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In the United States, a report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) goes to its CyberTipline for review. NCMEC works to identify where the incident may have occurred and makes the information available to an appropriate law-enforcement agency for possible investigation. Separately, NCMEC may notify a platform about certain material, and the platform decides what action to take under its own policies. A report does not guarantee an investigation, removal, arrest, or an update to the person who submitted it.
What happens after a CyberTipline report is submitted?
- NCMEC reviews the tip. The CyberTipline is the U.S. centralized reporting system for suspected online child exploitation. NCMEC says its staff review each tip and work to find a potential location for the incident.
- NCMEC routes the information based on location. Reports are made available to U.S. federal law enforcement. When a U.S. location is known, NCMEC may also make a report available to an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force or another appropriate local, state, or federal agency. If the state or jurisdiction cannot be identified, a specific local referral may not be possible; NCMEC says reports with an unknown U.S. state are made available to federal law enforcement.
- An agency may consider the report for investigation. NCMEC describes this as a referral for “possible investigation.” Referral is not confirmation that an agency opened a case or took a particular investigative step.
NCMEC describes its role as reviewing tips and making them available to law enforcement; it is not itself the investigating police agency. The process described here is the U.S. public reporting route. NCMEC receives reports involving other countries, but reporting procedures and agency roles outside the United States vary.
Why the location can affect what happens next
The incident’s location helps determine which agency may be appropriate to receive a report. NCMEC says that more than 10% of CyberTipline reports submitted by the tech industry in 2025 did not contain enough information for it to determine where the offense occurred. That figure is specifically about reports submitted by the tech industry, not public submissions; it illustrates a routing challenge but does not establish how often public reports lack location information.
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Law-enforcement referral and content removal are separate processes
A report’s referral to law enforcement does not itself remove material from a website or app. NCMEC has a separate process in which it reviews imagery and may notify a platform about material in certain categories, including child sexual abuse material, exploitative content depicting identified child victims, or predatory text connected to a child victim or survivor. A platform may remove content or restrict users under its own terms, and NCMEC tracks notice status and can send further notices until the content is addressed.
NCMEC reported sending more than 172,000 platform notices in 2025 and an average takedown time of 2.6 days for images or videos. Those are overall figures reported by NCMEC for that year, not a service-level target or a promised timeline for a particular item.
Which route should you use?
| Route | What it does | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| NCMEC CyberTipline | Centralized review and possible referral to law enforcement. | A referral does not guarantee an investigation, a particular outcome, or an update to the reporter. |
| Report to the platform hosting the content | Brings a report or removal request to the service where the material appears. | The service decides what action to take under its policies. Reporting through the platform is distinct from a CyberTipline referral. |
| Take It Down | A removal-support option for eligible nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit photos or videos taken before the depicted person turned 18. | Eligibility and the service’s process apply; it is not a guarantee that content will be removed everywhere. |
NCMEC also provides platform-specific reporting instructions. Platform interfaces and policies can change, so use the service’s current reporting flow. The CyberTipline and a platform’s own reporting process can address different needs; one does not replace the other.
If you are depicted in the material or supporting someone who is
NCMEC’s Exploitation Resources page identifies Take It Down for eligible images or videos created before the depicted person turned 18, and provides direct platform-reporting guidance. It also points to crisis and family resources, professional help, and peer support. These options serve different needs: crisis and family resources may help with immediate support, peer support can connect people with others who have relevant experience, and professional services may provide longer-term care. Availability and suitability depend on location and individual circumstances.
NCMEC says specially trained analysts process reports and make them available to the appropriate law-enforcement agency. Its public guidance does not establish a standard schedule for notifying a reporter about referral or investigative progress, so do not assume you will receive updates.
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