Lost & found

Emergency situations

Call 999 immediately if there is an immediate risk to life, safety, public security, or serious crime. This includes suspicious packages, weapons, explosives, dangerous chemicals, firearms, serious violence, theft in progress, robbery, assault, or any situation where someone is in immediate danger.

If you find a suspicious bag or package, do not touch it, move it, open it, or take it with you. Move away from the item, warn others if it is safe to do so, and call 999. Follow instructions from police, transport staff, security staff, or emergency services.

If you find a weapon, ammunition, drugs, hazardous materials, medical sharps, chemicals, or anything that appears unsafe, do not handle it. Contact police, transport staff, venue security, or the relevant emergency service. If the item is on public transport or inside a station, alert staff immediately.

If you have just been robbed, threatened, assaulted, pickpocketed, or your property has been stolen and the suspect is nearby, call 999. If the theft has already happened and there is no immediate danger, report it online or call 101.

Lost property on Transport for London services

Transport for London operates lost property processes for items lost on many London transport services. This may include the London Underground, London buses, London Overground, Elizabeth line, Docklands Light Railway, London Trams, IFS Cloud Cable Car, Victoria Coach Station, and some other TfL-managed services. If you lose an item on a TfL service or at a TfL station, use TfL’s official lost property service.

TfL advises people to make an enquiry through its lost property system and provide as much detail as possible. The more accurate your description, the easier it may be for staff to match your item. Include the date and approximate time of travel, route number, line, station, stop, direction of travel, vehicle details if known, seat or carriage location, item type, brand, colour, size, serial number, identifying marks, contents, and any contact details inside the item.

For example, if you lost a backpack on a bus, provide the bus route number, direction, time you boarded, time you left, stop names, colour of the bag, brand, any unique marks, and what was inside. If you lost a phone, include the make, model, colour, case description, lock screen image if distinctive, IMEI or serial number if available, and whether location tracking is enabled. If you lost a wallet, describe the colour, material, cards inside, name on cards, and any unusual details, but avoid sharing full card numbers unnecessarily.

Items found on transport may take time to reach a lost property office. Do not assume that an item has not been found simply because it is not available immediately. Items may first be collected by drivers, station staff, cleaners, depot staff, train operators, or security teams before being logged. Processing times can vary depending on the service, location, and volume of items.

TfL and other operators may charge fees for the return, storage, or delivery of lost property. Collection arrangements may require proof of identity and proof of ownership. Some items can be delivered, while others may need to be collected in person. Rules may be different for valuable items, documents, bank cards, passports, electronics, bicycles, or perishable goods.

Transport for London — lost property

Lost property on National Rail services

If you lose something on a National Rail train or at a National Rail station, the correct process usually depends on the train operating company or the station operator. National Rail provides information and directs passengers to the relevant station or operator for lost property. The company that runs the train may be different from the company that manages the station, so check your journey carefully.

For example, if you lost an item on a train, you may need to contact the train company that operated the service. If you lost an item at a station, you may need to contact the station operator. If you are not sure, use National Rail’s station and operator information to identify the correct contact.

When reporting lost property on National Rail, include the date of travel, departure station, destination station, train time, platform if known, seat or coach number, ticket details if relevant, and a clear description of the item. If your journey involved more than one train company, report the item to each relevant operator if necessary.

Some train operators use central lost property systems, while others use third-party services or station-based offices. Fees, storage times, response times, and collection methods can vary. Always use official operator websites and avoid paying unofficial recovery services unless you have verified they are legitimate and relevant to your journey.

National Rail — lost property guidance

Lost property in taxis, minicabs, rideshares, and private hire vehicles

If you lose something in a licensed London taxi, minicab, private hire vehicle, or rideshare car, the process depends on the booking method and operator. If the journey was booked through an app, use the app’s lost item or support function as soon as possible. If you booked through a minicab company, contact the operator directly. If you paid by card, your receipt or bank statement may help identify the company or booking reference.

For black cabs and licensed taxis, check the official guidance for the relevant licensing authority or operator. Provide the date, time, pick-up and drop-off points, taxi receipt if available, driver or vehicle details if known, payment method, and item description. If you believe the item was stolen or the driver refuses to return it, contact the operator and, where appropriate, report the matter to the police.

Do not arrange to meet a stranger in an unsafe location to recover property. Use official channels where possible, meet in a public place if necessary, and do not share unnecessary personal information.

Lost property at airports

London airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City, and Southend, have their own lost property procedures. If you lose something at an airport, check the airport’s official lost property service. If you lose something on an aircraft, contact the airline. If you lose something during security screening, in a terminal, lounge, shop, restaurant, car park, or transfer area, contact the airport’s lost property office or the relevant business.

