How to File a Police Report Online

You file it on the department’s own website. There is no national portal, and any site charging you a fee to file a police report is not the police.

What you can usually file online

• Theft where the value is below a local threshold and there is no suspect.
• Theft from a vehicle — items taken from an unlocked car.
• Vandalism and criminal damage with no suspect information.
• Lost property.
• Harassing phone calls.
• Vehicle crashes with no injuries, in some jurisdictions.
• Supplemental information added to a report you already filed.

What you cannot

Not eligible online	Why
Anything in progress	It needs an immediate response. Call 911.
A known or named suspect	It needs investigation and follow up by an officer.
Any injury involved	Medical and evidence considerations require attendance.
Stolen vehicles and stolen firearms	They are entered into national databases and verified in person.
Lost or stolen prescription medication	Controlled substances are handled separately.
Identity theft and most fraud	Often routed to a specialist unit or a federal reporting system.
Anything outside city limits	You need the agency with jurisdiction — often the county sheriff.

Who qualifies

Most departments require that you are 18 or older, have a valid email address, and that the incident happened inside that agency’s jurisdiction. That last condition catches a lot of people out: if the theft happened in an unincorporated area, the city portal will reject it and you need the county sheriff’s office instead.

What happens after you submit

• You get a temporary report number straight away. Save it.
• A member of staff reviews the submission, usually within 24 hours.
• If it is accepted, a permanent case number is issued and emailed to you.
• If it needs more detail, or is not eligible, you are contacted and asked to call instead.
• Most of these reports are filed for records and insurance purposes. Unless new evidence appears, no officer will be assigned.

That permanent number is what your insurer will ask for. If you need the full document later, see how to get a copy of a police report.

Writing it well

Nobody is going to ring you back to clarify, so put everything in the first time. Give the exact address, the date and a time window rather than a guess, and list stolen items individually with makes, models, serial numbers and values. Say whether there is CCTV or a doorbell camera, yours or a neighbour’s, and keep the account factual.

If your department has no online form

Plenty of smaller departments and rural sheriff’s offices do not offer one. In that case you call the non emergency number and either give the report over the phone or arrange for an officer to take it. Eligibility rules and thresholds vary by jurisdiction, so the department’s own website is the authority.

Look up your city in our directory for the non emergency number and the official website of the agency that covers you.

What happens after you submit

Frequently asked questions

Is there a national website for filing police reports?

No. Each department runs its own form, and any site charging you a fee to file a police report is not the police.

Will an officer investigate my online report?

Usually not. Most of these reports are filed for records and insurance purposes, and unless new evidence appears no officer is assigned. That is why they are limited to incidents with no suspect.

What if my incident does not qualify?

Call the non emergency number of the agency that covers the address. They will either take the report over the phone or arrange for an officer to take it in person.