SahayamA family member is missingతె
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A family member is missing

Who to call at once, how to report to the police, what the AP Police portal offers, and what you can do if a missing-child complaint is not recorded.

About this guidePending verification

Published on 12-11-2026. Not every fact has been checked against its official source yet: confirm at the office.

Where:By phoneAt the officeOnline

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

In an emergency, call at once

112Emergency helpline (police), toll-free. Call it at once when a child or person is missing.100Police1098Child Helpline: for a child in distress or missing, 24 hours

1Your situation

We show only what your answers need.

What has happened?
Is the missing person under 18?

Your answers stay on this phone.

2Documents you need

Tick the ones you have. They are kept in this browser.

  • Details
    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: No official page we read gives a photo size or a number of copies for the station. Ask at the station.

    Not confirmed: The online form for a missing child asks for this. No page we read lists what to take to the station.

    Sources: 6

  • Details

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

    Not confirmed: The online form for a missing child asks for these. No page we read lists what to take to the station. Ask at the station.

    Sources: 6

  • Details

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

    Sources: 6

    3Your steps

    · Do them in order. Tick each one when it is done.

    If something goes wrong
    1. Do this now

      Call 112 at once.

      Say who is missing, and where and when they were last seen.

      Where
      By phone

      Sources: 1, 2

    2. Do this now

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

      Where
      By phone

      Sources: 2, 1

    3. Do this now

      Go to the nearest police station and make a complaint.

      The law lets information for an FIR be given at any police station, wherever the offence happened (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, section 173(1)). The AP Police portal lists the police stations district by district.

      Where
      The nearest police station
      Open the official page

      Sources: 1, 4, 10

    4. Do this now

      Ask the station to register your complaint as an FIR.

      Ask for the FIR number and note it down.

      Where
      The nearest police station
      Open the official page
      Not confirmed

      No Andhra Pradesh page we read says how a missing-child complaint must be registered. Ask at the station how yours was registered.

      Sources: 10

    5. Do this now

      Go to the nearest police station and report the person missing.

      The AP Police portal lists the police stations district by district.

      Where
      The nearest police station
      Open the official page
      Not confirmed

      No official source we read sets any waiting time before you report a missing adult. Whether the report is registered as an FIR, we could not confirm. Ask at the station.

      Sources: 1, 4

    6. Do this now

      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.

      Where
      Online
      Open the official page
      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.

      Sources: 6, 5

    7. Do this now

      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.

      Where
      Online
      Open the official page

      Sources: 7, 5

    8. Do this now

      The same portal also has a search of unidentified dead body records ("Unidentified Dead Bodies").

      This page also needs a login.

      Where
      Online
      Open the official page

      Sources: 1, 5

    9. Do this now

      When the child is found, the police may bring the child before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

      Where
      You do this yourself

      Sources: 8

    10. Do this now

      For free legal help, contact the District Legal Services Authority or the Mandal Legal Services Committee, or call the NALSA helpline 15100.

      These bodies give free legal aid to the marginalised and weaker sections of society.

      Where
      Legal Services Authority
      Open the official page

      Sources: 9

    11. Do this now

      Call 112, or 1098 for a child, and say where they are.

      You can also tell the nearest police station.

      Where
      By phone

      Sources: 1, 2, 8

    12. Do this now

      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.

      Where
      You do this yourself
      Time limit
      Within 24 hours, not counting travel time

      Sources: 8, 2, 1

    If something goes wrong

    If it is rejectedFor a missing child: if the station will not record your complaint as an FIR, the law lets you send it in writing, by post, to the Superintendent of Police (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, section 173(4)).

    For a missing child: if the station will not record your complaint as an FIR, the law lets you send it in writing, by post, to the Superintendent of Police (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, section 173(4)). You can also ask the District Legal Services Authority for free legal help.

    Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority (NALSA helpline) · Open the official page

    15100

    Sources: 10, 9

    If it is lateFor a missing child: if the child has not been found, ask the police station that registered the FIR how the search is going.

    For a missing child: if the child has not been found, ask the police station that registered the FIR how the search is going.

