To report suspected elder abuse, call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116, which routes you to your local Adult Protective Services (APS) office. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 911 first. For financial scams targeting older adults, the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311 connects victims with case managers who help them report the crime and start recovery. The elder abuse hotline you need depends on where the person lives and what kind of harm is happening, and this guide walks through each one.
Which Number to Call
There is no single nationwide phone line that handles every kind of elder mistreatment. Different agencies handle different settings and different harms, and calling the right one first saves time, though agencies routinely refer cases to each other when a report lands in the wrong place.
Adult Protective Services (via the Eldercare Locator)
APS is the primary agency for investigating abuse, neglect, exploitation, and self-neglect of older adults living in the community — private homes, apartments, and other non-institutional settings. Every state runs an APS program, though the structure varies. Some states operate a single statewide hotline; others route reports through county or regional offices.
The simplest way to reach the right APS office is the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116. It is a free service of the federal Administration for Community Living, staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern. You can also search or start a live chat at eldercare.acl.gov.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
If the older person lives in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or board and care home, the complaint goes to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program instead. Ombudsmen are trained advocates for facility residents. They handle concerns about violations of residents’ rights, inadequate care, improper discharge, and inappropriate use of restraints. Anyone can contact an ombudsman: residents themselves, family members, facility staff, or concerned neighbors. The Eldercare Locator will connect you to your local ombudsman as well.
911 for Immediate Danger
If an older adult is being assaulted, is seriously injured, or is otherwise in immediate physical danger, dial 911. An APS report can follow, but stopping the harm and getting emergency medical help comes first.
National Elder Fraud Hotline and IC3
For financial exploitation, especially scams by phone or online, additional federal resources are available. The National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311 is staffed by case managers who help victims report the crime and connect with recovery resources. It runs Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, with services in English, Spanish, and other languages.
If the fraud involved internet activity — romance scams, tech support scams, fake lottery schemes, and the like — also file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
What Counts as Elder Abuse
You don’t need to be certain something meets a legal definition before calling. A reasonable suspicion is enough. But knowing the categories helps you describe what you’ve seen. Federal law defines an “older individual” as someone 60 or older and treats elder abuse as the knowing infliction of physical or psychological harm, or the knowing deprivation of goods and services an older person needs to stay safe and healthy.
- Physical abuse: Force that causes injury, pain, or impairment, including improper use of restraints or medication to sedate someone for a caregiver’s convenience.
- Psychological abuse: Threats, humiliation, intimidation, or deliberate isolation from friends and family.
- Sexual abuse: Any non-consensual sexual contact, regardless of the victim’s cognitive state.
- Financial exploitation: Illegal or improper use of an older person’s money, property, or assets. This is the most common form reported to APS and often the hardest to detect.
- Neglect: A caregiver’s failure to provide food, medical care, hygiene, or other basic necessities when they have the means and responsibility to do so.
- Abandonment: Desertion by someone who had assumed responsibility for the older person’s care.
- Self-neglect: An older adult’s inability to perform essential self-care due to physical or mental impairment. There is no outside abuser, but APS still investigates. Warning signs include hoarding, lack of heat or running water, significant weight loss, untreated medical conditions, missing dentures or hearing aids, and increasing confusion.
What to Have Ready When You Call
APS would rather receive an incomplete report than none at all, so don’t wait until you have everything. That said, a few details help the intake worker judge urgency and route the case correctly.
Start with basics about the older person: full name, approximate age, address, and how to reach them. Note anything you know about their physical or mental health, such as dementia or limited mobility, and mention any legal decision-maker like a power of attorney or guardian.
Describe the suspected abuser if you can: name, relationship to the older person, and whether they live in the home or have regular access. Then focus on what you actually observed. Specific details carry far more weight than conclusions. Describe visible injuries, statements the older person made, changes in behavior or living conditions, or specific financial transactions that struck you as wrong. Stick to what you saw, heard, or have on paper.
Documenting Financial Exploitation
Financial abuse usually leaves a paper trail. Worth documenting: large or frequent ATM withdrawals that seem out of character, purchases of gift cards or prepaid debit cards in unusual quantities, sudden wire transfers to unfamiliar recipients, closing of savings accounts or CDs without regard to penalties, and checks with memo lines referencing “tech support,” “winnings,” or “taxes.” When the exploiter is a trusted person rather than a stranger, watch for liquidation of retirement accounts, property transfers, and new credit card debt in the older person’s name.
Preserve what you can: bank statements, receipts, screenshots of texts and emails, phone records. You don’t need to build a case. You just need to give investigators a starting point.
