How to File a Police Report in DC: Online, Phone, or In Person

To file a police report in Washington, DC, you have four options through the Metropolitan Police Department: the Citizens Online Reporting Tool for a narrow set of non-emergency incidents, 311 for other non-emergencies, any of the seven district stations in person, or 911 for anything urgent. Which one you use depends on how serious the situation is and what kind of incident you’re reporting.¹

Which Channel Fits Your Situation

Call 911 if a crime is in progress, someone is hurt, there’s an immediate safety threat, or the incident is a traffic crash. Also use 911 if the event happened more than six months ago, because that puts it outside the online tool’s window.¹

Call 311 for non-emergencies. DC’s Office of Unified Communications defines a non-emergency call as anything without an immediate safety threat, or an incident that happened at least an hour before you’re calling.² A supervisor at the communications center can still dispatch an officer to your location if the situation warrants it.³

Walk into any of MPD’s seven district stations if you’d rather file face to face. Officers at the station are required to help you and cannot redirect you to the online tool.³

The online tool is the fastest option, but only for a narrow set of incidents that meet strict conditions.

What Qualifies for Online Reporting

The Citizens Online Reporting Tool accepts five incident types:

Lost property
Lost vehicle tags
Theft or theft from auto
Destruction of property
Damage to property

Theft involving stolen credit cards, debit cards, checkbooks, or Social Security numbers does not qualify. Those cases involve fraud or identity theft and need to go through 311 or 911.¹

Every one of the following also has to be true:

The incident happened inside Washington, DC, but not on Metrorail, Metrobus, or Metro property.
You don’t know who the suspects are.
The suspects have left the scene.
Nobody was injured.
There’s no need for on-scene investigation, including reviewing surveillance footage.
No physical evidence is available at the scene.
No witnesses need to be interviewed.
The incident is not a traffic crash.
The event occurred within the last six months.

If any one condition doesn’t apply, use 311 or 911 instead.¹

Information to Have Ready

For the online tool, your name and email address are required so MPD can follow up and send your case number. Whatever channel you use, gathering these details first makes the report cleaner and quicker:

Your full name, current address, phone number, and email.
The date, approximate time, and exact location of the incident, plus what happened in the order it happened.
Physical descriptions of any suspects, names and contact information for witnesses, and vehicle descriptions with license plates if you have them.
For stolen or damaged property, item descriptions, serial numbers, and estimated values.
Any photos, video, receipts, or documents that support what you’re reporting.

Don’t hold off filing because you’re missing something. You can add information later, and getting the report on record while your memory is fresh matters more than having every detail on the first pass.

Filing Online

Start at MPD’s “File a Police Report” page and open the Online Reporting Tool. Pick the incident type, then work through the screens entering your contact information and what happened, following the prompts at the bottom of each page.¹

Once you submit, MPD emails you a temporary case number. An officer reviews the report within about two business days. If MPD has questions, someone contacts you by phone or email. After approval, you get a final case number and a link to print the report for your records.¹

Filing by Phone

Dial 311 from any phone in the District. The operator asks about the incident and walks you through a set of questions. Have your details organized so you can describe events clearly and give descriptions of any people, vehicles, or property involved. You’ll get a confirmation number when the report is complete.²

Filing in Person or With a Responding Officer

Any of the seven MPD district stations will take your report during operating hours. Bring your prepared information and any physical evidence or documents. An officer takes your statement and completes the paperwork with you. You can also ask an officer to come to your location by calling 311 or 911, depending on the urgency.

If you go to a station, officers cannot turn you away and tell you to use the online system. MPD policy requires them to take your report in person.³

After You File

MPD assigns every report a Central Complaint Number (CCN). That’s the tracking number you’ll use for insurance claims, follow-up calls, court proceedings, and copy requests, so keep it somewhere you can find it.³

Not every report triggers an active investigation. Property crimes with no suspect information often stay on file without significant follow-up unless new evidence surfaces. The report still creates an official record and gives you the documentation you’ll need afterward.

Getting a Copy

If you filed online, the approval email includes a printable link. For reports filed any other way, request a copy through the MPD Public Documents Section at 441 4th Street NW, Room 550 South, Washington, DC 20001. The office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday until 7:00 p.m.⁴

Accident reports (PD-10) cost $3. Fees for incident and offense reports (PD-251) are temporarily waived. Mail requests should include a money order for any applicable fees. Domestic violence victims can get a free copy of their report from the district station where the incident happened or from police headquarters.⁴

Correcting or Adding to a Report

If you spot an error or remember something important later, contact MPD as soon as you can. The standard approach is a supplemental report rather than a change to the original, which keeps the official record intact while adding your corrections. Note the officer’s name and the case number, then call 311 to reach the district or the officer who took your report. Provide any supporting evidence — photos, receipts, witness contact information, updated descriptions. If the officer doesn’t respond, ask for a supervisor.

Penalties for Filing a False Report

Filing a false or fictitious report with MPD is a criminal offense under DC law. Anyone who knowingly files a made-up report about a crime, or gives false information to MPD in connection with an investigation, faces a fine of up to $300, up to 30 days in jail, or both.⁵

That covers the false report itself. If the false report is part of a broader scheme, such as a fake theft report filed to collect insurance money, additional charges for fraud or obstruction of justice can apply. Obstruction of justice in DC is a Class A felony with a mandatory minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison.⁶

1
Metropolitan Police Department. File a Police Report
2
Office of Unified Communications. Call 311 for Police Non-Emergencies
3
Metropolitan Police Department. General Order SPT 401.11 – Citizen Online Reporting System
4
Metropolitan Police Department. Police Clearances and Reports
5
D.C. Law Library. DC Code 5-117.05 – False or Fictitious Reports to Metropolitan Police
6
D.C. Law Library. DC Code 22-722 – Prohibited Acts Penalty