Airports handle very high volumes of lost items, so detailed information is important. Include terminal, flight number, airline, date, time, gate, security area, lounge, shop, restaurant, baggage reclaim belt, seat number, and item description. For passports, visas, biometric residence permits, or travel documents, contact the relevant embassy, consulate, airline, airport, police, or government service depending on the document and urgency.

If you lose a passport shortly before travel, act quickly. Contact the airport lost property office, airline, and the passport-issuing authority. You may not be able to travel without valid documents. If a passport is stolen, report it to the police and follow the issuing country’s official replacement or emergency travel document procedure.

Lost property in shops, restaurants, hotels, and venues

If you lose something in a shop, restaurant, café, hotel, cinema, theatre, museum, gallery, stadium, nightclub, gym, office building, school, university, hospital, or event venue, contact the venue directly. Many venues keep found property at reception, security, customer service, or a dedicated lost property desk.

Provide the date and time you visited, where you sat or walked, receipt or booking reference if available, table number, room number, seat number, event name, and a detailed description of the item. If the venue is part of a large chain, contact the specific branch first, not only the national customer service team.

For hotels, check reception, housekeeping, concierge, luggage storage, bar, restaurant, spa, gym, conference rooms, and taxi drop-off areas. For event venues, contact security or guest services quickly, as items may be moved after cleaning or after an event closes.

Lost property in public places

If you lose something in a street, park, public square, playground, public toilet, beach, car park, market, or other public area, recovery can be more difficult. Check nearby shops, cafés, venues, transport stations, visitor centres, security desks, council offices, or police guidance. Someone who finds the item may hand it in locally rather than to a central office.

If the lost item contains your name and address, such as a driving licence or document, be alert to identity theft. If it contains bank cards, cancel or freeze them immediately. If it contains keys and identification showing your address, consider changing locks or taking security advice.

If the item is valuable, insured, or could be used fraudulently, keep a record of when and where it was lost, who you contacted, and any reference numbers. Your insurer may ask for evidence that you reported the loss or attempted recovery.

Found property

If you find property that appears to belong to someone else, try to hand it to the appropriate official channel. The best option depends on where you found it.

If you find an item on a bus, train, tram, Tube, station, airport, coach, taxi, or ferry, give it to transport staff, station staff, the operator, or the official lost property service. Do not take transport property home unless staff specifically instruct you to follow a particular process.

If you find an item in a shop, restaurant, hotel, office, school, hospital, museum, theatre, stadium, or event venue, hand it to reception, security, customer service, or management. Ask for a note or receipt if appropriate.

If you find an item in a public street or park, check local police or council guidance. Some police forces no longer accept routine lost property reports for all items, but they may still handle certain property types or direct you to the correct service.

Do not keep found property. Keeping property that you know or believe belongs to someone else may cause legal problems, especially if you make no reasonable attempt to return it. Do not post photos of bank cards, passports, addresses, phone numbers, tickets, IDs, or private documents on social media. Sharing personal data online can expose the owner to fraud, stalking, harassment, or identity theft.

Dangerous or suspicious found items

Some found items should never be handled casually. These include weapons, knives, firearms, ammunition, explosives, suspicious packages, drugs, chemicals, needles, medical waste, passports, official documents, large amounts of cash, bank cards, laptops containing sensitive data, or items that may be linked to crime.

If an item appears suspicious, dangerous, illegal, or connected to a crime, leave it where it is if safe, move away, and contact police, transport staff, venue security, or emergency services. If there is immediate danger, call 999.

If you find needles, syringes, or medical sharps in a public place, do not pick them up with bare hands. Contact the local council, venue, transport staff, or appropriate cleaning service. If someone has been injured by a needle, seek medical advice promptly.

If you find a phone, wallet, or bag

Phones, wallets, and bags are among the most commonly lost items. If you find one, hand it to staff at the place where you found it. If there are bank cards or ID documents inside, do not contact the owner using sensitive information unless it is clearly safe and appropriate. Do not search through private photos, messages, emails, or documents. Look only for information needed to identify the owner or hand the item to the correct authority.

For a phone, you may be able to answer an incoming call from the owner or a family member, but avoid accessing private content. If the phone is found on public transport, hand it to staff. If found in a venue, give it to reception or security.

For a wallet, purse, or bag, do not remove money or cards. Hand the item in intact. If you are worried about your own safety or the item appears suspicious, do not handle it and contact staff or police.

If your bank card is lost or stolen

If you lose a debit card, credit card, prepaid card, or travel money card, freeze or cancel it immediately through your bank’s app, phone line, or website. Check recent transactions and report any unauthorised spending to your bank. If you believe the card was stolen or used fraudulently, report it to the police or Action Fraud where appropriate, and follow your bank’s instructions.

