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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Report the theft to local police immediately, protect the scene, and give investigators photographs, descriptions, ownership records, and a last-seen timeline. Ask how to provide digital files and documents, keep the case number, and continue supplying credible leads. In the United States, ask law enforcement whether the work qualifies for the FBI’s National Stolen Art File (NSAF). You can also search official public tools from the FBI and INTERPOL, but an empty result never proves that a painting is legitimately owned.
What should I do if a painting is stolen?
Start with the police agency responsible for the location where the painting disappeared. Do not wait until you have reconstructed every detail or found a database listing. The first report establishes the incident, preserves the possibility of physical evidence, and gives authorities a route for formal database submissions.
1. Contact local police at once
Call the local police or other law-enforcement agency as soon as you discover the loss. Explain that a painting is missing and may have been stolen, rather than treating it as an ordinary misplaced object. Ask for:
- The incident or case number.
- The name and contact details of the investigator or property-crimes unit.
- The agency’s preferred method for sending photographs, ownership documents, and other digital evidence.
- Instructions about who may enter, clean, move, or examine the location.
The FBI’s art-crime guidance specifically advises contacting local police immediately. Procedures differ by country and by agency, so follow the instructions attached to your report instead of moving evidence to create a better-looking scene.
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2. Protect the scene
Keep people away from the likely entry point, the wall or display where the painting hung, and any place packaging, tools, fingerprints, or other traces might remain. Do not clean, rearrange furniture, repair a lock, or handle abandoned material unless police direct you to do so. Tell officers what changed after the disappearance and who had access during that period.
Protection is still useful after several hours or days. A scene may contain access records, camera footage, discarded packing material, or other information that helps establish how the work left the premises.
3. Establish when the painting was last seen
Write a simple, chronological account while memories are fresh. Record the last confirmed sighting, the first discovery that it was gone, people who had authorized access, visitors or contractors, alarms or camera observations, and any unusual activity. Include dates and approximate times, even when an exact time is unavailable. Give the original notes to investigators and retain a copy.
How do I prepare information for the police?
Give investigators what exists now; do not postpone the report while trying to produce a perfect catalogue entry. The FBI asks owners and institutions for documents, descriptions, and images. A more complete identification packet makes it easier to distinguish your painting from similar works and to recognize it if someone changes the title, frame, or attribution.
Photographs that identify the work
- Provide the clearest overall image you have, preferably at full resolution.
- Add detail views of the signature, monogram, date, inscriptions, labels, stamps, repairs, scratches, tears, craquelure, or other distinctive marks.
- Photograph the frame, stretcher, backing, hanging hardware, and the reverse if those images exist.
- Keep original files and note when and with what device they were made. Send copies through the channel police specify rather than editing the originals.
Older exhibition photographs, estate images, conservation records, and loan documentation can be valuable when they show the painting from an angle or before a frame was changed. Tell investigators which images are contemporary and which are historical.
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Descriptive and catalog information
List every known identifier, separating confirmed facts from estimates or disputed attributions:
- Artist’s name, including alternate spellings or “attributed to,” “school of,” or unknown status.
- Title and any former or translated titles.
- Date or period, if known.
- Medium and support, such as oil on canvas or tempera on panel.
- Height, width, and, where relevant, depth; state whether measurements include the frame.
- Frame description, inscriptions, labels, gallery stickers, accession numbers, inventory numbers, or serial numbers.
- Distinctive damage, restoration, alterations, or marks that would not appear in a generic catalogue entry.
Do not turn an uncertain attribution into a definite one. A transparent note such as “artist attributed to … in a 2018 appraisal” is more useful than an overconfident description that could cause a possible match to be rejected.
Ownership and provenance records
Gather receipts, appraisals, insurance schedules, catalogue entries, provenance or ownership records, prior loan agreements, exhibition histories, and conservation reports. Include the names and contact details of people or institutions who can authenticate a document. If the work changed hands, organize the records by date so an investigator can see the chain of ownership without guessing which file supersedes another.
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The incident file
Create one folder containing the case number, investigator’s details, your timeline, image files, written description, records, and a list of witnesses or people with relevant access. Add the date and a short note whenever you send material. This prevents conflicting versions from circulating and lets you answer follow-up questions quickly.
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Can I add a stolen painting to the FBI database?
The FBI’s National Stolen Art File is a United States–specific system populated through law-enforcement submissions. A member of the public can ask police about submission, but does not independently enter a record into the file.
Value threshold for a U.S. submission request
Current FBI art-crime guidance says to request local law-enforcement submission when a stolen artwork is valued at more than $5,000. Give the agency the appraisal or other valuation evidence you have and ask whether it will submit the work. The threshold is FBI guidance for this U.S. process, not a universal rule for every country or database.
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For museums, the FBI says to contact the local FBI office after contacting police when an object is more than 100 years old and worth more than $5,000, or when it is worth more than $100,000. These are escalation criteria in the FBI’s U.S. guidance; they should not be presented as requirements for private owners or as rules outside the United States.
What the NSAF contains and what it does not guarantee
The file accepts entries from law-enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad. Recovered objects are removed, but the FBI cautions that some recoveries are not reported to the file. If your painting is recovered, tell the investigating agency so its status can be updated. Keep your police contact current even after a submission has been made.
Using the FBI’s public app
The FBI’s National Stolen Art File app lets the public search and filter records and submit tips. It is a research and reporting aid, not a replacement for a police report. If you see a record that could be your painting, save the record details and send them through the official tip route or to the investigator handling your case. Do not contact a seller or attempt to arrange a recovery yourself.
