NERIS Resource Center
What is a NERIS Entity ID, and is your department set up right?
A NERIS Entity ID is the 10-character code that uniquely identifies your fire department in NERIS, the national incident reporting system that replaced NFIRS. Unlike the old FDID, which was only guaranteed unique within your state, a NERIS Entity ID is unique nationwide. Every U.S. fire department needs one, career or volunteer, and registration takes about an hour once you know the steps.
Key takeaways
- A NERIS Entity ID is 10 characters: a two-letter prefix ("FD" for fire department, "FM" for fire marshal), a five-digit FIPS code for your headquarters location, and three digits generated for national uniqueness.
- It replaces the FDID as your reporting identity. FDIDs were only unique within a state; Entity IDs are unique across the country.
- Your State Fire Marshal verifies your department before NERIS issues the ID, plan for the approval chain, not just the form.
- Register at least two administrators. A single-admin account loses access when that person leaves the department.
- If your department receives FEMA grant funding, reporting gaps can affect the award, get registered and reporting before your next grant period.
What does a NERIS Entity ID look like?
The ID has three parts, and each part means something:
The prefix (two letters) identifies what kind of entity you are. "FD" is a fire department; "FM" is a fire marshal's office.
The middle five digits are the FIPS code, a standardized federal geographic identifier, for the location of your headquarters.
The last three digits are generated to guarantee no two entities in the country share an ID.
How is it different from our FDID?
Your FDID only had to be unique inside your state. A department in New York and a department in Texas could carry the same FDID, and for statewide reporting that was fine. It broke down anywhere data crossed state lines: multi-state analysis, regional mutual aid studies, federal grant reporting. The NERIS Entity ID fixes that with geographic coding and national uniqueness: one department, one identity, everywhere the data goes.
Multi-station departments and districts that juggle several FDIDs should pay attention here: NERIS registers your department and its stations as entities, and how cleanly that maps to your reporting workflow depends on your records software. RedAlert manages multi-FDID reporting from one system instead of a stack of separate logins.
How does a department get its Entity ID?
The U.S. Fire Administration oversees NERIS, and your State Fire Marshal verifies your department before the system issues an ID. The setup itself is four steps:
1. Designate at least two administrators. The chief plus one other member is the sensible minimum. Departments that register a single admin risk losing access to their own account when that person retires or moves on.
2. Register at neris.fsri.org. Find your department in the dropdown and complete the onboarding fields. If your department isn't listed, submit an "Add a Fire Department" request to the NERIS helpdesk.
3. Choose how you'll report. You can enter incidents manually through the free NERIS web app, or submit automatically through your records management system. If you run an RMS, use the integration: reporting through a disconnected portal splits your incident data from your personnel records, training files, and everything else your department tracks. Look for NERIS V1 certification when you evaluate vendors; it's the difference between an integration that exists and one that's promised. RedAlert is NERIS V1 certified.
4. Verify and activate. Check the issued Entity ID and your department information for accuracy. Live data submission is off by default. Your department decides when to turn it on. If you receive FEMA funding, turn it on before your next grant period starts.
Common questions
How do we look up our NERIS Entity ID?
Log in at neris.fsri.org. Your department's Entity ID and registration details are in your account. If nobody in your department knows who the administrators are, that's the first thing to fix.
Our department isn't listed in NERIS. What do we do?
Submit an "Add a Fire Department" request to the NERIS helpdesk. Departments that weren't pre-loaded get added through that process, then complete the same onboarding as everyone else.
Do volunteer departments need a NERIS Entity ID?
Yes. Every U.S. fire department (career, volunteer, or combination) registers the same way and gets the same kind of ID. There is no separate track or exemption for volunteer agencies.
What happens if we don't register or stop reporting?
Reporting gaps hurt twice. Your department's data disappears from the analytics that support budget requests and ISO documentation, and if you receive FEMA grant funding, you're required to report during the grant's performance period. Failure to report can result in an award being modified or withdrawn.
One system. One identity. No extra logins.
See how RedAlert handles NERIS registration, multi-FDID departments, and submission, live, with a real person.