    Police stations list, AP Police · Open the official page

    Sources: 4

    Official websites for this work

    All official websites →
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    Related guides

    Report a mistake on this page
    The 10 official pages and papers this guide is written from
    1. Andhra Pradesh State Police Services: citizen portal home page and menusAndhra Pradesh Police (Government of Andhra Pradesh), citizen services portal, Header "Emergency Helpline 112"; SOS note "Call 112 (Toll Free)"; menu Citizen Services: "Missing Persons" ("Search missing person records") and "Unidentified Dead Bodies" ("Search unidentified dead body records"); Police Directory article: "For emergency issues, contact the nearest station or the emergency helpline immediately" (text served from the portal's files /i18n/en.json and /i18n/te.json, keys header.emergencyHelpline, home.sos.helpline112, nav.citizen.*, refArticle.policeDirectory.section1.p2) · read on 31-10-2026
    2. Shakthi Helplines (శక్తి హెల్ప్‌లైన్లు)Andhra Pradesh Police, Women and Child Safety Wing (the same portal, women and child safety site), Helpline list "Police 112", "Child Helpline 1098" (in the portal's script main-3CHJCDCL.js; labels in /i18n/en.json and /i18n/te.json, keys womenSafety.helplines.*) · read on 31-10-2026
    3. HelplineGuntur District Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Police 100 · read on 31-10-2026
    4. Police Stations: list of higher offices and police stationsAndhra Pradesh Police (Government of Andhra Pradesh), citizen services portal, Search by district, SDPO office and circle office (text served from the portal's files /i18n/en.json and /i18n/te.json, keys nav.org.policeStations.*, policeStations.*) · read on 31-10-2026
    5. Login (Andhra Pradesh State Police Services)Andhra Pradesh Police (Government of Andhra Pradesh), citizen services portal, "Secure mobile login for citizen and department services"; Register with contact and address details; mobile number and OTP (text served from the portal's files /i18n/en.json and /i18n/te.json, keys login.*); in the portal's script main-3CHJCDCL.js the pages citizen-services/missing-persons, citizen-services/unidentified-dead-bodies and women-safety-services/missing-children open only after login · read on 31-10-2026
    6. Report Missing Child (తప్పిపోయిన పిల్లల నివేదిక): Child Missing ComplaintAndhra Pradesh Police, Women and Child Safety Wing (the same portal, women and child safety site), Whole form: reporter's name, mobile number, ID proof type (Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Driving License, Voter ID, Passport) and number, district; child's name, age (0-18), gender, date of disappearance, identifying marks or description (e.g. mole, scar, height, clothes worn), child's photo (JPG, JPEG, PNG, max 5MB); notice that a false missing report is a punishable offence; success message (review, contact on the mobile number) (text served from the portal's files /i18n/en.json and /i18n/te.json, keys womenSafety.missingChildren.*) · read on 31-10-2026
    7. Missing Persons (తప్పిపోయిన వ్యక్తులు)Andhra Pradesh Police (Government of Andhra Pradesh), citizen services portal, Search by gender and date range; result columns FIR No, Section, Age, Missing Date, Complaint Name (text served from the portal's files /i18n/en.json and /i18n/te.json, keys missingSearch.*) · read on 31-10-2026
    8. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (2 of 2016), text as enactedMinistry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department), Government of India (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 1, No. 2 of 2016); copy published by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Sections 2(12) ("child": a person who has not completed eighteen years of age), 2(14)(vii) (a missing or run away child is a child in need of care and protection), 2(25) ("childline services": a twenty-four hours emergency outreach service) and 31(1)(i) (a child in need of care and protection "may be produced before the Committee" by any police officer). Sections 32(1) (mandatory reporting regarding a child found separated from guardian: within twenty-four hours, excluding journey time, to the Childline Services, the nearest police station, a Child Welfare Committee or the District Child Protection Unit, or hand over to a registered child care institution), 33 (offence of non-reporting) and 34 (imprisonment up to six months or fine of ten thousand rupees or both) (01-01-2016) · read on 02-11-2026
    9. Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority: home pageAndhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority, "About APSLSA" (free and competent legal aid to the marginalized and weaker sections; District Legal Services Authorities and Mandal Legal Services Committees); notices ("Legal Services Institution in the nearest court compound"); header link "NALSA Helpline Number 15100" · read on 31-10-2026
    10. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (No. 46 of 2023)Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department), Government of India (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 1, No. 54), Sections 2(1)(g) and (o) (cognizable and non-cognizable offence); 173(1) with its provisos, 173(2), (3) and (4); 174(1)-(2); 175(3); 176(1), second proviso; 193(3)(ii) (25-12-2023) · read on 31-10-2026