Do I need to buy a TTY in order to be in compliance with the ADA, Sections 504 and/or 508?
No. If you are buying a TTY in order to be in compliance, the purchase may not meet the criteria in order to be in compliance. Purchasing one TTY for a large, medium or even small office might get a person who is deaf to the front desk receptionist but how will they speak to the person with whom they really need to speak? For compliance purposes multiple purchases of TTYs would be necessary. For offices that seldom receive TTY calls this is not cost effective methodology. DARS’ Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services suggests that businesses and agencies make use of the myriad of free relay options and service providers available. In Texas one way to make a call to a TTY user without benefit of having a TTY yourself is to dial 7-1-1 and make contact with a Relay Texas agent who will dial your TTY number and relay the conversation back and forth for you. The service is free and open 24/7/365 (www.puc.state.tx.us/relay). Above we mention a “myriad” of relay options and service provi
