Updated 3 August 2026 · 5 min read
What a Black Notice is
A Black Notice is a request for information about unidentified bodies. It is issued where remains have been found that could not be identified and there is reason to believe the person may have been a national of another state.
It is the only INTERPOL notice type unconnected with searching for a living person, involving no detention and not addressed to anyone concerned. It creates no legal consequences for anybody.
What it is for
The practical task is to connect two datasets: records of unidentified remains and missing-person reports filed in other countries. The notice contains a description, the circumstances of discovery and any available forensic data.
Black Notices work together with Yellow Notices, which are issued to trace missing persons. In substance these are two ends of one task: a Yellow Notice looks for a person, a Black Notice looks for a name to attach to remains.
A common misconception
In everyday speech an 'INTERPOL black notice' is sometimes used to mean something maximally serious, by analogy with a 'blacklist'. That is wrong: the colour does not denote severity.
INTERPOL notices differ by purpose, not by severity. Red is a request to locate and provisionally arrest with a view to extradition, Blue collects information about a person, Green is a warning, Yellow traces missing persons, Orange warns of a threatening event or object, and Black concerns unidentified bodies. If your question is whether any data about you exists, what matters is not the colour but the fact of processing — and that is established by a CCF request.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a Black Notice concern a living person?
No. A Black Notice is issued solely in respect of unidentified remains and has no connection with searching for living people.
Does black mean the highest severity?
No. The colour of a notice denotes its purpose, not its seriousness. It has nothing to do with a 'blacklist'.
How do I find out whether a notice concerns me?
The public list shows only some Red Notices. Only a request to the Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) reveals whether INTERPOL processes your data and in what form.