Lost and Found
Thousands of items are left at Los Angeles International Airport each month. If you’ve recently lost an item, be it a laptop, luggage, mobile phone, or personal property, our lost and found guide will help you recover your lost items.
The LAX Airport Police Division is responsible for helping you reunite with your lost items. The team uses software called Crowdfind to manage the inventory of lost items and handle all airport lost and found inquiries. Here’s everything you need to know about LAX lost and found.
Steps to claiming your lost item in LAX
1. Search the Lost and Found Inventory
All LAX lost and found inquiries must be made online, and all owners must submit a claim to recover an item.
If you lost an item in a public area (e.g. gate area, baggage area, curbside, ticketing, stores, restaurants, parking lots, LAX-IT shuttle, and LAX-IT Lot), try looking for your item in the Lost and Found Public Areas Inventory.
If you lost an item at the TSA checkpoint, try searching the lost and found TSA inventory.
Why are some items displayed without photos?
The Crowdfind inventory features photos of lost items, but some items are deliberately displayed without images. Travelers can only verify these items with their personal descriptions.
How long does Lost and Found take to record an item?
It typically takes 2 to 5 business days (not including weekends and holidays) for your lost item to be displayed in Crowdfind’s inventory.
What do I do if my item is not in the inventory?
If you can’t find your item in the Lost and Found inventory, you can file a generic claim and the lost and found team will search their inventory for you.
2. Submit a claim
Once you find your item in the airport lost and found inventory, it’s time to submit a claim. The LAX Lost and Found team receives thousands of claims monthly, so it’s important to be explicitly clear in your claim about your item details. There are no costs associated with submitting a claim. Avoid submitting more than one claim for each item, as it will only prolong the review process.
After submitting a claim, you’ll receive an email confirmation of your submission. The team reviews inquiries in the order they were received, but keep in mind that they receive thousands of inquiries every month.
What happens if the team cannot verify ownership with the details on my claim?
The LAX lost and found team will get in touch with you via telephone or email to get more details about your lost item. Be sure to watch your incoming emails, including your spam messages. The team will try to contact you twice via email about your lost item. If you don’t respond, your claim will be considered closed.
Can I use a third-party service to claim my lost item?
Using a third-party lost and found service will not help you claim your items faster.
What do I do if I haven’t received a response to my claim?
The Lost and Found team handles up to 7,000 lost items per month, so reviewing your claim may take a while. Make sure to check your junk mailbox and spam messages and add @crowdfind.com to your email's spam filter.
Lost and found claims are reviewed on weekdays, not including holidays, starting from when the item is received at the facility. Response times vary from 14 business days to as long as five weeks, but this changes without notice.
The claim I submitted was marked closed. What happened?
Your claim will be marked closed if (1) the lost and found team did not receive your item (2) you failed to submit the requested additional information to verify your ownership (3) you failed to recover your item within 90 days.
How long can the lost and found team hold my item?
From the time it was received, your lost item will be held for 90 days. All unclaimed items will be disposed of according to Civil Code 2080.6 or donated to charity. Auctioned items are sent to propertyroom.com.
3. Ship your lost item.
After the team has confirmed your ownership with the information you noted on the claim form, you’ll receive a shipping link via email. Shipping will be at the owner’s expense.
If you lost more than one item that cannot be shipped together, you would receive a shipping link for each item. You must present a government-issued ID before the item is shipped. Note that after you receive your shipping link, the claim will no longer be monitored for messages.
Lost and Found Inquiry Directory
You can try inquiring about a lost item with the numbers below:
- Aircraft directory - for lost items or suitcase
- Dining and shopping directory - for lost items in restaurants and shopping areas
- Transportation directory - for lost items in LAX ground transportation
- ABM-operated lax shuttle buses: (424) 273-7266
- Economy Lot E: (310) 893-4676
- LAX Flyway Buses: 1-866-iFlyLAX
- U.S. Customs - for lost passports: (310) 665-4560
