Wisconsin Relay Makes Telecommunications Accessible for Nonstandard Phone Users

What is Wisconsin Relay?

Wisconsin Relay is a free, completely confidential 24-hour public service that makes the use of the telephone possible and a better experience for many thousands of citizens and visitors of the state who are, deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, speech-disabled, and hearing.

How does Wisconsin Relay work?

The person dials the toll-free Wisconsin Relay number and gives the communications assistant (often abbreviated as the CA) the area code and number of the person receiving the call. An example of a Wisconsin Relay service is a highly trained CA who voices the typed connection by the TTY (text telephone) user and types the spoken comments by the other person back to the TTY user. Wisconsin Relay provides several options to meet the needs of people who do not use the standard telephone.

How to connect to Wisconsin Relay:

Dial                                        7-1-1*   

Voice Carry-Over:               1-877-490-3724 

TTY:                                       1-800-947-3529 

Hearing Carry-Over:           1-800-947-3529

Voice:                                    1-800-947-6644 

Speech-to-Speech:              1-800-833-7637

ASCII:                                     1-800-267-8867 

Spanish-to-Spanish:            1-800-833-7813

Spanish-to-English:             1-877-490-3723 

Cap-Tel – a free captioned phone service

CapTel, short for captioned telephone, users place calls in the same way when dialing with standard telephone. Utilizing voice recognition technology that displays verbatim captions of the conversation on telephone or computer screen, the CapTel user can hear and read what the other person is saying.

How do I apply for specialized telephone equipment?

The Telecommunications Equipment Purchase Program (TEPP) provides qualified applicants (proof of a disability that makes using a standard telephone difficult or impossible) with vouchers to purchase assistive telephone equipment. A person can apply for a voucher by visiting www.wisconsinrelay.com/tepp (TTY in state only) or 1-608-231-3305 (Voice).

Learn more about Wisconsin Relay

Wisconsin Relay Website:                                 www.wisconsinrelay.com

Wisconsin Relay Customer Service:                 1-800-676-3777 (TTY/Voice/ASCII)

Wisconsin Relay Spanish Customer Service:  1-800-676-4290 (TTY/Voice/ASCII)

Speech-to-Speech Customer Service:             1-800-787-1989 (Voice)

Voice Carry-Over Customer Service:               1-866-931-9027 (Voice)

CapTel Customer Service:                                 1-888-269-7477 (Voice/CapTel/TTY)

CapTel Spanish Customer Service:                   1-866-670-9134 (Voice/CapTel/TTY)

Sprint TTY Operator Service:                            1-800-855-4000

Services supported by surcharge

A few cents per telephone bill surcharge makes Wisconsin Relay services possible for the citizens of Wisconsin. Sprint is the provider of the relay services for Wisconsin.

7-1-1 is not an emergency number

Some people might assume it is okay to call 7-1-1 for emergencies. The 7-1-1 Wisconsin Relay number is for relay service calls only. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that 911 centers be prepared to handle emergency calls from people who use the text telephone. Wisconsin Relay will make every effort to assist a person during an emergency but cannot serve in the same function as 911 centers. Wisconsin Relay does not assume responsibility for handling emergency calls.