Emergencies

A family member is missing

Who to call at once, how to report to the police, what the AP Police portal offers, and what the police must do when a child is missing.

For whom: People in Andhra Pradesh whose family member is missing, and anyone who finds a child or person who seems lost.

Published on 31-10-2026. Not every fact has been checked against its official source yet: confirm at the office.

In an emergency, call at once

📞 112

Emergency helpline (police), toll-free. Call it at once when a child or person is missing.

📞 100

Police

📞 1098

Child Helpline: for a child in distress or missing, 24 hours

Answer a few questions to see which steps apply to you. The whole guide is below.

The documents for this depend on your answers: answer the questions above to see yours.

Documents you need

Needed only in some situations

•

A recent photo of the missing person

original

• Yes, a child under 18 (step 3)

• No, 18 or older (step 5)

• Yes, a child under 18 (step 6)

📷 What the photo must look like

• A recent photo.

• On the online form: a JPG, JPEG or PNG file, at most 5 MB.

• File for an online form: JPG/JPEG/PNG

Not confirmed: The rules give no size and no number of copies; the police make copies for the missing persons units and for notices. Ask at the station.

•

A description of the missing person

original

Name, age, the date they went missing, marks on the body (such as a mole or a scar), height, the clothes they wore, and the place they went missing from.

• Yes, a child under 18 (step 3)

• No, 18 or older (step 5)

• Yes, a child under 18 (step 6)

•

The number of your ID card

original

Any one of: Aadhaar card, PAN card, driving licence, voter ID, passport. The online form asks for the card type and its number.

• Yes, a child under 18 (step 6)

Steps

Each box is one situation. To see only yours, answer the questions above.

Someone in my family is missing

Call 112 at once. Say who is missing, and where and when they were last seen.

📞 By phone

Yes, a child under 18

For a missing child, you can also call 1098 (the Child Helpline).

📞 By phone

Go to the nearest police station and make a complaint. The AP Police portal lists the police stations district by district.

🏛️ The nearest police station

Open the official page ↗

citizen.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

📎 A recent photo of the missing person, A description of the missing person

The police must register a complaint about a missing child as an FIR at once. Under the Supreme Court's direction, each case is first taken as an abduction or trafficking, unless the investigation shows otherwise. Ask for the FIR number and note it down.

🏛️ The nearest police station

Open the official page ↗

citizen.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

No, 18 or older

Go to the nearest police station and report the person missing. The AP Police portal lists the police stations district by district.

🏛️ The nearest police station

Open the official page ↗

citizen.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

📎 A recent photo of the missing person, A description of the missing person

Not confirmed: None of the official sources we read says whether you must wait before reporting a missing adult, whether the report is registered as an FIR, or what to bring (the rules on a photo and a description are for children). Ask at the station without delay.

Yes, a child under 18

You can also report it online with the "Child Missing Complaint" form of the AP Police Women and Child Safety Wing. You log in with your mobile number and an OTP. After you submit, their team reviews it and contacts you on the mobile number you gave. The form warns that a false report is a punishable offence.

💻 Online

Open the official page ↗

womenandchildsafetywing.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

📎 The number of your ID card, A recent photo of the missing person, A description of the missing person

Not confirmed: The portal does not say whether this online report is registered as an FIR. Make the complaint at the police station too, and ask for the FIR number.

Under the rules, the police collect a recent photo of the child, put out notices with the photo and a description, check CCTV recordings around the place the child went missing from, and enter the details on the portal. The national Mission Vatsalya portal is linked with the police records system (CCTNS), so FIRs of missing children can be matched with its records to trace them.

✋ You do this yourself

The police must send the FIR to the Special Juvenile Police Unit. The AP Police portal lists these units' phone numbers district by district.

💻 Online

Open the official page ↗

citizen.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

Someone in my family is missing

On the AP Police portal's "Missing Persons" page you can search missing person records by gender and a date range. It shows the FIR number, section, age, the date missing and the complainant's name. You need to log in.

💻 Online

Open the official page ↗

citizen.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

10.

The same portal also keeps records of unidentified bodies found by the police ("Unidentified Dead Bodies"). This page also needs a login.

💻 Online

Open the official page ↗

citizen.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

Yes, a child under 18

11.

When the child is found, the police bring the child before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The District Legal Services Authority gives counselling and support to the child and the family.

✋ You do this yourself

Someone in my family is missing

12.

For free legal help, go to the legal services office in the nearest court compound (the District Legal Services Authority or the Mandal Legal Services Committee), or call the NALSA helpline 15100. They exist to give free legal aid to the marginalised and weaker sections of society.

🏛️ Legal services office (nearest court compound)

Open the official page ↗

andhrapradesh.nalsa.gov.in · opens in a new tab

I have found a child or a person who seems lost

13.

Call 112, or 1098 for a child, and say where they are. You can also tell the nearest police station.

📞 By phone

14.

If you take charge of a child who seems lost or abandoned, the law says you must tell the Childline (1098), the nearest police station, a Child Welfare Committee or the District Child Protection Unit within 24 hours (not counting travel time), or hand the child over to a registered child care institution. Not telling them is an offence: up to six months in jail, or a fine of ₹10,000, or both.

✋ You do this yourself

⏱️ within 1 days · Within 24 hours, not counting travel time

Fees and time limits

Step 14

• I have found a child or a person who seems lost

⏱️ within 1 days · Within 24 hours, not counting travel time

If something goes wrong

If it is rejected

For a missing child: the Supreme Court directed that every complaint about a missing child be registered as an FIR. If the station will not take the complaint, contact the Legal Services Authority: the Court also said para-legal volunteers of the Legal Services Authorities should be at police stations to watch how these complaints are dealt with.

Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority (NALSA helpline)

Open the official page ↗

andhrapradesh.nalsa.gov.in · opens in a new tab

📞 15100

If it is late

For a missing child: if the child is not found within four months, the case goes to the district's Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU). The AHTU must report to the Legal Services Authority every three months. Ask your district's Special Juvenile Police Unit.

Special Juvenile Police Units list, AP Police

Open the official page ↗

citizen.appolice.gov.in · opens in a new tab

Updated on 31-10-2026

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Documents you need

•

A recent photo of the missing person

original

📷 What the photo must look like

• A recent photo.

• On the online form: a JPG, JPEG or PNG file, at most 5 MB.

• File for an online form: JPG/JPEG/PNG

Not confirmed: The rules give no size and no number of copies; the police make copies for the missing persons units and for notices. Ask at the station.

•

A description of the missing person

original

Name, age, the date they went missing, marks on the body (such as a mole or a scar), height, the clothes they wore, and the place they went missing from.

•

The number of your ID card

original

Any one of: Aadhaar card, PAN card, driving licence, voter ID, passport. The online form asks for the card type and its number.

Fees and time limits

Step 14

⏱️ within 1 days · Within 24 hours, not counting travel time

🏠 Home 🔍 Search ⚙️ Settings

Emergencies

In an emergency, call at once

Documents you need

Steps

Fees and time limits

If something goes wrong

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