Non-Emergency Numbers: 101, 105 and NHS 111

Most emergencies are not emergencies. A child who is unwell at midnight, a power cut that has darkened the whole street, a shed break-in discovered in the morning: none of these needs 999, and ringing 999 for them can delay help for someone whose life is at risk. The UK has three free numbers that cover the urgent-but-not-life-threatening middle ground, and knowing which to use before you need it is one of the simplest pieces of preparation a household can do.

NHS 111 gives urgent medical help and advice, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, free from any landline or mobile¹. 101 is the police non-emergency number, used across the UK to report minor crimes and incidents that do not need an immediate response². 105 connects you to your local electricity network operator to report a power cut or get outage information, anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales³. All three are free to call, and all three are covered in full on this page, including how 111 works in Scotland and Wales, how to reach it if you are deaf or use British Sign Language, and what to do about damaged power lines.

Which number to call: 999, 101, 105 or 111

The rule is simple: if life is at risk, ring 999. If it is not, one of the three non-emergency numbers will get you to the right service, and each one routes you to the people who can actually act.

Two habits make this easier in a real incident. The first is to keep the numbers on paper where you can find them without power or internet, which is the whole point of our emergency numbers checklist. The second is to think in advance about who in your household would make each call, and to make sure everyone, including older children, knows the difference between 999 and the rest. A household contact plan is a good place to write this down.

If you are unsure whether a medical problem is life-threatening, NHS guidance is consistent: 999 is for serious or life-threatening illness or injury⁹, and 111 is for everything urgent short of that¹. When the position is borderline, the 111 service exists precisely to sort it out, and can send an ambulance if one turns out to be needed¹⁰.

999 is only for life-threatening emergencies and immediate danger

Every ambulance service and council contact page in the country makes the same request: keep 999 clear for genuine emergencies. The South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust asks people to "remember to only call 999 for life-threatening or serious emergencies that need urgent care"¹¹. The same boundary appears across NHS guidance: 999 is for a serious or life-threatening emergency where help is needed now.

The Northern Ireland direct government services page sets out what counts as a real emergency: danger to life, someone using or immediately threatening serious violence, serious injury to a person or their property, and situations such as road traffic collisions where life is at risk, the road is blocked, or a crime such as a burglary or robbery is in progress². The same page notes that 999 and 112 are the national emergency response numbers in the UK, so 112 works as an alternative, particularly for callers used to the European number².

In Scotland, NHS 24 gives a concrete medical list for 999 or A&E: life or limb threatening emergencies, signs of a heart attack or stroke, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, severe injury, seizures, a severe allergic reaction, or if you have tried to end your life¹². If none of those apply but you still need urgent help, that is the moment to move down to 111 rather than up to 999.

The reason the boundary matters is practical. The ambulance service's own instruction is to remember to only call 999 for life-threatening or serious emergencies that need urgent care¹¹, which is why the number is kept for the situations where it truly counts. If you want more detail on how a 999 call is handled, see what happens when you ring 999, and if you cannot speak safely, read our page on silent 999 calls.

NHS 111: urgent medical help, 24 hours a day

NHS 111 is a free service that provides urgent medical advice and support¹³. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by phone or online¹, and NHS England describes its purpose as making it easier and quicker for patients to get the right advice or treatment they need, for their physical or mental health¹. The London Ambulance Service's plain summary is the one to remember: "NHS 111 helps you when you need medical help or advice, but it is NOT an emergency"¹⁴.

Use it when you or someone in your household is unwell and you need medical help fast, but the situation is not life-threatening¹⁵. It is also the right number when your GP surgery is closed and you cannot wait for it to reopen¹⁶, which is why so many council and fire service leaflets list it as the out-of-hours route to a doctor¹⁷. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service's home safety booklet puts it simply: call 111 for non-emergency help or GP advice out of hours¹⁷.

NHS 111 should be used by anyone with an urgent medical need, rather than calling 999 or going straight to A&E¹⁸. That is not a request to avoid A&E at all costs: it is a way of being seen in the right place, at the right time, without a wait in an emergency department that was never the right destination for your problem.

