The emergency number in the USA is 911. One call reaches police, fire and ambulance from any phone, landline or mobile, free of charge and without a SIM credit, in all 50 states and Washington DC. The operator who answers decides which service to send, so you never need to know whether your problem counts as a police matter or a medical one. Say where you are, say what happened, and stay on the line.
This guide is part of our wider guide to the most famous landmarks in the USA.
That one number covers most of what a visitor needs, but the American system has other short codes that save time when a situation is urgent without being life-threatening: 988 for a mental health crisis, the national Poison Control line, 311 for city services, and 511 for road conditions. This guide explains each of them, what a 911 call sounds like from the caller's side, how emergency medical care and its bills work for people without American insurance, and what to do after a theft, a lost passport or a car crash. Read it once before you fly and save the key numbers in your phone. If you are still putting the trip together, our USA packing list and visitor health insurance guide cover the preparation side.
US emergency numbers at a glance (as of October 2026)
- Police, fire, ambulance: 911 (free, nationwide)
- Text to 911: Available in many counties; calling is always the safer choice
- Suicide and crisis line: 988 (call or text)
- Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
- City non-emergency services: 311 in cities that run it
- Local social services: 211
- Road and traffic information: 511 in most states
- Your embassy: Washington DC, plus consulates in major cities
How to call 911 in the USA and what the operator will ask
Dial 911 when someone's life, health or property is in immediate danger, or when a crime is happening right now. The dispatcher's first question is almost always "What is the address of your emergency?" Location comes before anything else because the call can drop, and the dispatcher needs to send help even if it does.
Answer with the street address if you have it. If you do not, give the nearest cross streets ("Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street"), a business name, a highway name with the direction of travel and the last exit or mile marker you passed, or a trailhead and the name of the park. Hotel guests should give the hotel name and room number. Mobile phones send an approximate location to most 911 centres, but the accuracy varies, and inside a large building it can be off by a block or more.
Next comes "Tell me exactly what happened." Keep it short: "A man has collapsed and is not breathing" or "Someone broke into our car and is still nearby." The dispatcher will then ask a set of scripted questions. These can feel slow when you are scared, but help is usually already being sent while you answer them. Do not hang up until the dispatcher tells you to. For medical calls you may be coached through CPR or bleeding control over the phone.
Language is not a barrier. 911 centres across the country connect callers to telephone interpreters. Say the name of your language in English ("Bengali", "Arabic", "Spanish") and wait; the connection can take a minute.
Read this before you need it: Never call 911 to test it. If you dial it by mistake, stay on the line and tell the dispatcher it was an accident. Hanging up can trigger a call-back or even a police visit to check you are safe.
A phone without a SIM card, or with an expired plan, can still reach 911 in the USA. It usually cannot send your location or receive a call back, so say where you are first.
Many GSM mobiles connect the international number 112 to 911 in the USA. Do not rely on it. Dial 911.
When to call 911 and when another number is the better choice
A quick rule used by American emergency services: if a delay could cost a life, a limb or a building, call 911. For everything else there is usually a faster or cheaper route. The table below sorts the most common traveller situations.
Which number to call in the USA
| Situation | Call | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Chest pain, stroke signs, severe bleeding, unconscious person | 911 | Ambulance crews start treatment on the way to hospital |
| Fire, smoke or gas smell in a building | 911 | Leave first, call from outside |
| Crime in progress, threat of violence | 911 | Police respond by priority |
| Car crash with injuries or blocked traffic | 911 | Police and paramedics are sent together |
| Child swallowed medicine or cleaning product | Poison Control 1-800-222-1222 | Specialists advise whether hospital is needed |
| Thoughts of suicide, emotional crisis | 988 | Trained crisis counsellors, call or text |
| Stolen wallet discovered later, no suspect present | Local police non-emergency line | Needed for a police report |
| Pothole, broken streetlight, noise complaint | 311 (where available) | City services department |
| Fever, minor cut, sprain, ear infection | Urgent care clinic | Much cheaper than an emergency room |
| Highway closures, snow, wildfire roads | 511 | State traffic information |
Other emergency and help numbers every visitor should save
Beyond 911, these are the numbers worth storing in your phone before you land. They work from any American phone number and most of them from a foreign roaming number too.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Since July 2022 the three-digit number 988 connects callers to the national crisis network. You can call or text 988, or use the chat on the Lifeline's website. Counsellors handle suicidal thoughts, panic, substance problems and emotional distress, and they can help a worried friend work out what to do. Veterans can press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.
