Please contact the Minnesota Relay Consumer Relations Office:
For more information on services offered through Minnesota Relay
For questions on how to place or receive a Minnesota Relay call
To request a brochure or calling instruction sheet
To schedule a free presentation or training
To file a commendation or complaint
651-602-9005 or 1-800-657-3775 (voice, TTY)
Minnesota Department of Commerce - TAM Program
85 7th Place East, Suite 500
St. Paul, MN 55101-3165
651-296-0412 or 1-800-657-3775
E-mail:mn.relay@state.mn.us
Web site:www.mnrelay.org
Sprint Relay 24-hour Customer Service: 1-800-676-3777
By completing and submitting the Minnesota Relay Customer Preference form the Relay is able to store your call preferences in their database. This will allow your Relay calls to be set up quickly and ensures that your preferred carrier is used for long distance calls.
Click here to view a list of all available long distance carriers. You may also contact Sprint 24-hour Customer Service at 1-800-676-3777 (voice/TTY) for a current list of all available long distance carriers.
If no carrier is registered, all long distance Minnesota Relay calls (including CapTel relay calls) will be carried and billed by Sprint.
Attention CapTel Relay users: You must complete the CapTel Customer Preference form in order to ensure that your CapTel long distance calls are carried and billed through your existing long distance service or calling plan.
Individuals who place long distance calls to a CapTel relay user must also register their long distance carrier so that their CapTel calls are carried and billed through their existing long distance service or calling plan.
You may also complete and submit the CapTel Customer Preference form online at:www.captionedtelephone.com/carrierchoice.phtml.
Complete this form so Minnesota Relay can store your call preferences in its database. This will allow your Relay calls to be set up quickly and ensures that your preferred carrier is used for long distance calls. Download File
Is a Business Hanging Up on Your Relay Call?
Many businesses unknowingly hang up when they receive a Minnesota Relay call because they think it is a telemarketer, or because they don't understand how a telephone call through Minnesota Relay works. By educating businesses, Relay users experience less hang ups on their calls.
If you have tried to contact a business through Minnesota Relay but the business hung up on your call, let us know. We will contact the business and provide them with information on how to accept and place a relay call.
To report a business, download "Form: Reporting Hangups" from the column to the right. You can fill out the form online, print it and either mail or fax to the address shown below. If you would like a form mailed to you please call: 651-297-8941 or 1-800-657-3599.
Please complete the form and mail or fax it to:
Minnesota Department of Commerce
ATTN: TAM Program
85 7th Place East, Suite 600
St. Paul, MN 55101-3165
Fax: 651-297-7891
Instructions for telecommunications services available to people with hearing or speech difficulties.
CapTel Instructions
A simple two-page document on how to use and get the most from your CapTel phone.
Hearing Carry Over Instructions
2-Line Hearing Carry Over Instructions
1. You will hear a Communication Assistant (CA) say "Hello, a person is calling you through Minnesota Relay. This is CA number XXXX. Have you received a relay call before?"
If you are not familiar with relay say "NO" and the CA will explain how relay works. If you have any questions, ask them at this time.
If you are familiar with relay say "YES" and the call will begin.
2. Remember to say "Go ahead" or "GA" after each time you are finished speaking. When the CA says "Go ahead" back to you, it is your turn to speak.
3. See below for "Tips for Successful Calls" for smooth call handling.
Dial 7-1-1 to make a relay call
7-1-1 is a toll-free, nationwide relay access number. You may dial 7-1-1 from anywhere in the country and be connected to the relay service in the state you are calling from. Once connected to the relay service, inform the CA of the type of relay call you wish to make (i.e. TTY, HCO, VCO, STS, Spanish, etc.).
While the 7-1-1 access number is easy to remember, dialing the direct toll-free number for a specific type of relay call may result in faster connections because the call doesn't need to be transferred.
Direct access numbers for Minnesota Relay
TTY, Voice, ASCII, Hearing Carry Over: 1-800-627-3529
Voice-Carry-Over: 1-877-627-3024
Two-Line Voice Carry Over: 1-866-855-4611
Speech-to-Speech: 1-877-627-3848
Spanish Relay: 1-877-627-5448
900 Pay-Per-Call: 1-900-230-3324
1) To place a call to a Minnesota Relay users, dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-627-3529. If you hear something that sounds like fax tones and/or if the line is silent, stay on the line and wait for Minnesota Relay to answer (it may take up to 2 minutes for the CA to come on the line).
