LinkedIn Preservation and Emergency Requests: Police Template

When an investigator needs LinkedIn account data, the order of operations matters: freeze what exists first, then obtain legal process, and keep the emergency route for genuine threats to life. This guide covers the two LinkedIn routes that sit outside the normal subpoena, court order and search warrant path: the preservation request and the emergency disclosure request. It sets out only what LinkedIn publishes in its law enforcement data request guidelines and what the federal statutes say, and gives a plain-text template for each. For the full overview of LinkedIn’s process, see our general LinkedIn law enforcement guide.

Who this is for. These routes are for authorised law enforcement and government agencies only. A victim, a member of the public or a journalist cannot use them: report to your local police, and see our country-by-country cybercrime help hub. We checked LinkedIn’s published pages on 24 October 2026. LinkedIn’s help page shows its guidelines as last updated about two years earlier, and the full PDF is dated March 2024, so confirm the current wording with LinkedIn before you rely on any detail here.

Preservation requests: what LinkedIn says

LinkedIn’s Data Request Guidelines (PDF) describe a Preservation Request as a request that LinkedIn preserve account records. When LinkedIn receives one, it retains “the member’s full data archive” and a one-time profile snapshot of the current account records for 90 days. According to the guidelines, a preservation request must:

• identify the account or accounts at issue;
• include a formal request on law enforcement letterhead; and
• include assurances that the requesting agency or individual is taking steps to obtain appropriate legal process for the data LinkedIn is being asked to retain.

How to identify the account

For data requests in general, LinkedIn says each request must identify the account with the member’s full first and last name plus either the email address associated with the account or the LinkedIn public profile URL. It states that without this information it cannot fulfil the request. The preservation paragraph says to identify the account(s) at issue and refers to its FAQs for how, so treat a name alone as insufficient. LinkedIn’s help page adds that all requests must include the agent’s badge or ID number and contact information. The guidelines also explain how to find a profile URL (the Contact Info link under the member’s name, or a search engine result, subject to the member’s settings).

How long, and can it be extended?

LinkedIn’s guidelines state a 90-day retention period. They do not say whether or how a preservation can be renewed. The federal statute does: under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(f), a provider of electronic communication or remote computing services, on the request of a governmental entity, “shall take all necessary steps to preserve records and other evidence in its possession pending the issuance of a court order or other process.” Records are retained for 90 days, “which shall be extended for an additional 90-day period upon a renewed request by the governmental entity.” Calendar the 90-day mark and, if you need more time, send a renewed request before it ends. Whether LinkedIn handles a renewal in a particular way is not published, so confirm through the portal.

What preservation cannot save

LinkedIn’s FAQ says it generally does not retain member data once the information has been revised, removed, or the account has been closed by the member. Some categories, such as login IP address history, are subject to automated deletion cycles after a defined retention period, and when a member closes an account, all data is normally purged within 20 days of closure. The practical lesson, drawn from those statements, is to send the preservation request as early as you can: it protects what exists when LinkedIn processes it, not what was already deleted.

Will the member be told?

LinkedIn’s stated policy is to notify members of Data Requests for their data unless prohibited by statute or court order. Its guidelines do not separately say whether a preservation request on its own triggers notice. For data requests, the guidelines say that officials who believe notice would jeopardise an investigation may seek a nondisclosure order, such as one under 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b), and that LinkedIn will not notify the member before production when a judge-signed nondisclosure order accompanies the request. LinkedIn also warns that it may not tell you when such an order is about to expire, so the requesting party must calendar the date and keep LinkedIn informed through Kodex of any changes or extensions.

Emergency (exigent) disclosure requests

LinkedIn says that “in very rare circumstances involving imminent serious bodily harm or death” it will consider responding to an emergency request for data. Its guidelines add that emergency requests for account information must use the Emergency Disclosure Request process in its data request portal and be signed under penalty of perjury, that they are appropriate only for an imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death, and that LinkedIn reviews them only if there is insufficient time to obtain formal legal process and harm may occur without a prompt response. LinkedIn’s help page still refers to an “Emergency Disclosure Request Form” included in its guidelines document, signed under penalty of perjury by a law enforcement agent. The current guidelines PDF (updated March 2024) does not contain a form: it says emergency requests go through the Emergency Disclosure Request process in Kodex. Use the Kodex process.

