Validating Emergency Addresses

While using 9Line for CUCM or 9Line for BroadWorks, users or administrators create and update locations within the 9Line Portal. In that use case, address validation and correction messages are directly visible when adding a new location and, thus, should not be an issue.

9Line for CER address validation issues may be more challenging as there is not a direct channel for 9Line to provide detailed feedback on why an address is failing validation. Validation errors are especially challenging when using CER's Off-Premises User Portal. An OFP user only receives a message that "Location association failed" when assigning an address to a device.

To assist with these challenges in CER and OFP, we offer the following recommendations.

Validate using 9Line Portal

The fastest method to determine what address should be used is to create a location in the 9Line Portal. Creating a location in the portal will not cause a conflict with any addresses you create via CER.

1. Login to the 9Line portal 9Line Customer Portal
2. Navigate to Management → Locations
3. Click Create Location
4. Insert the address you are having issues with
5. View the suggested location and look for differences

Example: Bartlett, TN needs to be presented as Memphis, TN. Changing the city to Memphis, TN will resolve the issue in this instance.

Validate using Federal GIS sources

You can start with the USPS address lookup tool to quickly validate an address, or advanced users may prefer to use the Federal GeoPlatform mapping tool. We prefer the latter, but the USPS tool is more user-friendly.

• USPS: ZIP Code™ Lookup
• Federal GIS source: GeoPlatform Mapping

In some circumstances, you may have an address that validates as you entered it in the USPS tool and may even exist as multiple matches in the GeoPlatform tool.

For example, let's consider an address:

5001 Tealby Lane
Sappington, MO 63128

The user considers this their address and receives mail at it, which is completely valid when checking the USPS and GeoPlatform sites.

However, if we remove the city from the query and use the ZIP code, we will see that St. Louis, MO, is returned instead.

This is generally due to local customs and how suburbs or smaller municipalities are folded into larger cities or MSAs to provide emergency services. These decisions on whether to use the municipality or the larger city are outside of our control, and you must use the validated address, as confirmed in our portal, for correct routing to the PSAP.

Where to go for help

If you encounter addresses you are having trouble correcting, please open a ticket to let us investigate on your behalf. Please provide details about your deployment (CUCM, CER, or BroadWorks) and the address involved.