2) Minnesota Relay will answer and the CA will state her/his identification number and gender.
3) If you are not familiar with relay, you may ask the CA to explain how relay works. If you have any questions, you will need to ask them at this time.
4) Give the CA the 10 digit telephone number of the person you wish to call.
5) Once the person you are calling answers, proceed with the call as you would a regular phone call.
6) Remember to say "Go ahead" or "GA" after each time you are finished speaking. When the CA says "Go ahead" back to you, it is your turn to speak.
7) See below for "Tips for Successful Calls" for smooth call handling.
Say "Go Ahead" or "GA" each time you have finished speaking:The term "Go Ahead" or "GA" is important for relay calls for turn taking purposes. "GA" insures that you (the standard phone user) and the relay user do not respond at the same time and miss each other's communication. Say "Go Ahead" or "GA" each time you have finished speaking and are ready for a response. When you hear the CA say "GA" it is your turn to speak again.
Speak directly to the person calling, not the CA:Talk in the first person and pretend the CA is not on the call. The CA is not part of the conversation and will not acknowledge you if you speak to him/her.
Asking the relay user questions: If you need to ask the relay user a series of questions, ask them one at a time, wait for a response, and then ask the next question. This gives the relay user a chance to respond to each question and reduces misunderstandings.
Be patient, and speak slowly: Relay calls take longer than regular telephone calls. Because the CA must type everything you say verbatim, speak slowly. If you are speaking too fast, the CA may ask you to slow down or to repeat yourself. There may be a pause before the CA begins relaying the response back to you.
The CA will type everything that is heard: To ensure that relay calls are functionally equivalent to standard telephone calls, CAs type everything they hear, including background noises and voice intonations. Your words will be typed exactly as you say them.
When Minnesota Relay calls, don't hang up: The person calling is deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled and is using Minnesota Relay to contact you. This is not a telemarketing call and it is very important that you do not hang up on the caller.
Long Distance Charges: The long distance carrier you have chosen for your home or business service is NOT automatically applied to Minnesota Relay calls. To make sure your long distance calls are carried and billed through your existing long distance service or calling plan, it is recommended that you submit a Minnesota Relay Customer Preference form. You also may inform the CA of your preferred carrier of choice prior to placing a long distance relay call. If no carrier is indicated, long distance Minnesota Relay calls will be carried and billed by Sprint.
PBX (Private Branch Exchange) Systems and 7-1-1: You may not be able to dial 7-1-1 to make a relay call if your business has a PBX system. If you encounter this difficulty, contact the telecommunications manager or PBX coordinator from your building and ask them to re-program the PBX switch software to allow 7-1-1 access.
Additional Detailed Calling Instructions: For detailed calling instructions for Voice Carry Over, Two-Line Voice Carry Over, Hearing Carry Over, Two-Line Hearing Carry Over, CapTel, Two-Line CapTel, and Speech-to-Speech go: www.mnrelay.org and click on Relay User Support.
This service allows telephone calls between a TTY (text-telephone) user and a hearing person. The CA reads the TTY user's words to the hearing person, and types the hearing person's words for the TTY user to read.
To place a Minnesota Relay call, dial: 7-1-1 or 1-800-627-3529 (voice, TTY, ASCII).
You can use Minnesota Relay to place calls to directory assistance (DA). When a relay user requests to call DA, the CA will contact the appropriate DA operator. After obtaining the number, the caller may choose to place the call through Minnesota Relay or to dial the number directly. (Note: DA is often subject to charges by the caller's local service provider.)
This service allows relay users to retrieve voice messages on their answering machine or voice mail.
Minnesota Relay users with low vision who use a TTY equipped with a telebraille or large visual display typically prefer slower typing speeds. During this type of relay call, the CA will type at a normal speed, but the text will come across at a rate of 15 words per minute, allowing for a more readable transmission speed. Users may request to increase or decrease the transmission speed in increments of 5 words per minute.
Minnesota Relay users can make local relay calls from payphones free of charge. Long distance relay calls can be charged to a calling card or prepaid card, by calling collect, or billed to a third party. Coins can not be used to pay for a long distance relay call from a payphone.
Copyright © 2012 Minnesota Department of Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
Minnesota Department of Commerce + 85 Seventh Place East + Saint Paul, MN 55101