Travel stress, isolation and jet lag can hit hard on a long trip far from home. 988 is confidential and free. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 911 instead.
- Number: 988 (call or text)
- Hours: 24 hours
- Languages: English and Spanish, interpreters for others
- Cost: Free
Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
America's Poison Help line routes your call to the regional poison centre for the area code you are calling from. Nurses, pharmacists and doctors answer questions about swallowed medicines, cleaning products, plants, mushrooms, snake and spider bites, and carbon monoxide. Most calls are handled at home with advice, which saves an expensive emergency room visit.
If the person is unconscious, having a seizure or struggling to breathe, call 911 first. The line is funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration and is free and confidential, including for visitors. When you call, have the product container, the person's age and weight, and the time of exposure ready.
- Number: 1-800-222-1222
- Hours: 24 hours
- Most useful for: Families with small children
- Cost: Free and confidential
311, 211 and 511: the city, community and road lines
311 is a non-emergency line run by many large cities, including New York, Chicago and San Francisco. It handles questions about city services, noise, parking, street damage and lost property in city buildings. Not every city has it, and in some places 311 simply connects to the police non-emergency desk.
211 links callers to local social services: food banks, shelters, utility help and disaster assistance. 511 is the traffic and travel information number used by most states, with recorded updates on road closures, construction, mountain pass conditions and weather. Drivers crossing the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada in winter should check 511 or the state transport website before setting off.
While you are saving these, add the police non-emergency number for each city on your route.
Emergency medical care in the USA for visitors
American emergency medicine is excellent and fast in cities. It is also expensive, and visitors pay the full bill unless their travel insurance pays it. That fact changes how foreigners should use the system, but it should never stop anyone from calling 911 in a real emergency.
A federal law called EMTALA requires hospitals with an emergency department that take Medicare to screen and stabilise anyone who arrives with an emergency, whatever their nationality or ability to pay. You will not be turned away at the door of an ER. You will receive a bill afterwards, sometimes several: one from the hospital, separate ones from the doctors, and another from the ambulance service, which is often run by a fire department or a private company.
Emergency room (ER)
Highest cost, 24 hours
- Life-threatening problems
- Chest pain, stroke, major trauma
- Severe breathing difficulty
- Expect long waits for minor issues
Urgent care clinic
Middle cost, walk-in
- Sprains, minor fractures, stitches
- Fevers, infections, flu tests
- Usually open evenings and weekends
- Many accept card payment upfront
Pharmacy or telehealth
Lowest cost
- Pharmacist advice is free
- Over-the-counter painkillers and allergy medicine
- Video visits for simple prescriptions
- Some pharmacies open 24 hours in cities
Large chains such as CVS and Walgreens are on almost every main street, and some branches in big cities stay open around the clock. Many prescription medicines that are sold over the counter elsewhere need a US prescription, so bring enough of your own medication for the whole trip, in its original packaging, with a copy of the prescription.
For a list of major hospitals and what treatment costs look like, see our guide to hospitals in the USA. Before you travel, confirm that your insurance covers emergency treatment and medical evacuation in the United States, and keep the insurer's 24-hour assistance number with your passport. Many insurers ask you to call them before non-emergency treatment, and they can direct you to a hospital that bills them directly.
What to do after a crime, theft or lost passport in the USA
If a crime is happening or the person who robbed you is still nearby, call 911. If you discover a theft later, call the police non-emergency number for the city or county you are in, or walk into a police station. Ask for a police report and write down the report number. Insurers and airlines will ask for it, and you need it to replace stolen documents.
Lost or stolen passport: the steps in order
- Step 1, Report it to police: Get a police report or report number. Some cities let you file minor theft reports online.
- Step 2, Contact your embassy or consulate: Your country's embassy in Washington DC, or the nearest consulate, issues emergency travel documents. Check its website for appointment rules and required photos.
- Step 3, Cancel cards and accounts: Call your bank's international number from the back of your card, or freeze cards in your banking app.
