Add a Public Contact

A Public Contact is a member of the public who can receive alerts from your jurisdiction sent through our Mass Notification system (formerly CivicReady). This article will show you how to add a public contact.

Important Notes

• Public contacts should opt-in to the system through the sign-up page, the MyAlerts app, or text to join. Manually adding public contacts should be reserved for migrating users to the system and rare exceptions.

• If a user texts in to join using a keyword, their phone number will be added to the system. If their phone number is not already in the system, they will be added as a contact with Text-To-Join listed as their last name and their phone number listed as their first name.

• myAlerts app users do not have a public contact visible to admins in the system as no personal information is collected from this application other than the optionally-shared location of the mobile device running the application.
• To add bulk contacts, view our Contact List Upload and Download article or contact your Customer Success Manager. If you don't know who your Customer Success Manager is, then you can contact Support.

Instructions

1. Sign in to the system if you have not already
2. Click the Resources dropdown in the navigation menu, then select the Manage Directories option
3. Click the Public Contacts option
   
4. Click the Add Contact button
   
5. Fill in the basic information fields
   
   
   • User Type: Select 'Public' from the drop-down list
   • First / Last Name (required): The first and last name of the user
   • Written Language: The user's preferred written language
   • Spoken Language: The user's preferred spoken language
   • Notes: Any comments needed
6. Add Contact Information for the user
   
   • Email Addresses: The user's email address
   • Phone Numbers: Add phone numbers for the user
     
     
     • Mobile Phone: The user's mobile phone, which will be used for text messages and/or voice calls; an area code must be included with all phone numbers
       • Provider: The phone provider is now optional and is automatically identified
     • Pager/2nd Cell: A text-only device that can be a second cell phone or a pager
       • Provider: The phone provider is now optional and is automatically identified
     • Business Phone: The user's business phone number
     • Home Phone: The user's home phone number
     • Fax: The user's fax number
7. Navigate to the Contact Location tab and click Add New Address
   
8. Search for and select an address or use the map to select a location
   
9. Click Save
   
   
10. Navigate to Contact Groups and click Modify Groups
    
11. Search for and select Available Groups for the user
    
12. Click Save
    
    
13. Click Save Changes in the top right corner of the screen to add the user
    
14. The public contact has been added