RAPID Street Number

Emergency Services will find you faster

Rural and lifestyle areas use 'Easy Find' street numbers and knowing your RAPID street number can save time and lives.

Just imagine - the quad has rolled on you and now you're lying injured in the top paddock. You know it's essential for crush injuries that emergency services get to you within the 'golden hour'. Help is on its way; your mate has run back to the house and is phoning 111. Meanwhile in the emergency services control room, the operator is asking him that all important question "What is your RAPID street number?"

Having a RAPID street number helps emergency services to find you faster. It’s in everyone's interest that emergency services can locate fires or medical emergencies fast. Some rural properties do not have allocated numbers and this often means wasted time in an emergency situation.

What is a RAPID street address?

A RAPID number is a number allocated to a rural property to assist emergency services in locating a property and to assist in keeping your Council property records in good order. RAPID (sometimes also called Emergency Services number) addresses are based on a Brazilian numbering system and stands for Rural Address Property Identification.

Using the RAPID system your property number is the distance in metres from the start of the road divided by 10. Odd numbers are allocated to the left side of the road and even to the right.

So the number to the right is on a road entrance 6.59km down the road, on the left hand side (RAPID number will be 659). If our injured rural property owner has a RAPID number the ambulance will be setting its trip meter to zero at the road intersection, will see the reflective blue and white emergency services number on the mail box, and will soon be on site. But if the owner doesn’t have a RAPID number, it could be a long wait...

How to get a RAPID number

RAPID numbers are managed by the Council. The RAPID number does not affect your rural delivery number; you still retain your RD number for your postal address.

The RAPID number application fee is $55. You will receive for this:

• one standard reflectorised mail box number plate
• We will update our internal records with your new number
• We will give your new number to emergency services, civil defence and utilities

To apply for a RAPID number you can:

• Download and print a PDF form to return to Council with your payment (73KB PDF)

 And don't forget to keep your RAPID number by your house and cell phone - you never know when you might need it!

Council is currently reviewing all its rural addresses

The Council is currently reviewing all its rural addresses, checking that existing RAPID numbers are correct, and allocating a RAPID number to any property that doesn’t have one. For more information on this review, and what happens after it, visit Council review of rural addresses (RAPID numbers) page.

Contact

Phone: +64 3 546 0200

Email: enquiries@ncc.govt.nz

Go to Council main contact page