47 CFR § 80.1117 - Procedure for receipt and acknowledgement of distress alerts.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t47/s80.1117"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "47 CFR § 80.1117 - Procedure for receipt and acknowledgement of distress alerts."
title_number: 47
title_name: "Telecommunication"
section_number: "80.1117"
section_name: "Procedure for receipt and acknowledgement of distress alerts."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION"
subchapter_number: "D"
subchapter_name: "SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES"
part_number: "80"
part_name: "STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "47 U.S.C. 151-155, 301-609; 3 U.S.T. 3450, 3 U.S.T. 4726, 12 U.S.T. 2377."
regulatory_source: "51 FR 31213, Sept. 2, 1986, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "80"
---


# 80.1117 Procedure for receipt and acknowledgement of distress alerts.

(a) Normally, distress calls received using digital selective calling are only acknowledged using a DSC acknowledgement by a coast station. Ships should delay any acknowledgement in order to give sufficient time for a coast station to acknowledge the call. In cases where no acknowledgement has been heard and no distress traffic has been heard, the ship should transmit a distress alert relay to the coast station. Upon advice from the Rescue Coordination Center, the ship may transmit a DSC acknowledgement call to stop it from being repeated. Acknowledgement by digital selective calling of receipt of a distress alert in the terrestrial services must comply with ITU-R M.541-9 (incorporated by reference, *see* § 80.7).

(b) Acknowledgement through a satellite of receipt of a distress alert from a ship earth station must be sent immediately (see § 80.1119).

(c) Acknowledgement by radiotelephony of receipt of a distress alert from a ship station or a ship earth station must be given in the following form:

(1) The distress signal MAYDAY;

(2) The call sign or other identification of the station sending the distress message, spoken three times;

(3) The words THIS IS (or DE spoken as DELTA ECHO in case of language difficulties);

(4) The call sign or other identification of the station acknowledging receipt, spoken three times;

(5) The word RECEIVED (or RRR spoken as ROMEO ROMEO ROMEO in case of language difficulties);

(6) The distress signal MAYDAY.

(d) The acknowledgement by direct-printing telegraphy of receipt of a distress alert from a ship station must be given in the following form:

(1) The distress signal MAYDAY;

(2) The call sign or other identification of the station sending the distress alert;

(3) The word DE;

(4) The call sign or other identification of the station acknowledging receipt of the distress alert;

(5) The signal RRR;

(6) The distress signal MAYDAY.

(e) The acknowledgement by direct-printing telegraphy of receipt of a distress alert from a ship earth station must be given by the coast earth station receiving the distress alert by retransmitting the ship station identity of the ship transmitting the distress alert.

[57 FR 9065, Mar. 16, 1992, as amended at 68 FR 46980, Aug. 7, 2003; 73 FR 4491, Jan. 25, 2008; 76 FR 67618, Nov. 2, 2011]