Uber Preservation and Emergency Requests: Police Guide and Template

Uber publishes a detailed process for both preservation and emergency requests in its Guidelines for United States Law Enforcement (last modified 29 August 2026, effective 18 August 2026), and routes both through its Public Safety Portal (lert.uber.com, also reached at publicsafety.uber.com). This guide covers those two routes only. For the full list of data Uber holds and which legal process unlocks each category, see our general Uber guide for police and the Uber entry in the directory.

The portal and who may use it

Uber says its Public Safety Response Team (PSRT) reviews every law enforcement request and has processes to assist law enforcement 24/7, including emergencies. The guidelines say the portal is the central point of contact for preservation requests, legal process and emergency disclosure requests, and also lets you check status and ask questions. Only law enforcement and government personnel authorised to obtain evidence in connection with official legal proceedings may use it, and accounts should be created with an official law enforcement or government email address. Instructions for creating an account are linked from the guidelines page, and the portal says new users create their account while submitting a first request. The portal has separate guidelines for non-US law enforcement; this guide follows the US page.

Preservation requests

Uber states that under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, law enforcement may seek preservation of account records under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(f), and that on receipt it will take steps to preserve records or other information in its possession about the subject of the request pending legal process. The statute’s own text says a provider, on a governmental entity’s request, “shall take all necessary steps to preserve records and other evidence in its possession pending the issuance of a court order or other process,” retained for 90 days and extended for an additional 90-day period on a renewed request. Neither section 2703 nor section 2702 has been amended since the 2024 edition of the US Code cited below (checked against the Office of the Law Revision Counsel’s amendment tables through Public Law 119-134).

Point	What Uber states
Nature	A one-time “snapshot” of the records or content in the account when the request is received; not ongoing, real-time preservation
Duration	90 days, extended by an additional 90 days (180 in total) if law enforcement requests
Submission	Through the portal (lert.uber.com)
Contents of request	Dated; specifically identifies the targeted account or trip (approximate pick up and/or drop off, date, time) and the type of information to be preserved
User notice	Uber does not notify customers about requests to preserve their account information

Identifying the account. Uber asks for unique identifiers such as email address, phone number and/or license plate number. It says names alone often are not unique, and neither are dates of birth. Uber may also find accounts through a specific trip: give a date, time, trip ID or pick up or drop off location together with any user identification you hold.

What the page does not say. It does not say what happens to account data a user deletes before your request arrives (it notes that data varies from account to account, for example when a user deletes account information), and does not say how far ahead of expiry an extension should be requested. Because a preservation is a one-time snapshot, send it soon after the event and calendar your extension.

Emergency disclosure requests

Uber states that the portal may be used to send emergency disclosure requests under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2702(b)(8) and 2702(c)(4). Those provisions let a provider, in good faith, disclose to a governmental entity when it believes an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person requires disclosure without delay of the communications (contents, under (b)(8)) or information (records, under (c)(4)) relating to the emergency. They permit disclosure; they do not compel it.

To submit, Uber says law enforcement must:

• certify that they are authorised by law to obtain the requested records;
• certify that the request relates to an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury that requires disclosure without delay of information relating to that emergency;
• certify that law enforcement is unable to obtain legal process in time to respond to the emergency;
• accept the portal terms and conditions; and
• if required by law, follow up with legal process.

Uber says it may voluntarily disclose user data, including content, and that information disclosed must be limited to the amount necessary to address the ongoing emergency. It may follow up if information is missing or clarification is needed, so give contact details that will be answered quickly. Uber states it has processes in place to respond to emergency requests on a 24/7 basis but publishes no response time, so do not rely on one. Uber’s data tables say that subscriber, device, vehicle, billing, trip, location, profile and communications information (including GPS location and in-app message content) can be obtained pursuant to an emergency disclosure request, and that all information listed for Uber Eats and Uber Freight can too. They list customer service records and other business records (such as driver’s license copies and complaint history) as obtainable with a subpoena and do not mention emergency requests for them.

Notice. Uber may notify users of law enforcement requests unless prohibited by the legal process, a lawful non-disclosure order such as one under 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b), or other law. It may also contact an individual named in a request about a safety incident, except where it reasonably believes contact could put a member of the public at immediate risk or prejudice the administration of justice. The guidelines say you may ask Uber not to contact anyone associated with the request for those or other valid reasons.

