IPAWS 101 America’s 

System for Local 

Emergency Alerts

INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT & WARNING SYSTEM

WHAT IS IPAWS ? Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) is a tool that 

Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (FSLTT) public safety 

agencies can use to notify the public of disasters and deliver emergency 

and public safety information. 

FSLTT public safety agencies 

can sign up to become an

Alerting Authority.

ALERTING AUTHORITY

A jurisdiction with the 

designated authority to alert 

and warn the public when 

there is an impending natural 

or human-made disaster, 

threat, or dangerous or 

missing person. 

ALERT PATHWAYS INCLUDE

WIRELESS 

EMERGENCY Delivers messages 

to mobile phones

ALERTS (WEA)

OTHER 

ALERTING 

SYSTEMS

Sirens, digital 

signage, and more

NOAA

WEATHER Delivers weather-related and NonWeather Emergency Messages (NWEM)

RADIO

EMERGENCY 

ALERT 

SYSTEMS

(EAS)

Delivers messages to

radio & television

BENEFITS OF IPAWS

NO SIGN-UP 

REQUIRED 

TO RECEIVE 

ALERTS 

There is no need to 

sign up or subscribe 

to receive alerts from

IPAWS. There is no 

cost to receive alerts

MINIMAL COST 

TO ALERTING 

AUTHORITIES

There is no cost to 

send or receive alerts 

through IPAWS. 

Alerting Authorities 

may incur costs to 

. purchase compatible 

alert origination 

software that meets 

IPAWS requirements. 

LOCAL TARGETING

With IPAWS, Alerting 

Authorities can target specific 

geographic areas to ensure 

only those in the affected area, 

including visitors, receive the 

alert. The content and timing 

of alerts is at the discretion 

of Alerting Authorities. FEMA 

does not review, edit, approve, 

or disapprove alerts sent by 

public safety agencies. 

LANGUAGE & FUNCTIONAL 

ACCESSIBILITY

WEA’s recipients can 

currently choose to display 

alerts in English or Spanish 

and EAS messages can 

include multilingual audio. 

IPAWS also allows for the 

integration of images and 

has text-to-speech capability 

to accommodate those with 

functional needs.

October 2023

fema.gov/IPAWS
SIGN UP TO BE AN IPAWS ALERTING AUTHORITY !

NOTE: BEFORE APPLYING, FIND OUT IF YOU ARE QUALIFIED. 

Consult with your State IPAWS representative (typically found in the State Emergency Management 

Agency) about your ability to become an IPAWS Alerting Authority. FSLTT governments are eligible to 

become IPAWS Alerting Authorities. Other public or private-sector organizations may also be eligible 

depending on their public safety mission. 

Detailed instructions for sign-up 

can be found on the IPAWS website. 

To sign up, you will be asked to 

complete the following:

Complete 

IPAWS

Web-Based 

Training

Select an 

IPAWS 

Compatible 

Software

Apply for a

Memorandum 

of Agreement

with FEMA

Apply for

Public 

Alerting 

Permissions

KEY SUCCESS POINTS

1,800+

There are currently

1,800+ IPAWS 

Alerting Authorities. 

130+

AMBER Alerts via 

IPAWS have led to the

recovery of more than 

130 missing children. 

600

Through IPAWS, over 

600 WEA alerts are 

sent per month. 

IPAWS IN ACTION

MASSACHUSETTS 11-YEAR-OLD ONE OF MANY RECOVERED THANKS TO AMBER ALERT

After a stranger forced an 11-year-old girl in Springfield, Massachusetts into his vehicle, an AMBER Alert was 

promptly sent out, spurring the community in to action. An outpouring of videos and pictures of the suspected 

kidnapper and his vehicle flooded in, providing detectives with invaluable information that led to the safe 

recovery of the girl and the arrest of the kidnapper. 

TORNADO SURVIVORS CREDIT WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT FOR SAVING THEIR LIVES 

Survivors of a deadly tornado had more than luck to thank for their lives. At roughly 3 a.m., in the black of 

night, a tornado touched down in Bollinger County, Missouri, setting out on a path that left five dead and many 

injured and homeless. It could have been worse. A WEA sent by officials to all in the tornado’s path, allowed 

many people to seek shelter, potentially saving their lives.

POWER BLACKOUTS AVERTED THANKS TO WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT

Power blackouts can disrupt societies like few other disasters. They can sever communications, water 

supplies, and transportation; close gas stations, ATMs and grocery stores; prevent the use of medical devices; 

and cause mass food spoilage. A record-breaking California heatwave led to an extraordinarily high level of 

energy consumption. The state’s power grid was strained and power blackouts were imminent. A critical WEA 

was sent, asking Californians to “conserve energy now”. Within five minutes, energy usage had reduced across 

the state by nearly 2.4 percent, leaving enough power to prevent disaster.

October 2023

fema.gov/IPAWS