T9 · T9-R02
Emergency Responder, ERL, and ELIN
Learn it in 5 minutes
- Cisco Emergency Responder is a separate product. The support page opened here lists Release 15 as available, with a release date of 16 October 2023.
- The Release 15 planning chapter says Emergency Responder queries Unified CM for registered phones, then queries switches to learn the port.
- An ERL is assigned to a switch port from the location of the device on that port. The same chapter says moving the patch cord without changing the ERL can send the wrong ELIN.
- The CUCM configuration chapter says Emergency Responder converts the caller extension to an ELIN used to route the call and to allow PSAP callback.
- That chapter says Emergency Responder tracks the extension for an ELIN for up to three hours, and sends a callback with no active mapping to on-site security.
Visual
What is going on
Read the three objects in order. The switch port is where the phone was discovered. The emergency response location is the zone you assigned to that port. The ELIN is the callback number the public-safety answering point sees for that zone. The planning chapter says phones on undefined switches show up as unlocated, and new or changed ports need an ERL assignment. Discovery uses SNMP read credentials and a switch-port update. None of that is a dial-plan CSS. The product support page is the index. The administration guide is the book for Release 15. Menu names and limits belong to the release you run.
Confirm before relying. Confirm switch support, SNMP version, and on-premises versus off-premises behavior in the Emergency Responder guide for your release.
Worked example
A phone moves from a lobby port to a lab port and the patch is not updated. Emergency Responder still has the lobby ERL on the old port mapping. A 911 call can leave with the lobby ELIN. The planning chapter treats that as a wiring change you must reflect, not as a mystery in the carrier.
Quiz
1. An ELIN is the caller's directory number.
False. The CUCM chapter describes the ELIN as the number Emergency Responder uses for routing and PSAP callback, mapped back to the extension.
2. A phone on a switch Emergency Responder does not know is still located.
False. The planning chapter calls those phones unlocated.
Ecosystem
Sister pieces sit on the ecosystem page: the glossary, the mind map, the integration map, and the sibling labs.
- ERL — Emergency response location. The zone Emergency Responder binds to a switch port.
- ELIN — Emergency location identification number. The callback number sent for that zone.
Config. Name the switch, the port, the ERL, and the ELIN before you change a route pattern.
Troubleshooting. If the phone is unlocated, fix discovery and the port assignment before you open a carrier ticket.
Bridge. CUCM still needs a pattern that hands the emergency call to Emergency Responder, and translation patterns so a PSAP callback hits the route point the guide describes.
Mind map, sister technologies, and future hooks live on the ecosystem page.
Sources
- Cisco Emergency Responder product support
- Plan for Cisco Emergency Responder, Release 15
- Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Emergency Responder 15
- Cisco Emergency Responder Administration Guide, Release 15
Product screens move. Confirm the guide for your release before you change a live system.
Sources and go deeper
Opened 2026-10. A row marked confirm has no link, because that page was not verified.
- Cisco. Cisco Emergency Responder product support last checked 2026-10
- Cisco. Plan for Cisco Emergency Responder, Release 15 last checked 2026-10
- Cisco. Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Emergency Responder 15 last checked 2026-10
- Cisco. Cisco Emergency Responder Administration Guide, Release 15 last checked 2026-10
- Cisco. Cisco Unified Communications Manager product support last checked 2026-10
- Cisco. System Configuration Guide for CUCM, Release 15 last checked 2026-10