Emergency text messaging services

[1] Its use is encouraged for people with hearing impairment or who have trouble speaking; it can also be used for situations when calling may pose a safety risk, such as a home invasion or domestic abuse.

[5] Some services require prior registration (such as in Singapore and the United Kingdom, see below), some are strictly for the medically impaired, while most are available for usage by the public-at-large as necessary.

)[6] Texting to emergency services is adopted in Canada in the form of T9-1-1, however it is not as mature or accessible as the systems found elsewhere.

The system is strictly for used by the 'deaf, deafened, hard of hearing, or speech impaired persons' and is not available for the general public.

It is also noted that coverage is not as extensive compared to other nations, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police discourages its usage unless medically necessary.

[12] Similar to the system in Singapore, individuals must register beforehand to use the service; however it is done in the UK by texting 'register' to 999 instead of contacting a separate association.

[13] It was first proposed as an early day motion (EDM) in Parliament[14] and implemented in the United Kingdom in 2009 for impaired individuals.