The NYPD Verification of Crime/Lost Property Form (PD 542-061) is the request you send to the NYPD’s Criminal Records Section to get a written summary confirming you reported a crime or lost property. The report is free, and you can submit the form online through CityPay if you were the complainant, or by mail if someone else is requesting on your behalf. Processing takes up to ten business days.1New York City Police Department. Record Requests
What This Form Actually Does
The form does not file a police report. It requests a document called a Verification of a Complaint Report, which is a short summary of a report you already filed with the NYPD.2NYPD Online. Obtain Your Report If you haven’t reported the incident yet, do that first at your local precinct, by calling 911 for an emergency, or through the NYPD’s online crime reporting system for qualifying incidents.
What you get back is a summary, not the full file. It contains the complaint number, date, location, and a basic description of what happened. That’s usually enough for an insurer, the DMV, or a government agency to confirm the incident was reported. If you need the complete report with all its details, that’s a separate Freedom of Information Law request to the NYPD’s Records Access Officer.3New York City Police Department. Document Production/FOIL Requests
What to Put on the Form
Download the PDF from the NYPD website.4New York City Police Department. Verification of Incident – PD 542-061 The fields the Criminal Records Section needs you to complete are:
- Complaint number from the original report. If you don’t have it, leave it blank and compensate with detail elsewhere.
- Precinct where you filed.
- Location of occurrence — address or intersection.
- Date and time you reported it to police.
- Date and time of the incident, if different.
- Type of report: crime, lost property, or other.
- Name of the officer who took the original report, if you remember it.
- Additional information — serial numbers, property descriptions, anything that helps staff locate your file.
- Your name and mailing address, written exactly as they appeared on the original report.
Sign and date at the bottom. The more fields you fill, the faster the unit can find your record. Missing both the complaint number and the officer’s name? Load up the additional-information field with specific details so staff can search by location and date.
How to Submit
Online
If you were the complainant or victim on the original report, you can submit through the NYPD’s CityPay portal.1New York City Police Department. Record Requests The online option is limited to the person who filed. Anyone else has to use mail.
By Mail
Send the completed form with a stamped, self-addressed 9½-by-4-inch envelope to:2NYPD Online. Obtain Your Report
New York City Police Department
Attn: Criminal Records Section (Verification Unit)
1 Police Plaza, Room 303
New York, NY 10038
The envelope is how the NYPD returns the completed verification report to you. Without it, your request will stall. Reports are not available for in-person pickup at precincts or at One Police Plaza.2NYPD Online. Obtain Your Report
Having Someone Else Request It for You
You can designate an authorized representative — a family member, an attorney, anyone you choose — to submit the request. The representative has to include a notarized authorization letter with the completed form.4New York City Police Department. Verification of Incident – PD 542-061 Page two of the PD 542-061 is the authorization letter template; it asks for your name and address, the incident details, and the representative’s information. A notary public witnesses your signature and applies their stamp. New York caps notary fees at $2.00 per act, so the step is cheap.
Representatives cannot use the online portal. The notarized packet goes by mail to the Criminal Records Section at the address above.5City of New York. NYPD – Verification
How Long It Takes and How to Follow Up
Allow ten business days for processing, plus mail time if you submitted by mail.1New York City Police Department. Record Requests There is no fee, regardless of how you submit.2NYPD Online. Obtain Your Report
If nothing has arrived after that window, call the Criminal Records Unit at (718) 610-8457, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.2NYPD Online. Obtain Your Report Have your complaint number ready. It’s the fastest way for staff to pull up your request.
When the Verification Summary Isn’t Enough
If your insurer, attorney, or another party needs the full complaint report rather than the summary, submit a FOIL request to the NYPD’s Records Access Officer. The request must be in writing and must include enough detail to identify the record: report type, complaint number, date, precinct, and location of occurrence.3New York City Police Department. Document Production/FOIL Requests FOIL requests can involve statutory copying fees and take longer than the free verification.
Keep the Information Accurate
The form carries a legal notice that false statements are punishable under New York Penal Law 210.45. Knowingly putting false information on the form — fabricating an incident, exaggerating what was lost, or shaping details to inflate an insurance claim — is a punishable false written statement, a Class A misdemeanor.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 210.45 – Making a Punishable False Written Statement The maximum sentence is 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.7New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and Violation Insurers routinely cross-reference the verification report against the claim, so inconsistencies tend to surface.