Police Complaint Letter to the SHO
A written complaint to the Station House Officer — what happened, when and where, identifying details of anything lost, and what you are asking the police to do.
Details
letter to shoRed highlights mark what is still blank. Everything stays on this device.
Respected Sir / Madam,
I, [your name], residing at [your address], wish to report the loss of my mobile phone. It happened on [date and time], [place].
[what happened, in the order it happened — one paragraph per line]
I request you to register my complaint and to give me a written acknowledgment with its number.
The information given above is true to the best of my knowledge.
What is a Police Complaint Letter to the SHO?
A police complaint letter is your written account to the Station House Officer (SHO) of what happened, when and where, what was lost or damaged, and what you are asking the police to do. It gives the police the information they need to act, and it gives you a dated record that you reported the matter. Without one, details shift in the retelling, and a bank, insurer or telecom operator asking for proof that you reported it has nothing to rely on.
People write to the SHO after a theft, the loss of a phone, wallet or documents, a vehicle taken from outside their home, damage to property, harassment, a dispute with a neighbour that has turned threatening, or an online fraud. Shopkeepers write after a break-in, and residents' associations about repeated trouble in a street. For some of these a simple lost-article report is enough; for others the letter is the information from which the police register a First Information Report (FIR). Either way, the police start from what you write, so its accuracy matters more than its length.
In India, criminal procedure now comes from the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure from 1 July 2024. Older guides that cite section 154 of the CrPC are out of date; the matching provision is section 173 of the BNSS. Police is a State subject, so online complaint portals, lost-article reports and local practice differ between State police forces — check your State police website. Cyber fraud has a national portal, cybercrime.gov.in, and helpline 1930. Outside India, report to the local police force, often online for non-urgent matters, and use the local emergency number.
The letter reports facts. It does not decide what offence was committed, prove anything or replace legal advice. Whether the police register an FIR depends on whether the information discloses a cognizable offence, which the law and the police decide, not the wording of your letter. Keep strictly to what you know, because a false complaint is itself an offence. For anything serious — violence, threats, sexual offences, a large fraud, or any matter in which you might yourself be accused — speak to a lawyer. And in an emergency, call 112 first; do not stop to write a letter.
What to put in a Police Complaint Letter to the SHO
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Your name | For example: Suresh Babu |
| Your address | For example: D.No 5-88, Brodipet 5th Line, Guntur 522002 |
| Phone number | For example: +91 98480 33333 |
| Police station | For example: Arundelpet Police Station, Guntur |
| The complaint is about | Free text |
| When it happened | For example: 22 September 2026, between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. |
| Where it happened | For example: near the Lodge Centre bus stop, Guntur |
| What happened | In your own words, in the order it happened. One paragraph per line. |
| Items and identifying details optional | One per line: Item | IMEI, serial or document number |
| You are asking the police to | Free text |
| Enclosures optional | One per line |
How to write a Police Complaint Letter to the SHO
Address the SHO and give your details
Address the Station House Officer by the name of the police station and district — ‘The Station House Officer, (name) Police Station, Guntur’, for example. Give your full name, address and a phone number you will answer. Information about a cognizable offence can be given at any police station, wherever it happened; an FIR recorded that way is often called a Zero FIR, and it is passed to the station for that area.
Say what the complaint is about
Give the letter a subject line that names the matter in a few words: ‘Theft of motorcycle from outside my house’ or ‘Loss of mobile phone at the bus stand’. Then, in the first line of the body, say in one sentence what happened and when. The officer reading it should know what kind of matter it is before reaching the details.
Set out when, where and what happened
Give the date and the time, or the window of time — ‘between 10 pm and 6 am the next morning’. Give the exact place, with a landmark. Then tell events in the order they happened, keeping what you saw apart from what you were told, and name any witnesses. Describe people you saw rather than guessing who they were, and write only what you know to be true.
Describe items so they can be identified
For a phone, give the make, model, colour and IMEI numbers from the box or bill, and the mobile number. For a vehicle, give the registration, chassis and engine numbers. For documents, give the type and number, so the issuing office can block or reissue them. For cash or jewellery, give the amount or a description and an approximate value. Identifying details are what let recovered property come back to you.
State your request and list enclosures
Say what you are asking the police to do: register an FIR and investigate, trace the phone, or record the loss and give you a copy for a duplicate document or an insurance claim. List what you enclose — the bill, photographs, a copy of your ID, CCTV footage if you have it. Sign and date the letter, keep a copy, and ask for an acknowledgment on it.
Common mistakes
- Adding details you did not see or naming culprits on a guess, which weakens the complaint and, where the statement is false, is itself an offence.
- Leaving out the IMEI, serial, registration or chassis number, which leaves the police nothing to match if the item turns up.
- Giving a vague time and place such as ‘last week, near the market’, which makes it hard to check CCTV or find witnesses while the trail is fresh.
- Leaving the station without a copy or an acknowledgment, so you cannot show when you reported the matter when a bank, insurer or telecom operator asks.
- Sitting down to write a letter while someone is in danger instead of calling 112, which loses the minutes that matter most.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a letter to the SHO?
Address it to the Station House Officer of the named police station. Give your name, address and phone number, a one-line subject, and then the facts in order: when, where and what happened, who was involved or saw it, and a description of anything lost with its identifying numbers. Say what you want the police to do, list the enclosures, then sign and date it. Keep a copy and ask for an acknowledgment.
How do I write a police complaint for a lost mobile phone?
Give the make, model and colour, the IMEI numbers from the box or bill, the mobile number and operator, and when and where you last had the phone. Say whether you believe it was lost or stolen, and ask for your report to be recorded. Many State police websites accept lost-article reports online. You can also block the handset through the CEIR service on the Sanchar Saathi portal, sancharsaathi.gov.in.
What is the difference between a complaint and an FIR?
Your complaint is the information you give the police. An FIR, or First Information Report, is the police's own record of that information when it discloses a cognizable offence: under section 173 of the BNSS the officer in charge must record it and give you a copy free of cost. For a non-cognizable matter, the police enter the substance in a register and refer you to the Magistrate under section 174.
What can I do if the police refuse to register my FIR?
Section 173(4) of the BNSS lets you send the substance of the information, in writing and by post, to the Superintendent of Police concerned. Keep a copy of what you send and the postal receipt. If the police say the matter is non-cognizable, section 174 applies instead: they enter it in a register and refer you to the Magistrate. For anything beyond these steps, speak to a lawyer about your options.
Can I file a police complaint online?
Often, yes. Under section 173 of the BNSS, information about a cognizable offence can be given electronically, as long as you sign it within three days. Many State police websites also accept complaints and lost-article reports online. Report cyber fraud at cybercrime.gov.in or on helpline 1930, and block a lost or stolen phone through CEIR on sancharsaathi.gov.in. In an emergency, call 112 rather than filing anything.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.