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The Code of Iowa, Chapter 34A, states that the director of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management shall appoint a program manager for the 911 program in Iowa. The program manager shall act under the supervisory control of the HSEM director and in consultation with the 911 Communications Council.
All 99 Iowa counties have the capability of accepting wireless enhanced 911 Phase II service, which provides the call taker at the public safety answering point with latitude/longitude coordinates so they can more readily locate the person who has placed the 911 call.
Back to topIowa Administrative Code
In Iowa, 911 phone service for land and wireless phones is provided for by the Code of Iowa, Chapter 34A, & the Iowa Administrative Code, Section 605, Chapter 10.
Back to top911 Funding Opportunities
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NG911 GIS Grant Funding Standards-FY2027 (July 1, 2026)
Statutory Authority
Per Iowa Code Section 34A.7A, the program manager may provide grants to joint 911 service boards and the department of public safety for the purpose of developing and maintaining GIS data to be used in support of the next-generation 911 network. The program manager shall provide guidelines, application forms, and notice of the availability of such grants on the department’s internet site.
Guidance
NG911 GIS Grants, as detailed in Iowa Code Section 34A.7A, are funded through the 911 Surcharge. Therefore, they must be used in accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 34A and Administrative Rule Section 605, Chapter 10. The core criterion for spending 911 Surcharge funds is the "receipt and disposition of the 911 call".
Per Section 34A.2, personnel costs are generally not an eligible use of the 911 Surcharge. However, exceptions apply for individuals conducting the specific activities of addressing, database management, and GIS. The 911 Surcharge and NG911 GIS Grants must be used specifically for 911 purposes, excluding general GIS programs and projects that do not relate directly to the "receipt and disposition of the 911 call".
We highly encourage the reinvestment of resources into NG911 GIS Grant-related projects and programs; however, there is no requirement to use GIS Grant funding exclusively toward NG911 GIS projects. There are also no restrictions or preferences regarding whether a county utilizes an outside contractor or dedicated, in-house county GIS staff.
Structure
For FY2027, GIS data accuracy will be measured against four categories to qualify for GIS grant funding:
- NG911 GIS Data Accuracy
- ALI Standardization
- Zero Critical Errors
- Monthly Uploads
The maximum grant funding remains at $12,000 annually per PSAP, or $1,000 monthly per PSAP. Data uploads will be reimbursed four times during the year. The full $1,000 monthly award will be granted only when all four criteria are met. If all criteria are met every month of a given quarter, 911 Service Boards will receive $3,000 for that period.
If a county is unable to meet the benchmarks during a particular month, it remains eligible for grant funding during the months that it does successfully meet them. For example, if a county fails to meet the benchmarks for one month of a quarter, it will receive $2,000.
Counties should review their most recent QA/QC report to evaluate their current standing. An updated QA/QC report will be provided monthly. (If your county’s row contains “N/A”, this indicates that GeoComm has not received the data sets required to run QA/QC or ALI/MSAG synchronization checks.)
Please review this information with both your GIS provider and PSAP manager. GeoComm is available to assist each county with guidance on meeting these benchmarks.
Benchmarks
1. NG911 GIS Data Accuracy
Definition: Submission of all required NG911 GIS data layers—including Road Centerlines, Site/Structure Address Points, PSAP Boundary, Emergency Service Boundaries (Fire, LE, EMS), Provisioning (Authoritative) Boundary, ALI, and MSAG—that meet the requirements of the IA 911 NGGIS Standard.
Criteria: Overall GIS accuracy must be at or above 98%, along with the successful submission of all required data layers.
2. ALI Standardization
Definition: The process of standardizing road names and their elements in the ALI database prior to transitioning to NG911 call routing, where the GIS road centerline is used to create a GIS-based MSAG for call routing.
Additional Information: It is common for an ALI and MSAG to contain short forms of road names and elements that do not meet NG911 standards (e.g., "AV" instead of "AVE", or "1 ST" instead of "1ST ST"). Each PSAP should focus on standardizing its ALI and MSAG to utilize official street names instead of short abbreviations. This will require a mass update of the ALI and MSAG through Comtech to ensure no wireline 911 calls are dropped or fail to route to the appropriate PSAP.
