Three things to remember when initiating a Customer Originated Trace:

1. Initiating the trace must be done after the call you want to trace has already completed. Many people dial *57 while the call they wish to trace is still in progress. This doesn't work. You must wait until the call you wish to trace has already completed. Dial *57 as quickly as possible to initiate the trace prior to receiving another inbound call.

2. Make sure you stay on the line after dialing *57. You should receive a voice announcement informing you that the trace was completed as requested. This announcement may also provide other special instructions based on your specific provider or servicing CO's internal procedures.

3. As precisely as possible, make sure that you annotate the exact time you received the call, and also the exact time that you initated the call trace. This saves the law enforcement agencies alot of time when coordinating to retrieve this trace data from the servicing CO.