All Types of Interpol Notices Explained

Interpol notices are international alerts used by law enforcement agencies across the organisation’s 196 member countries. They allow police forces around the world to share critical crime-related information and request cooperation from other member states. Notices are published by Interpol’s General Secretariat in Lyon at the request of member countries or international tribunals. Each notice type serves a specific law enforcement purpose and carries different legal implications for the person named.

A Red Notice is the most well-known and serious of all Interpol notices. It is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. Red Notices are issued at the request of a member country when a person has been charged with or convicted of a serious criminal offence. Although a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, many countries treat it as sufficient grounds to detain a person and initiate extradition proceedings. If you are the subject of a Red Notice, your freedom of movement is severely restricted — you risk arrest at any border crossing in member states.

A Yellow Notice is issued to help locate missing persons, including minors who have been abducted, and to identify persons who are unable to identify themselves. These notices are not related to criminal suspicion but rather to welfare and missing persons matters. They are commonly used in international parental child abduction cases where one parent takes a child across borders without the other parent’s consent.

A Blue Notice is used to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location, or activities in relation to a criminal investigation. Unlike a Red Notice, a Blue Notice does not request arrest — it is an intelligence-gathering tool. However, being the subject of a Blue Notice indicates that you are under active investigation by a foreign law enforcement agency, and the notice may be upgraded to a Red Notice if sufficient evidence is gathered. Blue Notices can be used to track a person’s movements and gather information from local police in member countries.

Interpol also issues four additional notice types: Green Notices warn about habitual offenders who are considered a threat to public safety; Black Notices seek information about unidentified bodies; Orange Notices warn of events, persons, or objects that pose imminent threats such as weapons or bombs; and Purple Notices share information about criminal methods, procedures, or objects used in crimes. Each serves a specific intelligence or public safety function and is circulated among Interpol’s member country databases.

In addition to formal notices, Interpol member countries can circulate diffusions — targeted alerts sent directly to selected countries or all member states without passing through the formal notice review process. Diffusions are faster to issue but subject to less scrutiny. They can request arrest, information, or warnings. Importantly, a diffusion can have the same practical effect as a Red Notice at border crossings, making them equally dangerous for the subject. Our lawyers challenge both Red Notices and diffusions through the CCF.

If you believe you are the subject of any Interpol notice or diffusion, contact Intercollegium immediately. Our team will check your status, assess the legal basis of any alert, and develop a strategy for protection and removal. We offer a free initial consultation.