To report stolen property, call your local police department’s non-emergency line (or use its online reporting portal, or go in person) and give them your contact information, when and where the theft happened, detailed descriptions of the items with serial numbers, and any proof of ownership you have. You’ll walk away with a report number, which is what you’ll use for the insurance claim and any follow-up with investigators. The quality of what you bring to that first call largely decides whether your property has a real chance of coming back.
Before You Call
Make sure you’re safe first. If there’s any chance the thief is still nearby, leave and call 911 from somewhere secure. Confronting someone mid-theft is one of the most dangerous decisions you can make, and no piece of property is worth the risk.
Once you’re safe, don’t clean up. Forced entry points, disturbed drawers, broken glass, and items knocked out of place all matter to investigators, and touching things can destroy fingerprints and other forensic evidence. Note the time you noticed the theft and photograph the scene with your phone before anything gets moved.
If electronics were taken, move fast on your accounts. Use another device to remotely lock or wipe a stolen phone, tablet, or laptop through the manufacturer’s tracking service (Find My iPhone for Apple devices, Find My Device for Android). Change passwords for email, banking, and anything the thief could reach through a saved login on the stolen device. A stolen laptop with saved passwords can do more financial damage than the hardware is worth.
Information to Have Ready
Gathering details before you contact police speeds the process and produces a stronger report. Officers and online systems ask for the same core information, so having it in front of you prevents the back-and-forth that slows everything down.
- Your full name, phone number, and address, so investigators can reach you.
- The date, approximate time, and exact location of the theft, along with how it happened if you know: forced entry, package taken from a porch, pickpocketed on the street.
- For each stolen item, the make, model, color, size, and any distinguishing features. Serial numbers are the single most important detail you can provide, because they are how police match recovered property to its owner through national databases.
- Proof of ownership: receipts, photos, warranty cards, or screenshots of online orders that show the item was yours and establish its value.
- Suspect information if you have any: physical descriptions, clothing, vehicle details, direction of travel, and any security camera footage.
If you don’t have serial numbers memorized, check original packaging, purchase emails, warranty registrations, or your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance inventory. For a stolen vehicle, you’ll also need the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), license plate, and registration details; the VIN appears on your insurance card, registration, or title. Mention any GPS tracker or aftermarket anti-theft device, since that can speed recovery.
Three Ways to File
Non-Emergency Phone Line
For a theft that already happened and poses no immediate danger, call your local police department’s non-emergency number. It’s a standard ten-digit line, not 911. You can find it on your city or county government website, or by searching your city’s name plus “police non-emergency number.” Save 911 for a crime actively in progress or a situation where someone is in danger.
Online Reporting Portal
Many departments now accept theft reports through their websites. These portals typically handle property crimes with no suspect on scene and no injuries. You enter the same information you’d give over the phone, and the resulting report moves through the same channels as one filed any other way. Check your local department’s website to see whether online reporting is offered and whether your type of theft qualifies; not every agency uses it, and not every crime is eligible.
In Person at a Station
Some thefts require an in-person report. If the crime involved forced entry into your home, a confrontation with the thief, significant property value, or circumstances that don’t fit an online form, you may be told to come in. Bring everything you’ve gathered: photos, receipts, serial number records, and any security footage saved to a USB drive or accessible on your phone.
What Happens After You File
Once the report is processed, you’ll get a report number. Keep it somewhere you won’t lose it. You’ll need it for every interaction that follows, from insurance claims to follow-up calls with detectives.
Entry Into the National Database
Behind the scenes, your stolen property is entered into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, a computerized database that law enforcement agencies across the country can query.1Federation of American Scientists. National Crime Information Center (NCIC) – FBI Information Systems When an officer runs a VIN during a traffic stop in another state, or a pawn shop checks a serial number, the query hits NCIC. That’s why serial numbers matter so much. Without them, your property can’t be meaningfully tracked.
