Emergency number 112 can be reached by text message

The emergency number 112 will be available by SMS from this summer. The service is for the deaf and hard of hearing. If you want to reach 112 via SMS, you must register in advance. This is to prevent abuse of the SMS service.

The availability of 112 by text message is a test and will run until 1 July 2013. After that, it will be examined how the deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired can reach 112. At the moment, they can reach the 112 emergency center via text telephony, the government says, with letters being sent directly via real-time text software as they type.

Not everyone is allowed to text 112. Due to the fear of fake messages, people will have to register to use the service, which is expected to be operational by the end of July. Of the four million calls that come in to 112 a year, three million are fake.