What Happens After You Call
Filing the report starts a structured process.
Screening and Priority
The APS intake worker screens the report against the state’s criteria. Not every call becomes an open case. Some fall outside APS jurisdiction, involve people under 60, or don’t meet the state’s definition of abuse or neglect. Reports that don’t qualify usually get referred to another agency that can help.
Reports that are accepted get assigned a priority level. Federal regulations require states to run at least a two-tiered response system. For situations involving immediate risk of death, irreparable harm, or significant financial loss, an investigator must make in-person contact within 24 hours. For non-immediate risk, the response window is seven calendar days.
The Investigation
An APS caseworker visits the older adult, assesses the living conditions, and interviews the alleged victim, the suspected abuser, and any witnesses. The caseworker decides whether the allegations can be substantiated under the state’s evidence standards. The specific details in your report matter here.
If abuse is substantiated, the caseworker develops a safety plan. Depending on the situation, that can mean arranging emergency shelter, connecting the person with medical care, setting up in-home support services, freezing financial accounts, or referring the case to law enforcement for criminal prosecution. In severe cases, APS may petition a court for emergency protective measures.
When the Older Person Refuses Help
This is where many well-intentioned reports hit a wall. A mentally competent adult has the right to refuse any and all services APS offers. If the caseworker believes the person understands the risks and is making a voluntary choice, APS cannot force intervention. The investigation may still finish, and if evidence suggests a crime, the case can be referred to law enforcement regardless of the older person’s wishes. But absent a court order, a competent person’s autonomy prevails.
If the caseworker believes the person lacks the capacity to understand the risks, the case can be referred for a capacity evaluation. In extreme situations, APS or another party may petition the court for a temporary guardianship. Courts grant emergency guardianships only when the situation threatens life or risks serious, irreversible harm, and the guardian’s authority is usually limited to the specific decisions needed to address the crisis.
Your Legal Protections as a Reporter
Fear of retaliation or legal blowback keeps many people from calling. The law accounts for that.
Good-Faith Immunity
Every state grants some form of legal immunity to people who report suspected elder abuse in good faith. The typical protection shields you from civil and criminal liability tied to making the report or participating in any investigation or court proceeding that follows. “Good faith” means you had a genuine and reasonable belief that abuse was happening. You don’t need to be right. You need to be honest. If the report turns out to be unsubstantiated, you’re still protected as long as you weren’t fabricating the allegation.
Bank and brokerage employees get a similar shield under the federal Senior Safe Act. When a trained financial institution employee reports suspected financial exploitation of a senior to the appropriate agency, both the employee and the institution are protected from civil and administrative liability.
Confidentiality and Anonymous Reports
Most states keep the reporter’s identity confidential, meaning your name is not shared with the alleged victim or the suspected abuser during the investigation. APS agencies generally accept anonymous reports too, but investigators can’t follow up with you if questions come up, which can weaken the case. Giving your contact information while asking that it be kept confidential is usually the best combination: reachable for the investigator, invisible in the case file.
Who Is Legally Required to Report
Anyone can call. Certain people must. Nearly every state designates specific professionals — commonly medical personnel, law enforcement officers, social workers, and clergy — as mandatory reporters of elder abuse. About fifteen states have universal reporting requirements, meaning every resident of the state is legally obligated to report suspected abuse. Specific categories and deadlines vary by state, but the general expectation is that a mandatory reporter contacts the appropriate agency immediately or as soon as practicable after forming a suspicion. Failing to report is typically a misdemeanor and can carry fines, jail time, or professional discipline.
Long-term care facility staff face stricter federal rules under the Elder Justice Act. Anyone who owns, operates, manages, or works at a covered facility and forms a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed against a resident must report it to the Department of Health and Human Services and at least one local law enforcement agency. If the suspected crime resulted in serious bodily injury, the report must be made within two hours. For all other suspected crimes, the deadline is 24 hours.
Key Numbers to Keep
- Eldercare Locator — 1-800-677-1116 (Mon–Fri, 8 a.m.–9 p.m. ET) or eldercare.acl.gov. Connects you to local APS, ombudsman programs, and other aging services.
- National Elder Fraud Hotline — 833-372-8311 (Mon–Fri, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. ET). Case managers help report financial fraud and connect victims to recovery resources. Multiple languages available.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — ic3.gov. For elder fraud involving online activity, including romance scams, tech support scams, and fake lotteries.
- 911. For any situation involving immediate physical danger.
If you’re not sure which agency fits your situation, start with the Eldercare Locator. The staff there will point you to the right place based on the specifics of what you’re seeing.