Calling Assistance for People with Hearing or Speech Difficulties | Washington Relay Services
The Washington Relay Service is a free service provided by the WA State Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) ensuring equal communications access to the telephone service for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind and speech disabled. This service allows hearing callers to communicate with text-telephone (TTY) callers and vice versa through specially trained Communication Assistants (CA’s). Access to these services is available through the 711 dialing code. Calls can be made to anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with no restrictions on the number, length, or type of calls. All calls are strictly confidential and no records of any conversations are maintained. Anyone wishing to use Washington Relay Service for TTY or Voice calls simply dials 711 to connect with a CA. The CA will dial the requested number and relay the conversation between the callers.
The telephone numbers to contact the Washington Relay Service are below. Calls to these numbers are free but long distance, operator assistance, and/or other applicable charges will apply.
| TTY | 711 or 1.800.833.6388 |
| Voice | 711 or 1.800.833.6384 |
| Telebraille | 1.800.833.6385 |
| HCO (Hearing Carry Over) | 1.800.833.6388 |
| VCO (Voice Carry Over) | 1.800.833.6386 |
| STS (Speech To Speech) | 1.877.833.6341 |
| Spanish TTY | 1.877.833.6399 |
| Spanish Voice | 1.877.833.6398 |
| 900 Services | 1.900.646.3323 |
| International Calls | 1.605.224.1837 |
| Public Payphone Calls | 1.605.224.1837 |
| Emergencies | 911 or 1.605.224.1837 |
Additional information can be obtained about the Washington Relay Service at: www.washingtonrelay.com or by calling 1.800.676-3777 TTY/Voice or 1.800.676.4290 TTY/Voz (Spanish).
Long Distance Calls
Washington Relay will honor requests by users to be billed through their preferred long distance carriers. Washington Relay users will need to inform the Communication Assistant (CA) to bill their calls to a designated long distance carrier at the beginning of the call. If the user does not inform the CA, the long distance call will be billed by a default long distance carrier which may not be the same as the caller’s preferred carrier. Washington Relay users can create a Customer Database Profile to store their individual call preferences expediting call processing and ensuring a preferred long distance carrier is used each time a call is made. To set up your Customer Database Profile, call Washington Relay Customer Service at 1.800.676.3777 (TTY/Voice) or 1.800.676.4290 TTY/Voz (Spanish). Representatives will take your request on the phone or send you a form to complete.
Public Payphone Calls with TTY
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order outlining an interim plan for access to public payphone service through relay services. The order states:
- All local calls from TTY payphones are free of charge.
- Toll calls can be billed through calling cards and prepaid cards.
TTY users who wish to use a coin TTY payphone can use Washington Relay to assist in connecting calls. There are several ways to bill non-local calls:
- Collect
- Third party
- Calling card
- Prepaid card