If you lose a contactless card used for travel, check your transport account if you have one. For Oyster cards, contact TfL or use your online account if the card is registered. Unregistered cards may be harder to replace or refund. Keep your travel card separate from your bank cards where possible.

If your passport, visa, or ID is lost or stolen

If a passport, national ID card, visa, biometric residence permit, driving licence, or immigration document is lost or stolen, follow the official procedure for the issuing country or authority. For UK passports, use official UK Government guidance. For foreign passports, contact your embassy or consulate. If the document was stolen, report it to the police.

Lost identity documents can increase the risk of identity theft. Keep a record of the loss, report it promptly, and monitor accounts for suspicious activity. If you are travelling soon, check whether emergency travel documents are available and how long they take.

If your phone, laptop, or device is lost or stolen

If you lose a phone, tablet, laptop, smartwatch, or other electronic device, act quickly. Use device tracking tools if available, such as Find My Device or Find My iPhone. Lock the device remotely, display a message if appropriate, and avoid going alone to recover a device from an unfamiliar or unsafe location.

Change passwords for email, banking, cloud storage, social media, work accounts, and any apps that may be accessible from the device. Contact your mobile network to block the SIM card if necessary. If the device was stolen, report it to the police and provide the IMEI, serial number, make, model, and any tracking information.

If the device contains work data, school data, confidential files, medical information, customer records, or business information, notify the relevant organisation immediately. Data protection and security procedures may apply.

If your keys are lost

If you lose keys, consider whether they can be linked to your address, workplace, vehicle, or identity. If keys are lost with a bag, wallet, driving licence, or documents showing your address, there may be a security risk. Contact your landlord, building manager, employer, locksmith, or vehicle provider as appropriate. If you believe the keys were stolen, report it to the police and take security precautions.

If you find keys, hand them to the venue, transport operator, local authority, or police guidance route. Do not post clear photos of keys online, as key patterns may be copied.

If a bicycle is lost or stolen

If a bicycle is missing, first check whether it may have been removed by a council, building manager, university, workplace, railway station, or private landowner. Some bikes are removed if they are parked illegally, abandoned, obstructing access, or left in restricted areas.

If the bicycle was stolen, report it to the police. Provide the frame number, make, model, colour, photos, lock details, location, time, and any registration information. If you registered the bike with a property database or insurance provider, update the status and contact them. Check local marketplaces carefully, but do not confront a suspected thief. Give information to police.

If your car or vehicle items are lost or stolen

If you lose items in a car park, taxi, rental car, car club vehicle, coach, or private vehicle, contact the operator, car park management, rental company, or venue. If items were stolen from a vehicle, report it to police. If the vehicle itself is stolen, call police immediately. If there is immediate danger or a theft in progress, call 999. For non-emergency theft reports, use 101 or online reporting.

Keep evidence such as photos, receipts, serial numbers, insurance details, parking records, booking confirmations, and CCTV locations if known. Do not touch damaged areas if police or insurers need evidence.

Proof of ownership

When claiming lost property, you may be asked to prove that the item belongs to you. Useful evidence may include a detailed description, purchase receipt, serial number, IMEI number, photos, warranty documents, insurance documents, matching keys, login proof, identifying marks, contents of a bag, name on documents, or a description of hidden features.

For phones and laptops, you may need to unlock the device or provide serial details. For bags and wallets, you may need to describe the contents. For jewellery, photos showing you wearing the item can help. For bicycles, the frame number is especially useful.

Avoid giving unnecessary sensitive information. Provide enough to prove ownership, but do not share full bank card numbers, passwords, PINs, private codes, or unrelated personal data.

Fees, storage periods, and collection

Lost property offices may charge handling, storage, delivery, or collection fees. Fees can vary by operator and item type. Some items may be stored only for a limited time. Perishable items, unsafe items, low-value items, or items that cannot be stored hygienically may be disposed of sooner.

Always check the official lost property policy of the operator or venue. Ask what identification is needed, whether someone else can collect on your behalf, whether delivery is possible, what fees apply, and how long the item will be kept.

If someone else collects your item, they may need written permission, their own ID, your ID, a reference number, and proof of ownership. Confirm requirements before sending another person.

Insurance and evidence

If the item is valuable or insured, contact your insurer as soon as possible. They may require a police crime reference number if the item was stolen, or evidence of loss if it was simply lost. Some police forces do not issue lost property reference numbers for routine losses, so insurers may accept other evidence, such as a lost property report, operator reference number, Report My Loss record, or correspondence from the venue.