The statutory background. The Stored Communications Act lets a provider, but does not require it to, disclose in an emergency. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2702(b)(8) a provider may divulge the contents of communications to a governmental entity “if the provider, in good faith, believes that an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person requires disclosure without delay of communications relating to the emergency.” Section 2702(c)(4) uses the same test for customer records and information. The decision, on the statute’s wording, rests on the provider’s good-faith belief, so a specific, factual description of the danger is what the request has to supply.

What to include. LinkedIn does not publish the questions its Kodex emergency process asks (we did not access the portal, which requires a verified law enforcement account). Based on what it does publish, prepare: the agent’s name, badge or ID number and contact details; the member’s identification (name plus email, or profile URL); a clear account of the imminent threat and why there is no time for legal process; a narrow statement of the data sought (LinkedIn says that asking for “all data” is overly broad, vague and ambiguous); and the signed declaration. LinkedIn does not state a response time for emergency requests, so do not assume one, and use the agency’s own emergency channels for anyone in immediate danger. LinkedIn’s Government Requests Report says it tries to notify the member before providing data to a government, but “may make exceptions in certain emergencies.”

Foreign agencies. LinkedIn says data requests from outside the United States and the EU generally must come through an MLAT or letter rogatory. Its Government Requests Report adds that it sometimes makes an exception in an emergency. Its guidelines do not set out a separate emergency procedure for foreign agencies, so non-US officers should raise it through the portal. EU-based requests are directed to LinkedIn Ireland U.C.

Where to submit

LinkedIn’s current guidelines PDF (updated March 2024) gives the Kodex portal as app.kodexglobal.com/signin. LinkedIn’s older help page links to app.kodex.us/linkedin/signin; when we checked on 24 October 2026, that link redirected to app.kodexglobal.com/linkedin/signin, a LinkedIn-branded sign-in page on the same Kodex domain. Either way you land on app.kodexglobal.com; check the address bar before uploading anything. LinkedIn lists preservation and emergency requests among its types of criminal data requests and says criminal data requests should be submitted through Kodex. Criminal data requests can also be served in person, by certified mail or by express courier. For US and non-EU requests, the address is LinkedIn Corporation, ATTN: Legal Department, 1000 West Maude Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA. For EU requests it is LinkedIn Ireland U.C., ATTN: Legal Department, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.

The portal asks for the requesting agency name, the agent’s name, employer-issued email address, phone number with extension and mailing address, and a requested response date. LinkedIn says to allow at least 20 business days for processing data requests; that is the figure it gives for formal process, not for emergencies. Verified agents can send questions to the Law Enforcement Response Team through the portal’s Inquiry feature. The guidelines do not name a separate channel for preservation requests, so use the portal and say clearly in the matter that it is a preservation request.

Template: preservation request

Adapt to your agency’s format; not legal advice. Send it on agency letterhead, as LinkedIn requires.

[AGENCY LETTERHEAD]
Date: [DATE]

To: LinkedIn Corporation, Legal Department
    [or LinkedIn Ireland U.C. for EU-based requests]
Via: [LinkedIn data request portal matter no. / other method]

RE: Request to preserve records under [18 U.S.C. 2703(f) / OTHER LEGAL BASIS]
Agency case number: [CASE NUMBER]

[AGENCY NAME] requests that LinkedIn preserve all records and other
evidence in its possession relating to the account(s) below, including
the member's full data archive and a one-time profile snapshot of the
current account records, pending the issuance of legal process.

