What is the emergency number in the UK?
Short answer
999 for police, ambulance, fire or coastguard when life is at risk. It is free from any phone, including a locked mobile with no credit or SIM. 112 reaches the same operators. For urgent medical help that is not life-threatening, call 111. For non-emergency police, call 101.
Verified · 5 cited sources
When you call 999 an operator asks which service you need and connects you. Stay on the line, give the address including the town and postcode if you know it, and answer the questions — call handlers gather information while help is already being dispatched.
999 works from any phone regardless of credit and from a mobile with no SIM, because emergency calls route over any available network. On a locked phone there is an emergency call option on the lock screen.
112 is the European emergency number and reaches the same UK operators. It has no additional capability in the UK — the persistent claim that it works where 999 does not is false.
The Silent Solution system exists for callers who cannot speak safely. Call 999 and, if you cannot speak, listen for the automated message and press 55 on a mobile when prompted. Pressing 55 does not by itself send police to your location — it tells the system the call is genuine rather than accidental, so it is transferred to police who will try to gather information another way.
Register in advance for emergencySMS if you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment. It lets you text 999, but only if the phone is registered beforehand.
For urgent but not life-threatening medical problems, NHS 111 is free and available 24 hours by phone or online, and can book you into an urgent treatment centre or out-of-hours GP. For crimes already committed and general police enquiries, use 101.
- 999 — police, ambulance, fire, coastguard; free from any phone
- 112 reaches the same operators with no extra capability
- 111 — urgent medical help that is not life-threatening, 24 hours
- 101 — non-emergency police
- Register for emergencySMS in advance to text 999
People also ask
Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.When to call 999 OfficialNHSUsed for: When an emergency ambulance is appropriate
- 2.Silent Solution OfficialIndependent Office for Police ConductUsed for: How pressing 55 works and what it does and does not do
- 3.emergencySMS OfficialemergencySMSUsed for: Advance registration required to text 999
- 4.Contact the police Officialpolice.ukUsed for: 999 and 101 usage
- 5.NHS 111 OfficialNHSUsed for: Urgent non-emergency medical assessment
All numbers and capabilities come from the NHS, police.uk, the Independent Office for Police Conduct and emergencySMS as cited. The correction about 112 having no additional capability is included because the contrary claim circulates widely. Northern Ireland accesses out-of-hours medical care through trust-based GP services rather than 111.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — UK government departments, devolved administrations, regulators, statutory bodies and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgements and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Rates, thresholds, fees and processing times change, usually at the start of a tax year in April; figures are current as at the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible body before you rely on them. Much of what follows differs between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — where it does, this site says so.