What happens when you call 111

Calls are answered by trained health advisers, supported by experienced clinicians, who assess your needs and work out what help you require⁶. Where it is appropriate, your call may be referred to a clinician, a trained nurse or paramedic, for further assessment of your condition or for medical advice⁶. If the assessment finds you need an ambulance, they will send one¹⁰.

Whether you use the phone or the online assessment at 111.nhs.uk, you answer the same few questions about your main symptoms to get the right information and advice¹⁸. That symmetry is worth knowing: the online service is not a lesser route, it is the same triage delivered by keyboard, and it can be faster when phone lines are busy.

Be aware that calls to 111 are recorded, and that the records are maintained securely and only shared with others directly involved with your care¹⁹. This is standard practice and no reason to hold back information: the more accurate your answers, the better the triage.

NHS 111 online, and the age limit

The online service at 111.nhs.uk is for people in England aged 5 and over who need urgent health care advice in a non-life-threatening situation⁴. The age limit is a firm one for the online assessment, not a matter of judgement. If the person unwell is under 5, use the phone line instead, where advisers can assess any age.

Mental health help on 111

If you are in mental health crisis, call 111 and press option 2 to speak to a mental health professional²⁰. South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust states this directly, and adds that NHS 111 can also be accessed online²⁰. South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust gives the same instruction: select the mental health option and speak to a trained mental health professional¹¹.

Some areas run additional services alongside it. NHS Somerset lists a 24/7 NHS mental health telephone support helpline on 0800 038 5300 for advice and triage, available to anyone regardless of age, all day every day⁹. Derbyshire's flooding and community support pages direct people to 111 and the mental health option, option 2, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week²¹. In Scotland, NHS 24 says its 111 service can also help if you are in mental distress²². If life is at risk, or someone has tried to end their life, that moves to 999¹².

Busy periods and bank holidays

NHS 24 in Scotland has published specific warnings that calls to 111 may take longer to answer over the festive public holiday weekends, covering 22 to 26 December and 30 December to 2 January, and advises on alternatives during those periods. The practical response is patience: if the problem is urgent but not life-threatening, the online assessment at 111.nhs.uk is an alternative to waiting on the phone line, and it asks the same few questions about your main symptoms as the telephone service does.

Council out-of-hours arrangements follow the same pattern, which is worth knowing if your problem is not medical. Derbyshire's emergency contacts page, for example, defines out-of-hours as before 9am or after 5pm Monday to Friday, at weekends and on bank holidays, and routes out-of-hours highway emergencies to the police on 101 and suspected gas leaks to the 0800 111 999 gas emergency line during those times²³. Check your own council's equivalent page and note the numbers before you need them.

NHS 111 in Scotland and Wales

The number 111 works in both Scotland and Wales, but the services behind it differ, and knowing the difference saves a wasted call.

In Scotland, 111 is answered by NHS 24. Phone 111 if you think you need A&E but it is not life or limb threatening, if you need support with mental health distress, or if you need urgent care and your GP, pharmacy or dental practice is closed¹². NHS 24 is explicit about one limit: the 111 service cannot arrange appointments at your GP, and during normal working hours you should always contact your own GP for urgent advice and treatment¹². That is a firmer boundary than in England, where 111 covers the urgent-help gap including when your surgery is closed¹⁶.

In Wales, if you are not sure which NHS service you need, call 111²⁴. The 2017 National Risk Register recorded the then Welsh non-emergency medical number as 0845 4647, with 111 covering England and Scotland⁷; the current position is that 111 and the NHS 111 Wales service are the route for urgent, non-life-threatening advice in Wales²⁴. If you are unsure which applies in your area, the phone number 111 itself is safe to dial from anywhere in Great Britain and will reach the local service.

Reaching 111 if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or use another language

There are several routes into NHS 111, and the alternatives matter most for exactly the households that emergencies hit hardest.

If you have difficulty hearing, NHS England states you can access NHS 111 using the British Sign Language interpreter service¹. North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust gives the same guidance for its own area: use the NHS 111 British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter service if you are deaf and want to use the phone service²⁵. BSL users in Wales can access NHS 111 Wales via SignVideo²⁶.