Templates

Adapt to your agency’s format; not legal advice. Uber’s preservation rules are in the table above; Uber does not publish a template, so the first block is a plain letter to upload with the portal request.

Preservation request

[AGENCY LETTERHEAD]
Date: [DATE]
To: Public Safety Response Team, Uber Technologies, Inc., via the law enforcement portal
Subject: Preservation request under 18 U.S.C. 2703(f)

[AGENCY NAME] requests that Uber preserve the records and information described below pending issuance of legal process.

Account(s) or trip: [EMAIL ADDRESS / PHONE NUMBER / LICENSE PLATE]
Trip details, if the account is not known: [TRIP ID OR APPROXIMATE PICK-UP/DROP-OFF LOCATION, DATE AND TIME]
Type of information to preserve: [E.g., subscriber information, trip records, location data, in-app communications, payment records: LIST EACH CATEGORY]
Relevant period: [START DATE] to [END DATE]
Extension, if applicable: this renews the preservation made on [DATE], portal reference [REFERENCE]. Please extend by 90 days.
Request that Uber not contact the account holder or others associated with this request: [YES, WITH REASON / NO]

Investigating officer: [NAME, TITLE, BADGE/ID]
Official email / phone: [EMAIL] / [PHONE]
Agency case number: [CASE NUMBER]
[SIGNATURE]

Emergency disclosure request (content for the portal emergency submission)

Agency / officer: [AGENCY], [NAME, TITLE, BADGE/ID], [OFFICIAL EMAIL], [PHONE ANSWERED 24/7]
Emergency: [WHAT IS HAPPENING; WHO IS IN DANGER OF DEATH OR SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY; WHEN IT BEGAN]
Why disclosure cannot wait: [WHY LEGAL PROCESS CANNOT BE OBTAINED IN TIME]
Account or trip: [EMAIL / PHONE / LICENSE PLATE / TRIP ID, DATE, TIME, PICK-UP OR DROP-OFF]
Information needed (limited to the emergency): [E.g., current or recent location, driver or rider identity, trip route: SPECIFY]
How it will address the emergency: [E.g., locate the person at risk]
Certifications: I am authorised by law to obtain these records; this request relates to an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury requiring disclosure without delay; I am unable to obtain legal process in time; I accept the portal terms. Legal process will follow if required: [YES/NO, REFERENCE].
Non-contact request: [DO NOT CONTACT ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS REQUEST BECAUSE: REASON / NOT NEEDED]

Common mistakes

• Identifying by name or birth date alone. Uber says these often are not unique; give email, phone, license plate or trip details.
• Sending outside the portal. Uber says preservation, legal process and emergency requests should be served through the portal. It also says the portal validates that the requester is authorised, which is why an official agency email is required.
• Treating preservation as ongoing. Uber describes it as a one-time snapshot of the account when the request is received, and says it is not ongoing, real-time preservation.
• Letting it lapse. The 90-day period extends by another 90 only if law enforcement requests it.
• Undated or vague requests. Preservation requests must be dated and must specifically identify the account or trip and the type of information.
• Emergency requests without follow-up contact details. Uber says it may need to follow up, and to give appropriate contact information.
• Overbroad emergency requests. Uber says information disclosed must be limited to the amount necessary to address the ongoing emergency. In its general section on requesting information, Uber also states that requests without a valid legal basis, or that are overbroad, vague or otherwise inappropriate, will be rejected.

Related

• Uber law enforcement data request: general police guide
• Uber in the online services directory
• Overview of platform law enforcement request guides
• Investigator handbook: United States

Sources

Checked on 24 October 2026. Guidance changes; confirm on the current pages before relying on it.

• Uber: Guidelines for United States Law Enforcement
• Uber: Law Enforcement and Public Health Portal
• 18 U.S.C. § 2703 (US Code, 2024 edition, govinfo)
• 18 U.S.C. § 2702 (US Code, 2024 edition, govinfo)

These routes are for authorised law enforcement and government only. If you are a victim or a member of the public, report to the police instead. Browse our police data-request directory for other platforms, or use the country-by-country cybercrime help hub to find where to report.