- Step 4, Tell your airline: Rebooking may be needed if a new document cannot be issued before departure.
- Step 5, Check your US status record: If your visa or entry record was in the passport, ask your consulate and check your electronic I-94 record on the US Customs and Border Protection website.
Keep a photo of your passport's photo page and your visa or ESTA confirmation in a secure cloud folder before you leave home. It speeds up every one of these steps.
Car accidents, breakdowns and roadside emergencies
After a crash on an American road, stop. Leaving the scene of an accident with injuries is a crime. Turn on hazard lights, move to the shoulder if the cars can be driven and nobody is hurt, and call 911 if anyone is injured, a car is blocking traffic, or the other driver seems drunk or aggressive. Exchange names, phone numbers, insurance details, licence plate numbers and driver's licence details with the other driver, and photograph both cars and the scene.
Rental car agreements include a roadside assistance number, usually on a sticker inside the windscreen or on the key tag. Call it for flat tyres, dead batteries and lockouts. Report any accident to the rental company the same day, even a scrape, because late reports can void the cover you paid for.
On long empty highways in the West, mobile coverage disappears for many miles. Tell someone your route, carry water, and if you break down, stay with the vehicle. A car is far easier for rescuers to find than a person walking.
Natural disaster alerts and severe weather in the USA
The United States gets hurricanes on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, tornadoes across the central plains and the South, wildfires in the West, earthquakes in California, Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, flash floods in desert canyons and blizzards in the North. Most visitors never see any of them, but knowing how warnings reach you matters.
Wireless Emergency Alerts appear on compatible phones with a loud tone, including on many foreign phones roaming on US networks. They carry tornado warnings, flash flood warnings, evacuation orders and AMBER alerts for missing children. The National Weather Service uses two key words: a watch means conditions could produce the hazard, and a warning means it is happening or about to. Take warnings seriously and follow instructions from hotel staff and local officials.
- Tornado warning. Go to the lowest floor, into an interior room without windows, and cover your head. Never shelter under a highway overpass. You have minutes, so move straight away.
- Hurricane evacuation. Coastal counties publish evacuation zones. Leave when told to, and book inland hotels early, because rooms fill fast. Do not wait for the storm to arrive.
- Drop, cover, hold on. Get under a sturdy table and hold on until shaking stops. Stay away from windows and do not run outside during shaking. Stay where you are until it stops.
- Flash flood warning. Leave slot canyons and dry riverbeds immediately. Storms many miles away can send water through a canyon under a blue sky. Get to high ground and wait there.
Safety tips for international visitors in the USA
Save the key numbers in your phone before you land and always know where you are. Store 911, 988, Poison Control, your insurer's assistance line and your embassy, note your hotel address and nearest cross streets each morning, and look up the nearest urgent care in every city to avoid a costly ER visit for small problems.
- Save numbers before you land. Store 911, 988, Poison Control, your insurer's assistance line and your embassy in your phone contacts under a clear name.
- Learn to read your location. Note the hotel address and nearest cross streets each morning. On highways, watch the exit numbers and mile markers.
- Know your nearest urgent care. Look it up for each city you stay in. It avoids a costly ER visit for small problems.
- Keep every medical receipt. Insurers need itemised bills. Ask the hospital billing office for one before you leave the country.
- Register with park rangers. For backcountry hikes in national parks, use the park's permit or trip-plan system and tell rangers where you are going.
- Carry a power bank. A dead phone is the most common reason travellers cannot call for help.
Author's note: The detail visitors most often lack in an emergency is their own location: a hiker on an unfamiliar trail, a driver somewhere on an interstate, a guest who knows the hotel's name but not its street. A phone with no active plan may not pass any location to the 911 centre at all. Make it a habit to know your address every day of the trip. It costs nothing, and in a real emergency it saves the minutes that matter most.
Compare flights to major US gateways and book hotels close to the places you want to see. Search flights
Planning a trip to United States? Read our United States travel guide, compare hotels in United States or search flights.
{{item.get_author.first_name}} {{item.get_author.last_name}}
{{item.comment_txt}}
{{item_reply.get_author.first_name}} {{item_reply.get_author.last_name}}
@ {{item_reply.reply_to}}, {{item_reply.reply_txt}}