For text phone users, call 18001 111²⁵. North Yorkshire's community risk register records the same access route for individuals with hearing loss²⁷, and Essex's integrated care board adds 18001111 using text relay¹³. If you cannot use any phone route, the online assessment at 111.nhs.uk is there for anyone aged 5 and over⁴.

For callers who speak another language, the phone service can arrange interpreters: the assessment is the same few questions about your main symptoms whether you answer them by phone or online¹⁸, and the health advisers who answer calls are supported by experienced clinicians⁶, so interpretation is built into the call rather than something you must arrange yourself. Our page on 999 BSL and Relay UK covers the equivalent access routes for the emergency number itself.

Reporting a power cut on 105

105 is a free service for people in England, Scotland and Wales, and you can call it from most landlines and mobiles³. It does not matter who you choose to buy your electricity from: anyone can call 105³. That last point is the one most people get wrong, and it is the reason the number exists. Before 105, households in a power cut tended to ring their electricity supplier, the company they pay their bills to, when the organisation that actually restores power is the local network operator⁸.

Calling 105 connects you to your local distribution network operator, who is responsible for restoring power⁸. West Yorkshire Prepared describes it as "a free service that will put you through to your local network operator who can give you help and advice"²⁸. The National Energy System Operator confirms the number is free and available nationwide, and that you can call it if you need updates about outages in your area, want to report a power cut, or want to report damage to power lines or substations⁸. You can also call 105 or use the online postcode checker to find out who your distribution network operator is⁸, and the website powercut105.com carries the same information²⁸.

In Northern Ireland, the number is different: the power cut reporting line there is 03457 643643⁵.

Damaged power lines and substations: stay back and call 105

You can also call 105 if you spot damage to electricity power lines and substations that could put you, or someone else, in danger³. Warwickshire's emergency advice for residents adds the important companion instruction: if there is a serious immediate risk, call the emergency services too³.

The Priority Services Register

If someone in your household depends on electricity for medical equipment, or is older, disabled or less able to answer the door, register in advance with your network operator's Priority Services Register. It is the mechanism by which the network knows to prioritise and keep in touch with you during an outage. To take one operator's example, Western Power's warm and well advice for Nottinghamshire residents gives 0800 096 3080 and www.westernpower.co.uk/psr for information or to register²⁹. Registration is free, and you can confirm your details by the same route. Our extra help in an emergency section page covers what else to arrange in advance.

For the wider picture of what to do when the power goes, including food safety, heating and lighting, see our power cuts guide, and for keeping your phone alive through an outage, what to keep charged before a power cut.

Police non-emergency: 101

101 is the police non-emergency number, used across the UK. Wiltshire and Swindon's community resilience plan lists 101 for non-emergency police reporting³⁰, and Surrey's household emergency plan template carries "Police non-urgent 101"³¹. The same number appears in police forces' own contact information, which directs non-emergency calls to 101.

The Northern Ireland direct government services page frames the purpose: report online or call 101 if you want to report a minor crime or incident². Typical uses include reporting a burglary discovered after the event, criminal damage, a stolen vehicle, or suspicious behaviour that is not unfolding at that moment. If a crime is in progress, or there is danger to life or a threat of serious violence, that is 999 territory².

101 also picks up work the emergency line should not carry. Derbyshire routes out-of-hours highway emergencies, before 9am or after 5pm Monday to Friday, at weekends and on bank holidays, to the police on 101²³. Basingstoke's emergency page lists the emergency services on 999 where life is at risk, with 101 as the non-urgent alternative³². Calls to 101 are treated as police contact, so expect to give your location and details in full, exactly as you would in person.

Keeping the numbers where you can find them

The common thread in every official contact page is that these numbers only help if you have them when you need them. A power cut takes out your internet router and, with a cordless phone, your landline too. A medical scare at 3am is not the moment to search for the right service. Write 999, 111, 101 and 105 on paper, keep a copy with a torch and a charged power bank, and make sure everyone in the house knows where it is.

Our phone numbers checklist gives you a printable version, and getting your mobile phone ready for an emergency covers the rest of the groundwork. If a storm is forecast, what to keep charged before a power cut and the storms and snow guide pick up from there.