As of 2026, NFIRS no longer accepts new incidents. The National Fire Incident Reporting System ran for nearly 50 years, and now it’s gone. Every fire department in the country reports through NERIS instead. In order to do that, your department needs a NERIS Entity ID.
Most chiefs already know NERIS is required. What’s less clear is how the ID is actually structured, who issues it, and what setup involves once you’re ready to start. There’s a lot of “you need this” floating around and not much “here’s how you get it.”
This guide fixes that. We’ll cover what a NERIS Entity ID is and how it’s built, how it differs from the old FDID, who has to approve it before it’s issued, and a step-by-step path to get your department set up and reporting. By the end, you’ll know exactly what the ID system is and what to do next — whether you’ve never logged in to NERIS or you’re just confirming you did it right. For background on the broader switch, see our NFIRS to NERIS transition guide.
What Is a NERIS Entity ID?
A NERIS Entity ID is a 10-digit alphanumeric identifier that uniquely tags your department on the NERIS platform. It’s how the system knows which department a report belongs to, and it’s required before you can submit incident data.
The ID isn’t random. It’s built from three parts that each mean something:
- Entity prefix (first two letters). This describes the entity type. FD means fire department; FM means fire marshal.
- FIPS geographic code (middle five digits). This is the FIPS code for your headquarters location — a standardized geographic identifier.
- Uniqueness digits (final three). These are randomly generated so two departments in the same FIPS area never end up with the same ID number.
That structure matters because it makes every ID nationally unique. The legacy FDID didn’t do that, which caused real problems. More on that next.
NERIS Entity ID vs. FDID: What Changed and Why It Matters
TL; DR: FDIDs were only unique within a state, and NERIS Entity IDs are unique across the entire country. That single change clears up a problem that quietly distorted national fire data for years.
Under the old system, two departments in different states could share the same FDID. For day-to-day reporting inside one state, that was fine. But the moment you tried to combine data across state lines – for mutual-aid analysis, regional planning, or any national picture – those duplicate identifiers created confusion. Records that looked like they belonged to one department might actually belong to several.
Because NERIS IDs are tied to FIPS geography and capped with random uniqueness digits, that duplication is gone. For your department, the practical payoff is cleaner data, more accurate grant reporting, and no ambiguity about whose incidents are whose when records get aggregated regionally or nationally. You can keep using your FDID locally during the transition if you need to, but the NERIS Entity ID is now the identifier that counts. For a fuller look at what shifted in the move, see our writeup on the key NERIS transition changes and challenges.
Who Issues a NERIS Entity ID?
Your NERIS Entity ID is issued through an approval chain, not a self-serve signup. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) oversees the system. Your State Fire Marshal, or your state’s fire authority, verifies your department. NERIS then generates the ID.
That verification step is deliberate. Requiring State Fire Marshal approval before an ID is issued keeps duplicate or unauthorized entities out of the national dataset. It’s a small amount of friction up front in exchange for data everyone can trust.
How to Get Set Up in NERIS: Step by Step
Fire department NERIS onboarding is a simple process. NERIS reports that most departments finish full account setup (admins assigned, stations entered, reporting method chosen, etc.) in under an hour. The barrier is awareness, not complexity. Here’s the sequence:
Step 1: Designate Your NERIS Administrators
Assign at least two administrators to your NERIS account. NERIS recommends it, and so do we. Typically, its going to be the chief plus one other department member. Here’s the part that bites departments later: NERIS does not give the State Fire Marshal direct access to your department profile. If your single admin retires, moves on, or loses access, you’re the only one who can fix it. Two admins is your insurance against losing control of your own account.
Step 2: Complete the Onboarding Form
Log in to neris.fsri.org and find your department in the dropdown. Complete the required fields and double-check that everything matches your official records. If your department isn’t listed, send the NERIS helpdesk an “Add a Fire Department” request and they’ll help get you into the system.
Step 3: Choose Your Reporting Method
You have two options. The first is the NERIS free app: manual, direct entry, mobile-first, no cost. It’s a reasonable fit for departments that only run a few dozen calls a year and don’t have a budget for a RMS. The second is RMS integration, where your vendor submits data automatically through an API, no double-entry, and your incidents stay connected to your existing records.
If you use an RMS like RedAlert, you’ll enter your vendor client ID in NERIS and select Enroll Integration. When you’re evaluating vendors, look for the NERIS V1 Data Exchange Compatible badge – that’s the signal a vendor is actually certified to submit. Our guide to simplifying the NERIS transition with RedAlert walks through what that integration looks like.
Step 4: Verify Your Entity ID and Activate Reporting
Once setup is done, log back in and confirm your NERIS Entity ID was issued correctly and all your department information is accurate. One detail worth knowing: live data submission is disabled by default, so your department chooses when to flip it on.
Frequently Asked Questions About NERIS Entity IDs
Can I look up my department’s NERIS ID?
Yes, you can look up your department’s NERIS ID on the NERIS website at www.neris.fsri.org
What if my department isn’t in the NERIS system?
Email the NERIS helpdesk and submit an “Add a Fire Department” request. Some departments (especially smaller or newer ones) aren’t pre-loaded in the dropdown. The helpdesk will add your entity so you can complete onboarding. From there, your State Fire Marshal verifies the department before the ID is issued.
Do volunteer fire departments get NERIS IDs?
Yes. Every fire department that reports incidents needs its own NERIS Entity ID, volunteer or career. The process is the same: confirm your state’s rollout, designate admins, complete the onboarding form, and choose a reporting method.
What happens if we miss the onboarding deadline?
You risk reporting gaps that affect both compliance and your own analytics. Furthermore, if you receive FEMA funding, the stakes are higher. Departments that get FEMA grants must report through NERIS during the grant’s period of performance, and a department that stops reporting can have its award modified or withdrawn. If you’re behind, get set up now rather than waiting.
What Your Department Should Do Right Now
- Assign two admins today. The chief plus one. Don’t leave your account dependent on a single person.
- Verify your RMS vendor is NERIS V1 Certified. If you run an RMS, confirm the certification before you pick a reporting method.
- Complete onboarding. It takes under an hour once your state is live. Don’t let it sit on the to-do list.
- Activate reporting before your next FEMA grant period opens. If you receive federal funding, active NERIS reporting isn’t optional during the grant’s period of performance.
One honest piece of advice. If you already have an RMS, don’t default to FEMA’s free portal. Reporting through a disconnected portal creates data silos and causes your NERIS incidents end up with no link to your existing records, inventory, or personnel profiles. You run the riskof splitting your department’s data across two places that don’t talk to each other. For a recommended sequence, see our NFIRS to NERIS migration plan, and our NERIS webinar recap from after go-live covers what departments ran into in the real world.
How RedAlert Supports NERIS Reporting
Alpine Software is an official NERIS Integration Partner, and RedAlert’s incident reporting is NERIS V1 Certified. For departments already running RedAlert, the setup is straightforward: enter your vendor client ID in NERIS, enroll the integration, and your incidents flow to NERIS automatically – no manual double-entry, no copying data between systems.
The difference comes down to where your data lives. With an integrated RMS, your NERIS reporting stays connected to your existing records, your personnel, and your day-to-day operations instead of sitting in a separate portal. That’s the practical edge, backed by more than 30 years of fire reporting experience behind the platform.
