The A‑B‑Cs of C‑L‑D‑X‑F-CA: A FAQ for the newly published CLDXF‑CA Standard

The CLDXF-CA standard has been published! As described by NENA, “The Standard provides, for the first time in the Canadian 9-1-1 history, a common, unified and standardized civic addressing data structure accommodating all provinces and territories for the purpose of exchanging Canadian civic location information locally, nationally, and internationally”. The following is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about this new standard and its impact on GIS data providers in Canada.

What is CLDXF‑CA?

CLDXF‑CA is the common abbreviated name of NENA‑STA‑029.1‑2025, the NENA Next Generation 9‑1‑1 (NG9‑1‑1) Canadian Civic Location Data Exchange Format Standard. It defines a standard format for the exchange of civic location data in NG9‑1‑1 systems deployed in Canada. It standardizes civic locations by providing a normative and definitive set of named location elements, a hierarchical structure for these elements, and a normalized implementation of the international standard for location data exchange, Presence Information Data Format – Location Object (PIDF‑LO).

The CLDXF‑CA standard can be accessed here: www.nena.org/resource/resmgr/standards/NENA‑STA‑029.1‑2025_CLDXF‑CA.pdf 

Who is NENA?

NENA, the National Emergency Number Association, is a professional organization focused on 9‑1‑1 operations, technology, education, and policy issues for North America. They do this work through standards development, training, accreditation, and thought leadership through its network of 9‑1‑1 industry experts and emergency communications professionals.

More information about NENA can be found here: https://www.nena.org/

What is a civic location?

Civic locations are representations of distinct named places. In NG9‑1‑1, the CLDXF‑CA standard structures civic locations using a combination of place names, thoroughfare address components, named interior or exterior locations, and other named location identifiers. A civic address of “123 Main Street” and a location marker such as “Emergency Call Box 378B” could both be civic locations exchanged via PIDF‑LO in NG9‑1‑1 if they are unique within an area and align with any other applicable business rules identified in the CLDXF‑CA standard. 

More information on civic locations can be found in Section 1 of the CLDXF‑CA standard.

How does CLDXF‑CA affect the GIS Data Model for NG9‑1‑1?

NENA‑STA‑006, the NENA Standard for NG9‑1‑1 GIS Data Model (GIS Data Model) defines the GIS data information, formats, requirements, and related information needed to support key NG9‑1‑1 location‑based functions such as geospatial call routing, location validation and others. The GIS Data Model receives guidance from standards like CLDXF‑CA and must then determine the GIS database structure needed to support the civic location elements. This will ensure that GIS data conforming to the GIS data model will be able to support the PIDF‑LO location data exchange used in the NG9‑1‑1 system.

NENA has an active working group tasked with updating the GIS Data Model to incorporate civic location elements from CLDXF‑CA and resolving differences between the two standards, with an updated version of the GIS Data Model expected to be released in late 2025 or early 2026.  This new GIS Data Model version (version 3) is intended to be used in conjunction with CLDXF‑CA by all NG9‑1‑1 key partners that create, use, or manage civic location data.

More information on the GIS Data Model can be found here: https://www.nena.org/page/standards#NENA‑STA‑006

How does CLDXF‑CA affect GIS data providers?

GIS data providers have a critical role in supporting public safety services for their area and this includes supporting NG9‑1‑1 GIS data requirements. As CLDXF‑CA civic location elements become supported in the structure of the GIS Data Model, GIS data providers should expect both short‑term and long‑term impacts on their operations and will need to be ready to support this critical role technologically, financially, and with an appropriate level of governance and personnel.

More guidance on GIS data provider impacts from Canada’s Emergency Services Working Group (ESWG) can be found here: https://crtc.gc.ca/public/cisc/es/ESCO0801.pdf

How does CLDXF‑CA affect others?

Supporting the civic location elements in CLDXF‑CA will have ripple effects across the public safety ecosystem. This includes:

• 9‑1‑1 Authorities that organize 9‑1‑1 services for their jurisdiction,
• Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) that answer 9‑1‑1 calls,
• Originating Network Providers (ONPs) that provide telephone services, and
• NG9‑1‑1 network providers that provide the core NG9‑1‑1 network and call routing services.

All organizations that exchange civic location data with the NG9‑1‑1 network will be required to support the CLDXF‑CA civic location elements. For example, an ONP who is establishing landline telephone service for a new customer will need to provide that customer’s connection and civic location information to a NG9‑1‑1 network provider, where it will be validated against GIS data supplied by a 9‑1‑1 authority (or a GIS data provider and/or GIS data aggregator working on their behalf), and then stored in the NG9‑1‑1 network provider’s system.

More guidance on CLDXF‑CA key partner impacts can be found from the ESWG here: https://crtc.gc.ca/public/cisc/es/ESCO0759.pdf

When will CLDXF‑CA be adopted?

The CLDXF‑CA standard is now published and live. It is expected that the Emergency Services Working Group (ESWG) will be submitting a formal recommendation to the Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for its adoption and implementation across Canada’s NG9‑1‑1 ecosystem. The CRTC, as Canada’s telecom regulator, is then expected to mandate that adoption and implementation in a future telecom decision. This aligns with the request made by the CRTC to the ESWG in Telecom Decision CRTC 2025‑64.

Telecom Decision CRTC 2025‑64, and its supporting documents, can be accessed here: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2025/2025‑64.htm

Where can I find more information?

Several contributions related to best practices for preparing, maintaining, and consuming GIS data for NG9‑1‑1, including additional information about the CLDXF‑CA standard, have been created and shared with the ESWG. Many of these have been summarized into a single contribution which provides high‑level summary information, organized by both the relevant NG9‑1‑1 migration phase and NG9‑1‑1 participant role. 

This contribution from the ESWG can be found here: https://crtc.gc.ca/public/cisc/es/ESCO0784.pdf

When will the next version of CLDXF‑CA be published?

The next scheduled review date of the CLDXF‑CA document is in 2028. It is possible however, that as the standard is adopted and implemented across Canada, some adjustments may become necessary. NENA has allowances for this in its standards development process, and should it be required, a working group can be established prior to 2028 to make amendments to the current version of CLDXF‑CA or to create an updated version.

More information about the NENA Development Group process can be found here: www.nena.org/resource/resmgr/standards/nena‑adm‑001.5b‑2022_final_2.pdf