What is Text Telephone (TTY) and Telephone Relay Service (TRS)?
TTY allows people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired to use the telephone to communicate by letting them type messages back and forth to one another rather than talking and listening. TTY is required at both ends of the conversation in order to communicate. TRS, however, allows hearing-impaired and speech-impaired people to communicate via text telephone with non-impaired telephone users who do not have TTY. Each state has developed its own TRS program, so specific access numbers and contacts will vary. The nationwide standard access number is 711. Local telephone service providers translate and route 711 calls to the TRS provider for that specific state.
