New digital emergency Beacon Registry service goes online today
406 MHz beacon owners should update and confirm their beacon information to ensure emergency responders have the information they need.
Our new online Beacon Registry self-service portal will make it easier and more convenient than ever for emergency beacon users to securely provide and update their ownership information.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), as part of its ongoing commitment to improving its digital offering and services, has today (30 September) launched a 24-7 online registration platform at www.gov.uk/406beacon meaning customers are no longer required to submit beacon ownership documentation in paper form or via post.
Now, owners with single or multiple beacons can manage their own data such as email addresses, beacon Hex Id, telephone numbers and beacon uses (land, sea and air), in a secure and streamlined digital environment.
Emergency 406 MHz beacons send a ‘distress signal’ including your location, via satellites to alert search and rescue authorities that you could be in difficulty. Types of beacon include Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) for vessels, Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) attached to people, and Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) for aircraft.
If a registered beacon is activated in an emergency at sea, on land, or in the air, HM Coastguard, the search and rescue arm of the MCA, and emergency service partners, have reliable information at their fingertips, which is crucial in helping them to locate and rescue those in distress.
New beacon owners are advised to create an online account and register at the earliest opportunity.
Existing customers must confirm their beacon details on the new service by logging in using the email with which they registered their beacon. If this registration occurred within the last eight years, the Beacon Registry will be in contact by email or letter with advice as to how to do this and how to manage their data in the future.
More recent beacon registrations and amendments may not yet be listed on the new self-service platform. If this is the case, those wishing to register their new beacon can set up an account and register their beacon on the new portal. In the interim period, whilst existing beacon owners confirm their details on the new digital system, search and rescue responders will continue to have access to all information previously registered and held by the Beacon Registry.
Peter Davies, Maritime Commander for HM Coastguard said:
Right from receiving automated confirmation of registration, the Beacon Registry self-service portal is simple to use and importantly a secure environment for new customers, those who have already registered and manufacturers of beacons. “The effectiveness of Emergency 406 MHz beacons, whether it be an EPIRB, PLB or ELT, depends on the correct information being available to search and rescue authorities, which can ultimately help save more lives in emergency situations.
UK Beacon Registry
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except public holidays).