Criteria: An ALI-to-GIS Road Centerline synchronization accuracy rate of 98% or above.
3. Critical Errors
Definition: Critical errors in the GIS data prevent datasets from being provisioned to the statewide geodatabase for NG911 call routing and to the Comtech ALI 6.0 file.
Additional Information: All errors flagged as critical are listed in the GIS Data Summary Report under the "Analytics" tab within the GIS Data Hub each time the data undergoes quality control (QC). The following are critical errors:
- Acceptable values in all data layers
- Address range overlaps
- Duplicate values
- Empty geometry in all data layers
- Features outside of a polygon (road centerlines and site/structure address points)
- Road centerline features broken across a polygon boundary (PSAP and provisioning boundary)
- Globally unique IDs in all data layers
- Multipart geometry (RCL)
- Null values in mandatory fields across all data layers
- Polygon comparison issues (overhangs)
- Polygon overlap checks
Statewide Standardization Warning Checks: In an effort to ensure standardization of the statewide geodatabase, the following warning QC checks will be added:
- Unacceptable Values: Added to all "NENA Required-Yes" fields; this check will identify extra spaces or instances where a NULL value should be present instead of a blank space.
- Acceptable Values: Added to the County and Discrepancy Agency ID fields; this check will ensure that "County" is explicitly included with the name of the county and that the discrepancy agency ID remains consistent throughout the dataset.
Criteria: Zero Critical Errors.
4. Monthly Uploads
Definition: Iowa NG911 GIS data is a critical component of the Iowa 911 System. Updated GIS information is imperative for correct call routing. To incentivize the regular provision of updated GIS information, grant funding is awarded on a monthly basis.
Criteria: NG911 GIS Data meeting all the above benchmarks, uploaded monthly.
March 2017 - Updated November 2023
In Fiscal Year 2016, a fund was established within the 911 operating surplus (Fund 0046, Unit 0006). The governing code of this section reads as follows:
The program manager, in consultation with the 911 communications council, shall allocate an amount, not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars per fiscal year, for the development of public awareness and educational programs related to the use of 911 by the public, educational programs for the personnel responsible for the maintenance, operation, and upgrading of local 911 systems, and the expenses of members of the 911 communications council for travel, monthly meetings, and training, provided, however that the members have not received reimbursement funds for such expenses from another source.
Therefore, it is the joint policy of the HSEMD 911 Program and 911 Communications Council that the use of this fund be considered in the following priority order:
- Council travel
- Public education
- Training
- The criteria for council travel will follow all DAS and HSEMD policies and procedures.
- The criteria for public education are as follows:
Priority of the public education funds will go towards projects with a statewide focus. This includes the establishment and maintenance of a statewide 911 website. Secondary consideration will also be given to public education projects with a regional or multi-county scope. - The criteria for training are as follows:
The training session must consist of personnel from multiple PSAPs to the benefit of multiple PSAPs.
The training must be available for open registration and approved by 911 Council and HSEMD in advance of any contractual relationship being established. It is further adopted that “educational programs for the personnel responsible for the maintenance, operation, and upgrading of local 911 systems” specifically not provide funding for initial telecommunicator or mandatory continuing education training, but rather training only be considered for “over the top” training.
Training courses will be limited to two offerings within the same HSEMD district during a fiscal year and will be considered on a first come first serve basis. The same rule applies to requests for EMD funding knowing that there are three different models utilized in Iowa - APCO, Priority Dispatch, and Power Phone. Multiple requests will be approved with discretion and If more training is requested than funds available during a given month, the 911 Council, along with the program manager may prioritize the funding as they see fit.
Training should be planned to accommodate more than 10 participants. Training not meeting the minimum number of registrants (10) should be communicated to the program manager and then rescheduled or the funds released. Agendas and sign-in sheets are required in order to seek reimbursement.
The training must primarily be focused on Iowa-based personnel. Non-Iowa students can be considered if the following criteria are met
- The minimum amount of attendees has been met with Iowa students
- The cost of the course does not increase based on the number of students, or the non-Iowa student pays their own costs
- If there is a maximum amount of attendees, Iowa students are given a preference.
