Updated 14 July 2026 · 8 min read
Notice vs diffusion
prior reviews for a diffusion
diffusions never appear publicly
one removal channel for both forms
What a Red Notice is
A Red Notice is a formal wanted-for-extradition request that a country files through its National Central Bureau. Before the notice enters INTERPOL's systems, a dedicated task force at the General Secretariat reviews it for compliance with the Constitution (including Article 3's ban on political cases) and the data-processing rules.
That pre-publication review is the main filter for Red Notices: some requests are rejected at the door. A small share of notices appear in the public database on interpol.int; most stay visible only to law enforcement.
What a diffusion is
A diffusion is a message one country's bureau sends directly to other bureaus over INTERPOL's channels: a request to locate, arrest or monitor a person. The key difference is that a diffusion reaches its recipients immediately, with no prior General Secretariat review.
Review happens only after the fact: the Secretariat can later demand deletion of a non-compliant diffusion, but by then the data has already spread into national systems. Diffusions never appear in the public database — finding one by searching on your own is practically impossible.
The key differences in practice
First — quality control: a Red Notice is reviewed before publication, a diffusion is not. That is why requests that would fail review — politically tinged, weakly evidenced, or over minor cases — more often travel as diffusions.
Second — visibility: a Red Notice at least has a chance of appearing in the public database; a diffusion is always hidden. A person can live for years with an active diffusion and learn about it only at a border.
Third — the legal consequences for you are identical: both forms land in national border and police systems, both can lead to detention, refused entry, and banking and visa problems. And both are challenged through the same route — the CCF.
Why a diffusion is more dangerous than it looks
Diffusions are often underestimated: 'it's not a Red Notice, so it can't be serious.' In practice it is the opposite: the absence of a prior filter means the systems may hold a request INTERPOL would never have passed as a notice. In cases involving people from Russia and the CIS, diffusions appear constantly — alongside a Red Notice or instead of one.
A clean result in the public Red Notices database says nothing about diffusions. The only way to check for them is an official access request to the CCF: the Commission checks all data about you in INTERPOL's systems, diffusions included.
How to check and how to remove one
The route is the same as for a Red Notice: a CCF access request confirms what data about you is processed, and a reasoned deletion request removes it. The grounds are shared: Article 3 of the Constitution (political character), Article 2 (human rights), inaccurate data, disproportionality.
Moreover, the odds with diffusions are often better: since the request never went through prior review, it more often contains violations the Commission accepts as grounds for deletion. In parallel, ask for the data to be blocked while the case is reviewed.
Frequently asked questions
Can you be arrested on a diffusion?
Yes. A diffusion enters national systems just like a notice, and many countries detain on it at the border. Its legal force depends on each country's law.
Does a diffusion show in INTERPOL's public database?
No, diffusions are never published. A clean public search guarantees nothing — the only way to check for diffusions is a CCF request.
How do you remove a diffusion?
The same way as a Red Notice: a reasoned request to the CCF. Grounds are Articles 2 and 3, inaccurate data and disproportionality; the odds are often better than with notices.
Can a notice and a diffusion exist at the same time?
Yes, countries often duplicate requests. A CCF request covers all the data at once — separate procedures per form are not needed.