²⁵.

Get your location ready before you need it

A few minutes now can save precious time later. The steps below are the ones the guidance keeps returning to.

1. Download a location app. what3words and the Ordnance Survey app are both recommended by fire and rescue services¹⁷. Open the app and check it works before you need it.
2. Learn your home's three words. If you have a what3words address for your home, write it down and keep it somewhere you would find it in a hurry.
3. Register for emergencySMS if you need it. You must register your phone beforehand⁸. The Next Generation Text Service lets deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired people in the UK alert police, ambulance, fire or coastguard services by calling via a relay assistant or texting 999 using emergencySMS, an add-on to the existing 18000 service²⁷.
4. Know your motorway markers. Next time you are on a motorway, notice the marker posts and driver location signs; quoting the numbers and letters on them identifies your location to the emergency services⁷.
5. Check your car's SOS button. If your vehicle has eCall, it contacts a 999 operator and provides your vehicle's exact location directly to emergency services when activated¹⁴.
6. Plan for abroad. If you are camping abroad, find out how to call the local emergency services in travel guides, or by calling the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 0845 850 2829¹¹.