INTERPOL Stolen/Lost Travel Document Database

INTERPOL's Stolen/Lost Travel Document database (SLTD) is a searchable repository of information on passports, visas, and identity documents that have been reported stolen or lost, helping prevent the illicit international travel of criminals and terrorists. Currently containing over 40 million records, SLTD is available to police and border security authorities in 190 INTERPOL member countries through their respective National Central Bureaus (NCBs). INTERPOL's General Secretariat administers the database, which became operational in July 2002.

Designed as an investigative tool for law enforcement and border protection entities, SLTD allows authorized users to query specific passport numbers. The database returns information on suspect documents that includes the issuing country, document type, document number, date of theft/loss, and certain information related to the circumstances of the theft or loss.

A country's passport issuing authority, through its corresponding NCB, is the only entity authorized to enter and modify records in SLTD pertaining to the loss or theft of its national travel documents. The United States is one of the largest contributors to SLTD, with over 3 million records currently on file and updates occurring on a daily basis.

INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau, manages U.S. participation in the SLTD program. Its related responsibilities include ensuring the timely and accurate entry of stolen/lost U.S. passport data into SLTD upon receipt from the U.S. Department of State, establishing and maintaining SLTD query access by U.S. law enforcement and border inspection authorities, and performing verification and resolution in cases involving foreign passports recorded in SLTD presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at all U.S. ports of entry. INTERPOL Washington also coordinates with its foreign counterparts to resolve any cases involving lost, stolen, and fraudulent U.S. passports presented at foreign border control points.

In May 2007, Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State formally recognized the importance of SLTD as a screening tool for all travelers seeking to enter the United States. International organizations such as the G8, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations Security Council have also endorsed the program. Presently all countries participating in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program report their stolen/lost passport data to INTERPOL for entry into SLTD, as set forth in the Implementing Recommendations for the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-53.

The United States currently screens the passports of all persons entering the country against SLTD. Additionally, the U.S. Department of State queries all U.S. visa applicants' passports against the database. In 2013, U.S. authorities conducted over 238 million SLTD queries, the majority of which came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.