9-1-1 Testing

Northern911 encourages your company to test your system anytime you implement something new or change a process that may have an effect on a 911 call being routed to us.

Testing by the end user is not encouraged, as this unnecessarily ties up our equipment and our staff and may slow our response to a real emergency. If your company has established an interconnection with Northern911 which has been tested, any new users should be a part of that connection.  There should be no difference from one customer to another.

Standard procedures to test with our Emergency Response Centre are as follows. Please note that we recommend scheduling same day testing as you will need to obtain a unique daily testing passcode.

  1. For VoIP 911 testing call (866) 763-0911 or for E911 testing call (844) 218-7727.
  2. Advise the Emergency Response Specialist who answers, that you would like to schedule a test call.
  3. Provide the following information:
    • Your name
    • The Phone Service Provider or Company Name
    • The number of test calls
    • The caller ID(s) that the test calls will be coming from
    • A callback number for yourself
    • Confirm whether or not you need to be transferred to Police, Fire or Ambulance and for which area. Note:  You must advise the PSAP and Police / Fire / or Ambulance for that area of your test as well if it is not Northern911.  Only once those arrangements are made will we transfer to the downstream agency.
  4. Request a date and time to perform the test(s) and obtain the daily passcode for same day testing.
  5. For test calls scheduled in advanced: At the approved time call (866) 763-0911 for VoIP testing or (844) 218-7727 for E911 testing. Confirm that it is still appropriate to perform the test(s) and receive the daily passcode.
    • Testing is a low priority task and if some other emergency is occurring, any tests will be rescheduled.
  6. When you perform the test, have the Caller stay on the line and explain that it is a test.  The Caller must also identify that they are a Technician with the company and/or provide the daily passcode.  If this is not done, Northern911 may transfer the call to the downstream agency.
  7. Confirm the following information:
    • That the call came in on the correct account
    • The audio quality
    • The caller ID received
    • The address populated if displayed in the ANI/ALI data splash or the address populated if one was loaded into our database for that number.
  8. Repeat if necessary.
  9. Advise when you have completed your testing.

If you need further information on our 911 Official Testing Procedures, please email info@northern911.com.