Apple Law Enforcement Portal: Police Data Request Guide (iCloud)

Investigations involving an iPhone, iCloud account, Apple ID, Find My, or Apple Pay run through Apple’s Law Enforcement Portal at lep.apple.com (and the email channel [email protected]). This is a step-by-step guide for authorised police and government officials to preserve and request Apple user data.

Before you start

• An official government / law-enforcement email address — Apple rejects requests from private accounts.
• The identifier: Apple ID / iCloud email, the device serial number or IMEI, or phone number.
• The legal process appropriate to the data (see Step 3). Apple’s Legal Process Guidelines (outside the US) set out exactly what each level yields.

1Access the portal

Go to lep.apple.com and authenticate with your official agency email to submit requests, track status, and download Apple’s response. Agencies that cannot use the portal may email [email protected] from an official address.

2Submit a Preservation Request (no legal process required)

Apple will preserve a one-time snapshot of the account’s data while you obtain legal process. Under US law records are held for 90 days, extendable by a further 90 days on renewal. Submit the Apple ID and case reference; no warrant is needed to start a preservation.

3Choose the data type — and the matching legal process

• Device & subscriber data — registration details, customer/subscriber information, and connection logs. Available on a subpoena or court order.
• iCloud content — the substance of communications and stored files: iCloud Mail, Photos, device backups, Drive/iCloud documents. Highly protected; under US law this requires a search warrant.

4Emergency requests

Where there is an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury, complete Apple’s Emergency Government & Law Enforcement Information Request form and send it from your official email to [email protected] with “Emergency Request” in the subject line. After hours, contact Apple’s Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) at +1 (408) 974-2095.

For India

Indian law-enforcement agencies can submit through lep.apple.com or by email from an official address. In practice:

• Preservation, emergency, and device/subscriber requests can be made directly, reviewed against Apple’s guidelines and Indian law (the IT framework and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023).
• iCloud content is held in the US and generally requires US legal process via the India–US Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), as India has no CLOUD Act executive agreement with the United States.

File a preservation request first so the data is not lost while the MLAT route runs.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an “Apple LERS” portal?
Not by that name. Apple’s equivalent of WhatsApp/Google’s LERS is its Law Enforcement Portal at lep.apple.com, supported by [email protected] for requests and [email protected] for emergencies.

Can Indian police request iPhone / iCloud data?
Yes — device and subscriber data and emergencies can be sought directly; iCloud content generally needs the US–India MLAT route.

Do I need a warrant to preserve an account?
No. Preservation needs no legal process; iCloud content disclosure needs a search warrant.

See also

• Overview: law-enforcement data-request portals across all platforms
• WhatsApp LERS Portal: police & government data request guide
• Google LERS Portal: police & government data request guide
• Facebook & Instagram LERS Portal: police data request guide
• Telegram law-enforcement data request: how to investigate Telegram

Sources

• Apple Law Enforcement Portal: lep.apple.com
• Apple — Legal Process Guidelines (outside the US)
• Apple — Account Preservation Requests

For the full directory of platform law-enforcement request portals, see our LERS portal hub.