Beginning with training funds approved for FY 2021 (July 2020), training requests will be approved with a 10% cost share. The hosting agency can determine how to fund the 10%, and can include the agency covering that portion itself, or requiring participants to pay a registration fee. The 10% cost share will not be required for APCO and NENA conferences, or the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
All requests must be placed on the 911 Council Agenda, and approved by the Council.
911 Resources and Contacts
Looking for information on 911 and how to talk to your family about 911? Find resources at Ready Iowa.
Report network outages here: FCC Network Outage Reporting System
State of Iowa 911 Shared Services
Are you interested in the State’s shared services environment?
- Complete the Iowa 911 Program Shared System Notice of Intent and Intake Information form.
- View and post PSAP training opportunities.
911 Communications Council
List items for 911 Communications Council
Council meetings are held at 9:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month, at the Dallas County Human Services Campus, 25747 N Ave, in Adel unless otherwise noted.
- View upcoming 911 Council meetings and agendas.
- View past council meetings on YouTube.
- Approved 911 Council meeting minutes are available upon request.
Sign up to receive emails to be notified about upcoming Iowa 911 Communications Council meetings. Enter your email address and then scroll down to Homeland Security & Emergency Management lists. Check the box next to the “911 program of Iowa.”
- Lindsey Tazzioli, Iowa Emergency Management Assoc.
(Polk County Emergency Management) - Christopher Collins, Iowa Chapter of the National Emergency Number Assoc. (Iowa Dept. of Public Safety)
- Mike Bryant, Iowa Assoc. of Professional Fire Fighters
(Ames Fire Department) - Tom Weibel, Iowa Telephone Assoc. >15,000 customers
(Lumen Technologies) - Adam Welp, Iowa Telephone Assoc. <15,000 customers
(MTC Technologies) - Robert Dehnert (Vice Chair), Iowa Emergency Medical Services Assoc.
(West Des Moines Emergency Medical Services) - Cara Sorrells (Secretary), Iowa Chapter of the Assoc. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (Iowa County Sheriff)
- Jeff Miller, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
(Dubuque County) - LT Josh Duden, Iowa DPS Communications Interoperability Bureau
- John McCormally, Auditor of State, Ex-Officio Member
- Eric Dau, Iowa Firefighters Assoc.
(Clinton County 911 Director) - Sheriff Brad Shutts, Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Assoc.
(Jasper County Sheriff) - Joe Sargent, Personal Communications Services companies
(T-Mobile – West Des Moines) - Steve Zimmer, Cellular Providers
(US Cellular) - Chief Shane McSheehy, Iowa Peace Officers Association
(Pella Police Department )
911 Documents & Reports
List items for 911 Documents & Reports
Service Provider
- Surcharge Remittance Form (32.26 KB) Archived .pdf
- Attachment A: Invoice Form (167.89 KB) Archived .pdf
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and Local Service Board
- Attachment B: Invoice Form (174.25 KB) Archived .pdf
- Attachment D: Change Management Form
- PSAP Contacts/Communications Point-of-Contact Form
- Service Board Membership Form (1.75 MB) Archived .pdf
- Sample Service Board Bylaw Document (54 KB) Archived .doc
- County Service Plan Template (49.53 KB) Archived .docx
- Master PSAP List (447.02 KB) Archived .xlsx
Quarterly Reports
The latest Quarterly PSAP Payments Report is available upon request.
Annual & Biennial Reports
- 911 Annual Report 2025
- 911 Annual Report 2024
- FY 2023/2024 Biennial Report on PSAP Expenditures
- FY 2021/2022 Biennial Report on PSAP Expenditures
Other Reports
- Iowa 911 Wireless NG911 Plan 2018 (21.58 MB) Archived .pdf
- Iowa Transition to GIS Data Hub Webinar (54.99 MB)
- Iowa NG911 GIS Schema Field Mapping Worksheet (266.47 KB) Archived .xlsx (Excel)
- Iowa NG911 Standards Document (1.12 MB) Archived .pdf
- Second Series NG911 GIS Standards Webinar (YouTube video)