Frequently Asked Questions

A distress beacon is an electronic device that, when activated in a life threatening situation, assists rescue authorities in their search to locate those in distress.

In New Zealand, the Rescue Coordination Centre NZ responds to all distress beacon activations. They work quickly to find out as many details as they can about who set off the distress beacon and promptly send search and rescue teams to assist.

406MHz distress beacons are strongly recommended by New Zealand’s Search and Rescue organisations. These distress beacons are fully integrated into the international search and rescue response system, are built to the highest international requirements and meet Australian/New Zealand  standards AS/NZS 4280.1:2017 and AS/NZS 4280.2:2017

If you accidentally activate your beacon, immediately contact RCCNZ on +64 4 577 8030 or 0508 472 269.

This will ensure that a rescue operation is not launched needlessly.  Keep it switched on until instructed to turn it off, even if you are unable to make contact with us.

There is no charge or fee for accidental activation.

It is fine for you to loan your beacon or to borrow someone else's. You do not need to update the registration. Click here to learn more.

Please ensure your distress contacts are aware of your trip intentions/plans, as we will be in contact with them should you activate your beacon during your trip.

You can take your beacon overseas and keep your registration details with us here in New Zealand. If your distress contacts are mainly in the country that you are moving to, and you intend to live there long term, it may make more sense to have the beacon recoded to that country and registered there.

No. Search and Rescue responses in New Zealand are free.

Please read more here to find out who can service your beacon.

If you have sold your beacon, the registration needs to be updated.

Please read more here.

The Check Sum is a five character code that can be found on your beacon packaging or the paperwork found in your packaging using only letters A - F and numbers 0 - 9.

If you are buying a second-hand beacon, ensure it is New Zealand coded, and the battery has not expired.

Please create an account and register the beacon here.

Because the beacon is unregistered the RCCNZ operational staff will have to undertake additional checking and efforts to establish that the beacon is in fact not being activated inadvertently. These additional checks take time and consequently the response to your situation will be delayed.

You can activate your beacon if instructed by Ambulance or Police staff even if you are within phone service. This will allow them to liaise with Rescue Coordination to relay your location to their comms team.

You can register and manage your beacon registrations by creating an account here.

If you have already have an account, please log in to update your registration(s).

If you do not have an account yet, please create one here.

To comply with the New Zealand Radio Regulations all radio transmitting devices (including 406 MHz beacons) operated with in New Zealand must be registered with the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand.

The Check Sum is a five character code that can be found on your beacon packaging or the paperwork found in your packaging using only letters A - F and numbers 0 - 9.

It is fine for you to loan your beacon or to borrow someone else's. You do not need to update the registration. Click here to learn more.

Rescue Coordination Centre NZ are not the registering agent for these devices. Please read your owners manual for more information.

Companies, corporations, schools, clubs, farms, syndicates etc. are all considered organisations.

For more clarification please email us at contact.beacons@maritimenz.govt.nz

Please ensure your distress contacts are aware of your trip intentions/plans, as we will be in contact with them should you activate your beacon during your trip.

You can take your beacon overseas and keep your registration details with us here in New Zealand. If your distress contacts are mainly in the country that you are moving to, and you intend to live there long term, it may make more sense to have the beacon recoded to that country and registered there.

If you have sold your beacon, the registration needs to be updated.

Please read more here.

Unfortunately, we cannot register your Australian beacon here in New Zealand as we can only register New Zealand and some Pacific coded beacons. You will need to register your beacon with AMSA, or have your beacon recoded to a New Zealand code through your beacon manufacturers New Zealand importer. Find out who to contact for recoding here. 

If you are buying a second-hand beacon, ensure it is New Zealand coded, and the battery has not expired.

Please create an account and register the beacon here.

Do you have a current account on our website that was created after 26 February 2021? If so, you can reset your password here.

If you do not have a current account on our website, please create an account first here.

If you have forgotten the email associated with your account please contact us.

Your password must be 8-20 characters long, contain both an uppercase and lowercase letter, a number and a special character.

Symbols, accent marks, and punctuation marks are considered special characters e.g ?/!# etc.

If you need to reset your password, please go here.

Your browsers security settings may be blocking some functions on our website. Please check these, or use another device.

Companies, corporations, schools, clubs, farms, syndicates etc. are all considered organisations.

For more clarification please email us at contact.beacons@maritimenz.govt.nz