Guide

What to do after your bike is stolen, by country

Report the theft as soon as possible to the police of the country where your bike was stolen, with the serial number (or marking number), photos and the receipt, and tell your insurer as your policy requires. Choose the country (Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland or the United Kingdom) to see where to report it, whether you can do it online, which official register or marking exists and what destolen offers there. We only give the procedures we have checked in official sources.

By the destolen team · Sources verified on 27 October 2026.

In any country

  1. Gather the details and documents

    Your ID, the receipt or any proof of purchase, the frame serial number (and, for an e-bike, the motor and battery numbers) or the marking number, photos of the bike and any detail that sets it apart. Note where and when you left it, when you noticed it was gone and which lock it had. If you have seen a listing, keep the link and screenshots.

    Where to find the serial numbers

  2. Report it to the police of the country where it was stolen

    Do it as soon as possible: the police report is what the police (if they recover the bike) and your insurer will ask for. Choose the country below to see where to report it and whether you can do it online. Give the serial number and keep the copy or the number of the report.

  3. Tell your insurer

    If you have insurance that covers the bike (bike, home or other), notify them as your policy says: deadlines, documents (many ask for the police report) and whether it covers thefts away from home or abroad.

  4. Mark it as stolen in the registers

    If it was in an official register or marking scheme, follow what that register says. If it was registered on destolen, report it under «My bike was stolen»: the checker will then warn anyone who looks up its serial number.

    My bike was stolen

  5. Tell what you see from what you assume

    The same model is not the same bike. If you see a similar listing, compare the serial number and the details only yours has (dents, replaced parts, stickers). Do not contact the seller or try to get it back yourself: take the listing link, screenshots and your police report to the police.

Choose the country of the theft

Spain

Where to report it

At a Policía Nacional station, a Guardia Civil post or the regional police (in Catalonia, the Mossos d'Esquadra). If the theft is happening now, call 091 or 112.

Reporting online

With the Policía Nacional you can start the report online if there was no physical violence or threats, you do not know and could not recognise the thief, and you are an adult. At the end you get a number and must sign the report at the station of your choice within 72 hours at most: until you sign it, it has no legal effect. In Catalonia, the Mossos d'Esquadra have a similar procedure (no physical violence and no details of the thief), also signed at a station within 72 hours. The Guardia Civil accepts reports of thefts, among others, through its electronic office.

Official register or marking

Biciregistro is a national, voluntary bike registration and identification system, owned by the Red de Ciudades por la Bicicleta, with the DGT and the participating city councils. If your bike is on Biciregistro, report the theft and add it to its list of missing bikes: if it is located, the owner is notified. If it is an e-scooter (VMP): since 2026, VMPs must be insured and registered with the DGT, online at its electronic office; you then get a registration number and a digital certificate. If it is stolen, give that number and the serial number in the report. The DGT's official note does not yet explain what happens to the registration of a stolen VMP.

What else to bring

If you started the report online, take the number you got at the end of the form to the station.

What destolen offers in Spain

  • Registering your bike: free, with photos, serial number and certificate.
  • Serial number checker: free, to find out whether a bike is reported stolen before you buy it.
  • Search of second-hand listings: available in Spain. We show you the listings similar to your bike, with a similarity percentage, and you decide.

Why not every country has the same detail

We only explain where and how to report a theft when we have checked it in an official source, which we link for each country. If a country does not have that detail yet, report the theft to the local police where your bike was stolen and ask them whether it can be done online and whether there is a bike register.

Have your bike's details ready

Register your bike for free with photos and serial number: if it is stolen, you will have everything at hand to report it and search for it. And before buying a used one, check its serial number.

Check a bike

Important information

destolen is a technological tool for monitoring and detection on marketplaces. We provide automated alerts and information, but we do not perform physical recovery of items nor act as private investigators.

We always recommend:

  • Contact the competent authorities (local police, law enforcement)
  • Do not confront sellers directly without police accompaniment
  • Verify the legality of any recovery action
  • Use alerts as information for official reports

destolen is a private, independent service: it is not part of the police or of any public body and does not act on their behalf.