The Investigation
How much investigation your report gets depends on the evidence available, the value of the property, and the department’s caseload. A theft with security footage, a known suspect, or items with serial numbers in NCIC gets more traction than one with vague descriptions and no leads. If new information turns up later, whether a neighbor mentions an unfamiliar van or you find a receipt with a serial number you’d forgotten, call and update the report. New details can reopen avenues that were dead ends.
Getting Property Back
If police recover your property, it may be held as evidence before you can reclaim it. The retrieval process varies by department, but you’ll generally need identification, your report number, and proof of ownership, and some agencies require you to sign a property release form at the evidence facility. Property held as evidence in an ongoing prosecution may not be returned until the case concludes, which can take months.
Filing the Insurance Claim
Most homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies cover theft, and your police report number is typically the first thing the insurer will ask for. Contact your insurance company as soon as you’ve filed the police report. Don’t wait for the investigation to conclude. Many policies have deadlines for reporting claims, and delay can give the insurer grounds to reduce or deny the payout.
Your insurer will want the police report number, a detailed inventory with estimated values, and documentation of ownership: receipts, photos, appraisals. Keep copies of everything you submit. If you need a certified copy of the police report, most departments charge a small fee that varies by jurisdiction.
One thing catches people off guard. Your deductible applies to theft claims the same way it applies to any other covered loss. If your deductible is $1,000 and the stolen property was worth $800, filing gets you nothing. Filed claims can also affect your premiums at renewal, so it’s worth calculating whether the claim is worth filing before you start.
When You Need to Report Somewhere Else Too
A police report is the starting point for some thefts, not the whole response.
Identity Documents, Credit Cards, or a Social Security Card
File an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov, the Federal Trade Commission’s dedicated portal. You describe what happened and the site generates an official FTC Identity Theft Report along with a personalized recovery plan.2Federal Trade Commission. IdentityTheft.gov That report establishes your rights when you dispute fraudulent accounts and transactions with businesses and credit bureaus, and an account on the site tracks your progress and pre-fills dispute letters. If your Social Security card was stolen, the SSA directs you to that same FTC process.3Social Security Administration. Report Stolen Social Security Number
Then place a security freeze with all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Under federal law, each bureau must place the freeze free of charge within one business day if you request it by phone or online, or within three business days by mail.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts A freeze prevents anyone from opening new credit accounts in your name, which is usually the most damaging thing a thief can do with stolen identity documents. You can lift it temporarily when you need to apply for credit yourself.
Firearms
Report a stolen firearm to your local police immediately. The officer will enter the serial number into the NCIC Stolen Gun File, which is searched whenever a firearm is recovered or traced anywhere in the country.1Federation of American Scientists. National Crime Information Center (NCIC) – FBI Information Systems Federal regulations require licensed firearms dealers to report thefts to both the ATF and local law enforcement.5eCFR. 27 CFR 478.39a – Reporting Theft or Loss of Firearms Individual owners aren’t under the same federal mandate, but filing a police report protects you: if the gun is later used in a crime, documentation showing you reported the theft beforehand is critical.
Mail and Packages
Mail theft is a federal crime investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. File a report online at the USPIS website or by calling 1-877-876-2455.6United States Postal Inspection Service. Report If mail or packages keep disappearing, postal inspectors can coordinate with your local carrier and law enforcement. File a local police report too, since inspectors may want to reference it.
One Warning
Filing a police report for property that wasn’t actually stolen, whether to collect insurance money or for any other reason, is a criminal offense. Most states treat a knowingly false police report as a misdemeanor, and the charge can escalate if the false report is tied to insurance fraud or gets someone else wrongly accused. At the federal level, making false statements to a government agency carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally Insurance companies run fraud investigation units that do nothing but verify theft claims, and the consequences of getting caught reach well beyond criminal charges. You’ll lose your policy, get flagged in industry databases, and struggle to get coverage in the future.