Keep a timeline of what happened. Record the date, time, location, item description, people or organisations contacted, reference numbers, and any replies. Keep receipts, photographs, serial numbers, and proof of value. If the item was stolen, report the theft through official police channels.

Theft, robbery, and crime

There is an important difference between losing property and having property stolen. If you misplace an item and there is no evidence of crime, use the relevant lost property service. If someone takes your item without permission, picks your pocket, steals your bag, takes your phone, breaks into your vehicle, threatens you, uses force, or commits fraud, report it to the police.

Call 999 if a crime is happening now, someone is in danger, violence is involved, or the suspect is nearby. Call 101 or report online if the crime is not an emergency. Police.uk explains that non-emergency reports can be made online or by calling 101, while emergencies should use 999.

If your property is stolen on the rail network, including trains and stations, you may need to report it to British Transport Police. If it is stolen elsewhere in London, report it to the Metropolitan Police or the relevant local police force. Police.uk can help direct you to the correct reporting route.

Avoiding scams

Be cautious if someone contacts you claiming to have found your item and asks for money, bank details, passwords, verification codes, or personal documents. Do not send payment before confirming that the item exists and that the person or organisation is legitimate. Official lost property services should not ask for your bank PIN, online banking password, email password, or one-time security codes.

If you post about a lost item online, avoid sharing too much detail. Keep some identifying information private so you can confirm whether a finder genuinely has your item. For example, you can say “black backpack lost near King’s Cross” but keep the contents, serial number, or unique mark private.

If someone tries to blackmail you, demand money, or threaten you over a lost item, report it to the police.

Preventing future loss

There is no perfect way to prevent losing property, but simple steps can reduce the risk and make recovery easier.

Label important items with a phone number or email address, but avoid displaying your home address publicly. Register valuable items where appropriate. Keep serial numbers, IMEI numbers, receipts, and photos of valuables. Use tracking tags for bags, keys, or luggage if suitable. Register Oyster cards and travel cards when possible. Keep bank cards separate from ID documents. Avoid placing phones or wallets in back pockets. Check your seat before leaving transport, cafés, cinemas, taxis, and waiting rooms.

When travelling, keep essential items such as passports, medication, bank cards, keys, and phones in a secure place. Before leaving a location, do a quick check: phone, wallet, keys, bag, documents, medication, laptop, charger.

For businesses, schools, and venues

Organisations that receive found property should have a clear policy. Staff should know where to log items, how to store valuables, how to handle personal data, how long to keep items, when to contact police, and how to return property safely. Dangerous items should be escalated immediately. Personal documents, devices, and sensitive information should be protected from unnecessary access.

Venues should avoid posting identifiable personal information online. They should verify ownership before returning items and keep records of collection. High-value items may require additional checks.

Useful official channels

• Transport for London lost property — for items lost on TfL services and managed locations.
• National Rail lost property guidance — for items lost on trains or at railway stations, usually through the relevant train or station operator.
• Police.uk contact — for reporting crime, non-emergency police matters, and finding the correct police force.
• GOV.UK — contact the police — use 999 for emergencies and 101 or online reporting for non-emergency crime.
• Metropolitan Police — lost or found property — for items lost or found in public places in London, depending on the type of property and circumstances.
• British Transport Police — for crimes on the rail network.
• Airport lost property offices — for items lost in terminals, security areas, lounges, shops, or car parks (check each airport’s official site).
• Airlines — for items lost on aircraft.
• Local councils — for items found in some public spaces, parks, waste areas, or council-managed facilities.
• Venues and businesses — for items lost inside private premises.

Quick action checklist

If you lost an item:

• Think carefully about where you last had it.
• Contact the correct operator, venue, or lost property office.
• Submit a detailed report with date, time, location, route, and description.
• Cancel or freeze bank cards if needed.
• Lock or track electronic devices.
• Report theft to police if there is evidence of crime.
• Contact your insurer if the item is valuable or insured.
• Keep reference numbers and correspondence.

If you found an item:

• Do not keep it.
• Hand it to staff, security, operator, venue, or the relevant official channel.
• Do not post private details online.
• Do not open bags, devices, documents, or private files unnecessarily.
• Do not handle dangerous or suspicious items.
• Call 999 if there is immediate danger.
• Use police or venue guidance for valuable, sensitive, or suspicious property.

Important reminder

Lost property processes can vary widely. TfL, National Rail operators, airports, venues, police forces, councils, hotels, shops, and private companies may all use different systems. Fees, collection arrangements, opening hours, storage periods, and eligibility rules may change. Always check the official website or contact channel before travelling to collect an item or submitting sensitive information.