Biometrics and documents
INTERPOL Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database
Short answer
- Operator
- INTERPOL 2
- Records
- Around 138 million 2
- Searches in 2023
- 3.6 billion 2
- Hits in 2023
- 232,423 2
- Access
- Through the I-24/7 network 2
- Status
- Live. INTERPOL page accessed 24 October 2026 2
What SLTD holds
INTERPOL says the SLTD database contains information on travel and identity documents that have been reported as stolen, lost, revoked, invalid or stolen blank 1.
Countries submit the records. INTERPOL says only the country that issued a document can add it to the database 2.
Who can search it
INTERPOL says law enforcement officers worldwide can use the database 2. National Central Bureaus and frontline locations such as airports and border crossings can check travellers' passports against it 2.
Access is through INTERPOL's I-24/7 communication system 2.
Private sector screening through I-Checkit
INTERPOL says trusted private-sector partners can screen travel documents when a ticket is booked, and hits are passed to law enforcement 2.
I-Checkit lets private sector partners submit customer or crew identity document information. The data is checked against SLTD and against documents linked to Red Notices 4. INTERPOL says neither side gets direct access to the other's databases 4.
INTERPOL lists use by financial institutions for customer due diligence and by travel operators for passenger screening 4. A match triggers an alert to the INTERPOL General Secretariat and the National Central Bureaus concerned. The General Secretariat then coordinates follow-up with the private partner 4.
SLTD checks at EU external borders
Regulation (EU) 2017/458 of 15 March 2017 amended the Schengen Borders Code to reinforce checks against databases at external borders 3.
It requires border guards to verify the travel documents of people with EU free movement rights on entry and exit, including against Interpol's SLTD database 3. The same requirement applies to third-country nationals 3.
Member States may limit these checks to targeted ones at specified crossing points after a risk assessment, where full checks would disproportionately affect traffic flow 3. At air borders this option applied for a transitional period of six months from 7 April 2017 3.
UN Security Council call
UN Security Council resolution 2396 (2017), paragraph 16, calls upon Member States to contribute to and make use of INTERPOL's databases 5. It urges States to connect their agencies through National Central Bureaus and to screen travellers regularly 5.
Common questions
How many records are in INTERPOL's SLTD database?
INTERPOL says around 138 million 2.
Who can add a passport to SLTD?
Only the country that issued the document can add it, according to INTERPOL 2.
Can airlines check SLTD?
INTERPOL says trusted private-sector partners can screen travel documents at ticket booking through I-Checkit, without direct database access 2,4.
Is checking SLTD required at EU borders?
Yes. Regulation (EU) 2017/458 requires checks against SLTD on entry and exit, with limited targeted-check exceptions 3.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].
Sources
- INTERPOL: Our databases (accessed 24 October 2026)
- INTERPOL: SLTD database (travel and identity documents) (accessed 24 October 2026)
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2017/458 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders (15 March 2017)
- INTERPOL: I-Checkit (accessed 24 October 2026)
- UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases: Security Council Urges Strengthening of Measures to Counter Threats Posed by Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters, Adopting Resolution 2396 (2017) (21 December 2017)
Related
- ePassports and the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD)
How ePassports are digitally signed, how border systems check the chip, what the ICAO PKD does and what ICAO Doc 9303 covers.
- UN Security Council resolution 2396 (2017)
UN Security Council resolution 2396 of 21 December 2017: its rules on API, PNR, watch lists, biometrics and INTERPOL, and how ICAO and the UN followed up.
- Biometric e-gates
How automated border e-gates check passports and faces, who can use UK ePassport gates and Australian SmartGates, and the EU rules under the EES.
- Advance passenger information (API) and interactive API
What advance passenger information and interactive API are, what airlines send, the ICAO Annex 9 standards, UN resolutions and the EU API rules.
- US CBP Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) and TSA Secure Flight
Airlines flying to the US send passenger manifests to CBP's APIS under 19 CFR 122.49a. TSA's Secure Flight matches passenger data against watch lists.