A National Emergency Message (SAME code: EAN), previously known as an Emergency Action Notification, is the national activation of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) used to alert the residents of the United States of a national or global emergency such as a nuclear war or any other mass casualty situation. This alert can only be activated by the president of the United States or a designated representative thereof, such as the vice president. The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) also carried the Emergency Action Notification. Except for the 2011 national test, which utilized the Emergency Action Notification alert type, no president has overseen a situation serious enough to issue the National Emergency Message.

National Emergency Messages are treated the same as any other message transmitted over the Emergency Alert System, except that stations are required to relay them. When a message is received, the receiver is to open an audio channel to the originating source until the End of Message (EOM) tones are received. After the EOM is received, stations will return to normal programming in order to broadcast immediate news coverage of the event.

Formerly, stations would not resume broadcast until an Emergency Action Termination (SAME code: EAT) was issued.

Before the header codes and attention signal are sent, the participating station reads an introductory script.

"This is an Emergency Action Notification requested by the White House. All broadcast stations will follow activation procedures in the EAS Operating Handbook for a national level emergency. The President of the United States or his representative will shortly deliver a message over the Emergency Alert System."

Emergency messages are then read in this order:

A standby script is used in the case there is no new information available.

The end-of-message codes are transmitted after presidential messages are read. The operator logs the time and date the alert was received, and monitors their EAS source.