Kari’s Law is a federal law that requires multi-line telephone systems (MLTS)—commonly found in offices, hotels, and on school and college campuses—to allow users to directly dial 911 without needing to first press an extra number, like “9” or “0,” to get an outside line. The law is named after Kari Hunt, a Texas woman who tragically lost her life in 2013. Her young daughter tried to call 9-1-1 from a hotel room but couldn’t reach emergency services because she didn’t know she had to dial “9” first. This incident led to legislation ensuring that calling for help is as simple as possible. Kari’s Law also requires that when someone dials 9-1-1, a designated party—like a front desk or security office—is notified so they can help emergency responders access the location. In Texas, every business using an MLTS must be compliant or have a waiver on file with its 9-1-1 authority.  All phones with a waiver are required to have a sticker on them. The instructional sticker must be printed in at least 16-point boldface type, in a contrasting color using a font that is easily readable, and written in English and Spanish. The following could be applicable and potentially customized in order to allow the user to successfully contact 9-1-1:

• If you have an emergency you must dial ____ , wait for the tone, then dial 9-1-1.
• En una emergencia se debe marcar el ____, esperar el tono, y luego marcar el 9-1-1

Businesses are encouraged during their waiver year to make every attempt to reprogram or upgrade their phone system. Some phone systems only need to be reprogrammed (not replaced) and costs, if any, should be minimal.