How to File an EEOC Complaint Online: Deadlines, Portal, and Next Steps

To file an EEOC complaint online, go to publicportal.eeoc.gov, click “I want to file a complaint,” answer the screening questions, create an account, and schedule an intake interview. What you submit through the portal is an online inquiry, not a formal charge of discrimination. The charge — the signed document that puts your employer on notice and preserves your right to sue — is created after the intake interview, if the EEOC agrees your situation qualifies.¹ That two-step design catches a lot of people off guard, so it’s worth understanding before you start clicking.

File Before the Deadline Runs

You generally have 180 calendar days from the date of the discriminatory act to file a charge with the EEOC.² That extends to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same type of discrimination.³ Most states have such an agency, so the longer window applies in most cases, but confirm your state’s status rather than assume.

The clock starts on the date the discriminatory act happened, not the date you figured out why. If you were passed over for a promotion on March 1 and only learned the reason in May, the deadline likely runs from March 1. For ongoing harassment, the deadline typically runs from the most recent incident. If you have 60 days or fewer left, the portal provides expedited directions to get your information in quickly.³

Gather Your Information First

The portal will ask a set of screening questions right away: what type of employer discriminated against you, when it happened, what protected characteristic was involved, how many employees the employer has, and in which state the discrimination occurred.¹ Having your answers ready saves time and cuts down on mistakes.

For the employer, use the company’s legal name as it appears on tax documents or official registrations, not a trade name or brand. You’ll also need the full physical address and phone number of the location where the discrimination happened.

For the events, write out every date something discriminatory occurred, with particular attention to the most recent incident. The portal asks for a narrative — stick to concrete facts in chronological order: what was said, who said it, what changed in your job, and when. You can upload supporting documents in common formats, including PDFs, Word files, images, and video.⁴ Useful documents include termination letters, written warnings, emails, and performance reviews. No federal law requires a private employer to hand over your personnel file on request, so collect what you already have access to before you start.

Check Whether Your Employer Is Covered

Federal anti-discrimination laws only reach employers above certain sizes. The employee count decides which protections apply:

15 or more employees: Title VII (race, color, religion, sex, national origin), the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.⁵⁶
20 or more employees: the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, protecting workers 40 and older.⁷

The count includes anyone who worked for the employer during at least twenty calendar weeks in the current or previous year.⁷ If your employer is smaller than these thresholds, state or local anti-discrimination laws may still cover you.

Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination includes sexual orientation and gender identity; the EEOC treats discrimination against someone for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender as sex discrimination.⁸ The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, effective June 2023, requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.⁶

Walking Through the Portal

Open the Public Portal and click “I want to file a complaint.”¹ The portal runs you through the screening questions to decide whether the EEOC is the right agency. If it is, you’ll create a secure account with your email address and a password.

Once you’re in, you’ll select the basis of your claim from a list of protected categories, describe the adverse actions the employer took, and enter your factual narrative in the text fields provided. After the follow-up questions, go to the “Schedule an Interview” section and pick a date and time for your intake interview, either by phone or in person at a field office.¹

Review everything before submitting. Confirm the employer’s name and address, your dates, and that your narrative covers the key facts. Submitting the inquiry generates a confirmation and a unique inquiry number that you’ll use for all future communication with the EEOC.

What Happens After You Submit

The Intake Interview

An EEOC staff member reviews your inquiry and conducts the scheduled intake interview to discuss the details of your situation so you can decide whether to file a formal charge.¹ The interviewer asks about specifics, the people involved, and the timeline, and explains what the EEOC can and can’t do. Bring your documentation and a clear chronological account.

If the interviewer determines the EEOC has jurisdiction and your claim has legal merit, the inquiry gets converted into a formal charge. The EEOC then serves the charge on your employer, notifying them of the complaint.

Mediation

Soon after a charge is filed, the EEOC may contact both sides about mediation. It’s voluntary, free, and led by a neutral mediator who facilitates a conversation rather than deciding who is right. If either party declines or the process doesn’t resolve the dispute, the charge moves to investigation.⁹ A mediated settlement can include financial compensation, reinstatement, policy changes, or other agreed terms, and it typically resolves things in weeks rather than the months an investigation takes.

The Investigation

If the case doesn’t settle, the employer generally has 30 days to submit a position statement — a written response with any supporting documents.¹⁰ You can review and respond to it through the portal. The EEOC then investigates whether there’s reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred. The average investigation has taken about 11 months in recent years.¹¹ Keep your portal account active so you can download any notices and track final determinations.

Retaliation Is Its Own Violation

Filing a charge is a protected activity, and your employer cannot punish you for it. Retaliation is a separate violation and is the most frequently filed type of EEOC charge. The protection covers filing, being a witness, and answering questions during an investigation.¹²

Retaliation doesn’t have to look like a firing. The EEOC treats a wide range of actions as retaliatory, including lowering performance evaluations, transferring you to a worse position, increasing scrutiny of your work, changing your schedule to create conflicts, spreading false rumors, or threatening to report you to authorities like immigration.¹² If any of this happens after you file, document it and report it to the EEOC; it can become an additional charge. Filing does not, however, shield you from discipline for legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons that existed before your complaint.

Federal Employees Use a Different Process

If you work for a federal agency, the Public Portal is not your starting point. Federal employees follow a separate EEO complaint process with much shorter initial deadlines. The first step is contacting an EEO Counselor at your agency, generally within 45 days of the discriminatory act.¹³ From there, the process runs through informal counseling or ADR, a formal complaint filed within 15 days of the counselor’s notice, an agency investigation that must be completed within 180 days, an optional hearing before an EEOC Administrative Judge, and a final agency order that can be appealed to the EEOC Office of Federal Operations.¹⁴ The 45-day window is the one that catches people; it passes quickly.

If the Portal Isn’t Working for You

The portal is the most common method, but it’s not the only one. The EEOC also accepts charges:³

In person at any of the EEOC’s 53 field offices, by appointment through the portal or during walk-in hours.
By mail, in a signed letter that includes your name, address, email, and phone number; the employer’s name, address, and phone number; the number of employees if known; a description of what happened; the dates; and why you believe it was discriminatory. Unsigned complaints will not be investigated.
By phone at 1-800-669-4000. A representative can discuss your situation and explain next steps, though a call alone does not file a charge.
Through a state or local Fair Employment Practices Agency, which usually results in a dual filing with the EEOC under worksharing agreements. Tell the agency if you want the charge cross-filed.

If you’re near a deadline and the portal feels like too much, a signed letter with the required information sent by mail preserves your claim. You can supply more detail later.

1
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC Public Portal
2
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge
3
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination
4
EEOC Public Portal. Vol 8 – Manage Charge Information
5
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Small Business Requirements
6
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
7
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Coverage of Business/Private Employers
8
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Sex-Based Discrimination
9
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Mediation
10
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Questions and Answers for Respondents on EEOCs Position Statement Procedures
11
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Can Expect After a Charge is Filed
12
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retaliation
13
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Contacting an EEO Counselor
14
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Overview Of Federal Sector EEO Complaint Process