Account(s) to preserve:
  Member full name: [FIRST LAST]
  Email address associated with the account: [EMAIL]
  and/or LinkedIn public profile URL: [PROFILE URL]

Relevant period, if known: [START DATE] to [END DATE]

Assurance: This agency is taking steps to obtain appropriate legal
process for the preserved data: [SUBPOENA / COURT ORDER / SEARCH WARRANT],
expected to be [issued / served] by [DATE].

[Optional, if one exists: A nondisclosure order, issued by [COURT] on
[DATE], is attached.]

Requesting agent:
  Name and title: [OFFICER NAME, RANK]
  Badge / ID number: [BADGE]
  Employer-issued email: [AGENCY EMAIL]
  Phone (with extension): [PHONE, EXT]
  Mailing address: [AGENCY ADDRESS]

Please confirm receipt and the preservation period to the contact above.

[SIGNATURE]

Template: emergency request (worksheet)

Adapt to your agency’s format; not legal advice. LinkedIn’s current guidelines say emergency requests are made through the Emergency Disclosure Request process in its Kodex portal: use this worksheet to gather the facts before you start that process.

EMERGENCY DISCLOSURE REQUEST: WORKSHEET
Date and time: [DATE, TIME, TIME ZONE]
Agency case number: [CASE NUMBER]

Requesting agent:
  Name and title: [OFFICER NAME, RANK]
  Badge / ID number: [BADGE]
  Employer-issued email: [AGENCY EMAIL]
  Phone (with extension), reachable now: [PHONE, EXT]
  Agency and address: [AGENCY, ADDRESS]

Member account:
  Full name: [FIRST LAST]
  Email address: [EMAIL]   and/or   Profile URL: [PROFILE URL]

Nature of the emergency (imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death):
  [FACTS: who is at risk, what the threat is, why it is imminent,
  and what led you to the LinkedIn account]

Why there is insufficient time to obtain formal legal process:
  [FACTS]

Information requested (be specific; do not ask for "all data"):
  [CATEGORY 1, e.g. basic subscriber information]
  [CATEGORY 2, if essential to the emergency]

Legal basis cited: [e.g. 18 U.S.C. 2702(b)(8) and/or 2702(c)(4) for US
  agencies / OTHER LEGAL BASIS]
Legal process to follow: [TYPE, EXPECTED DATE]

Declaration: signed under penalty of perjury by a law enforcement agent,
using the declaration wording in LinkedIn's Kodex emergency process.
[SIGNATURE]   [PRINTED NAME]   [DATE]

Common mistakes

• Identifying the member by name only. LinkedIn requires the full name plus an email address or the public profile URL, and says it cannot fulfil a request without them.
• Asking for “all data.” LinkedIn says such requests are overly broad, vague and ambiguous and expects the categories to be stated.
• Preserving without an assurance of legal process. LinkedIn lists that assurance, and law enforcement letterhead, as requirements.
• Targeting a Company Page. LinkedIn says it will not produce member data in response to a request seeking only Company Page data.
• Using the emergency route for a non-emergency. LinkedIn limits it to imminent serious bodily harm or death where there is no time for formal process.
• Leaving a nondisclosure order to expire unnoticed. LinkedIn says it may not warn you; extend it by reopening the original Kodex matter and uploading the document.
• Sending several requests in one Kodex matter or by mail. LinkedIn says to expect longer response times.
• Sending civil process through the law enforcement channel. LinkedIn does not accept civil subpoenas or other civil process via email or Kodex.

Related

• LinkedIn law enforcement data request guide: what LinkedIn can produce for each type of legal process.
• LinkedIn entry in the online-services directory
• Law enforcement request directory and the Investigator’s Handbook: United States

Sources

• LinkedIn Help: law enforcement data request guidelines
• LinkedIn: Data Request Guidelines (PDF, updated March 2024)
• LinkedIn: Government Requests Report
• 18 U.S.C. § 2703 (govinfo.gov)
• 18 U.S.C. § 2702 (govinfo.gov)

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Officers should follow their agency’s policies and their prosecutor’s guidance. For other platforms, see the police data-request directory; if you are a victim rather than an investigator, use the country-by-country cybercrime help hub.