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How do I check whether a painting is stolen?
Search official tools using several combinations of artist, title, dimensions, medium, distinguishing marks, and alternate spellings. A match should be treated as a lead requiring confirmation, not as proof based only on a similar photograph or title.
INTERPOL’s ID-Art app
INTERPOL’s free ID-Art mobile app can search the Stolen Works of Art database, create an inventory, and report a potential match. It can also export Object ID information for use in a law-enforcement report. Use the inventory function to record identifying details before a loss occurs, or after a theft to organize the information police need.
If the app indicates a possible match, capture the result, note the record identifier, and give it to local police. The app supports a report; it does not replace contacting police or establish ownership by itself.
INTERPOL’s Stolen Works of Art database
INTERPOL’s public database page describes almost 57,000 objects. That figure is the page’s current wording, not a dated statistical release, and it should not be interpreted as complete global coverage. Only authorized entities can enter information, and the database includes objects that are fully identifiable.
INTERPOL also states that full database access requires an application and may involve vetting. Access is not immediate. Individuals should ask local police or INTERPOL to confirm information rather than relying on an unverified screenshot or an informal copy of a record.
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Why an empty search proves nothing
A painting may be absent because it has not yet been reported, transmitted, entered, or made searchable, or because authorities are searching it nationally rather than through an international record. An unlisted object can still be stolen. Report the theft first, then repeat searches when investigators advise and whenever credible new information appears.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which official route should I use?
| Route | Who can use it or provide access | Useful function | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local police report | Contact the police agency responsible for the location; procedures vary by jurisdiction | Starts the local investigation and supports formal submissions | There is no single worldwide form or process |
| FBI National Stolen Art File and app | The public can search the app; law-enforcement agencies submit objects | Search submitted U.S. and international records and send tips | Coverage depends on agency submissions and updates; some recoveries may not be reported to the file |
| INTERPOL ID-Art | Publicly available free mobile app | Search, inventory, and report a potential match; export Object ID information | A search result does not replace a police report and absence from the database is not clearance |
| INTERPOL full database | Applicants; access may be vetted | Authorized users can check records in real time | Access is not immediate, and records should be confirmed with the information owner |
What changes if the theft happened outside the United States?
Begin with the local police or national authority responsible for theft and cultural property in the country where the painting disappeared. Ask whether that country has an art-crime unit and how it uses its INTERPOL National Central Bureau. The FBI’s $5,000 threshold and museum criteria apply to its U.S. process; they are not international reporting deadlines or legal requirements.
Tell investigators if the painting crossed a border, was on loan, or was advertised in another country. Let the authorities decide which international notices, databases, or partner agencies are appropriate. Because reporting forms, insurance obligations, limitation periods, and recovery laws vary, obtain country-specific legal advice when an investigator or lawyer says it is necessary rather than assuming a U.S. procedure applies elsewhere.
How can I help police recover stolen art?
Keep the case active
Store the case number and investigator’s contact information where you can find them. Ask when the agency wants updates and whether additional images, valuations, or ownership records should be sent. Notify the investigator if your contact details change. A database entry or app result is not a substitute for this continuing relationship.
Forward credible sightings
If you find a possible listing, auction notice, social-media post, or private-sale advertisement, preserve the URL, screenshots, seller name, date and time, stated dimensions, photographs, and any transaction details visible to you. Send the material to police or the official FBI tip channel when the matter involves a possible NSAF record. Explain why the item may match; do not embellish uncertain details.
Do not confront a suspected seller
Do not arrange a meeting, threaten a seller, impersonate a buyer, remove the work, or attempt a private recovery. Contact can alert a suspect, destroy evidence, or put you at risk. Give investigators the lead and follow their instructions about preservation, communication, and recovery.
Common mistakes that delay identification
- Waiting for a complete catalogue: Make the report first and add details as they are found.
- Cleaning or repairing the scene: Preserve likely evidence until police give permission.
- Sending only a cropped front image: Include the reverse, frame, labels, signature, and distinctive damage when available.
- Assuming a title is unique: Supply dimensions, medium, inscriptions, and alternate titles or spellings.
- Treating an app result as confirmation: A possible match must be verified by authorities.
- Interpreting no database result as proof of lawful ownership: Entries can be delayed, incomplete, nationally held, or absent.
- Confronting a suspected holder: Preserve the lead and let investigators handle contact and recovery.
- Failing to report recovery: Tell the agency when the painting is found so records can be corrected.
A practical checklist for the first report
- Call the local police agency and state that a painting may have been stolen.
- Ask for the case number, investigator, evidence-submission method, and scene instructions.
- Restrict access to the display area and likely entry or exit points.
- Record the last confirmed sighting, discovery time, access list, and changes after the loss.
- Assemble overall and detail photographs, including frame and reverse images when available.
- Write the artist, title, date or period, medium, dimensions, marks, labels, inscriptions, and numbers you know.
- Copy receipts, appraisals, insurance schedules, catalogues, provenance, loan, exhibition, and conservation records.
- Ask U.S. law enforcement about NSAF submission when the value exceeds $5,000; museums should discuss the FBI’s additional age-and-value criteria.
- Search the FBI app and INTERPOL’s ID-Art only as supporting checks, saving any possible match for police.
- Forward credible sightings through official channels and never attempt a private confrontation or recovery.
The key principle
A stolen painting is most recoverable when its theft is reported quickly, its identifying evidence is preserved, and every lead stays connected to an official case. Police reporting comes first; FBI and INTERPOL tools add search and notification options. Continue updating investigators, because neither database can contain every theft or guarantee that a clear result means the work is lawfully held.
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