How to Fill Out and Submit the Instagram Intellectual Property Retraction Form

The Instagram Intellectual Property Retraction Form lets you withdraw a copyright or trademark infringement report you previously filed against another user’s content, and it works for restoring posts on both Instagram and Threads. You can reach it directly at help.instagram.com/contact/3373960976225657.¹

Who Can Use the Form and Why

Only the person who filed the original infringement report, or someone authorized to act on their behalf, can submit a retraction. If you were the one whose content got taken down, this is not your form; skip to the counter-notice section below.

Most retractions fall into a few patterns. A brand files a takedown against a creator, then finds the license or written permission that was in place all along. Two parties settle privately and the reporter agrees, as part of that settlement, to pull the complaint so the post goes back up. Or the report simply hit the wrong target: wrong username, wrong post, wrong creator. The retraction form is the only way to correct any of these after the fact.

What to Have Ready Before You Open the Form

You cannot save a partial submission and come back to it, so collect everything first:

The original report number Instagram assigned when you filed the complaint. It’s in the confirmation email the intellectual property team sent you.
Your full legal name, matching the original report exactly.
The email address you used on the original report. Instagram uses this to verify you are the same person who filed.
Direct URLs to the posts or profiles you want restored. If the links are gone, a written description of the content is accepted instead.
A brief explanation of why you want the content restored.
Any supporting documents, in JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, or PDF format. Other file types will not process.¹

The report number trips people up most often. If you deleted the confirmation email, search your inbox for messages from Instagram’s intellectual property team before giving up. Without the number, your retraction can still move forward, but the team will have to locate your case manually and that slows things down.

Filling Out the Form

The form loads as a single page with several required fields. Start by entering the original report number, your full legal name, and the email address from the original complaint. The name and email must match exactly. A middle initial that appears on one and not the other is enough to trigger a verification failure.

Paste the URLs of the content you want restored. If the posts were fully removed and the links no longer work, describe the content clearly instead: the account that posted it, roughly when, and what the post showed. Specificity speeds up the match on Instagram’s side.

Then explain why you are retracting. Keep it plain. If you reached a licensing agreement, say so. If you reported the wrong account, say that. Legal jargon adds nothing here.

Before submitting, check the box confirming you have a good-faith belief that the information you’ve provided is accurate, and sign electronically using the same full legal name you entered earlier. Instagram treats false retraction requests the same way it treats false infringement reports, so the certification carries real weight.¹

Why Retractions Get Delayed

Instagram warns that missing or inconsistent information “may delay the processing of your retraction.” The failure points cluster in a handful of places:

The email you enter doesn’t match the email on the original complaint, so the system can’t confirm you filed it.
Your electronic signature doesn’t match the legal name field. A nickname or abbreviation will flag the submission.
The report number is missing or wrong, forcing a manual search for your case.
An attachment is in a format Instagram’s system won’t open.¹

Instagram also warns that abuse of the retraction form may result in account termination. Filing frivolous retractions, or cycling between complaints and withdrawals to harass another user, falls under that warning.

What Happens After You Submit

Instagram’s intellectual property team reviews the request. They check that the report number matches an active complaint, that you (or an authorized representative) are the person who filed it, and that the details line up internally.

If everything checks out, Instagram starts the restoration process and notifies the user whose content was removed that the claim has been withdrawn. The form page doesn’t publish a timeline, and Instagram makes no public commitment to a specific window. Clean submissions where everything matches tend to resolve quickly; incomplete ones or complex disputes take longer.

Instagram also runs a repeat infringer policy under which accounts with multiple intellectual property violations can be disabled.² A successful retraction should remove the relevant complaint from the other user’s record, since the report no longer stands. If your complaint helped push someone toward an account-level penalty, retracting quickly matters for them.

If You Are the User Whose Content Was Removed

The retraction form only works when the reporter cooperates. If the reporter won’t withdraw and the removal was for copyright, you can file a DMCA counter-notification directly with Instagram. Federal law requires the counter-notice to include:

Your physical or electronic signature.
Identification of the removed material and where it appeared before removal.
A statement under penalty of perjury that you believe the material was removed due to mistake or misidentification.
Your name, address, and telephone number, with a statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the federal district court where you are located (or any district where the service provider can be found, if you are outside the United States) and agreeing to accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice.³

Once Instagram receives a valid counter-notice, it forwards a copy to the complainant and waits 10 to 14 business days. If the complainant does not file a court action during that window, Instagram is required to restore the content.³ That is slower than a cooperative retraction, which can resolve without the mandatory wait.

One boundary worth knowing: the DMCA counter-notice applies to copyright only. If your content was pulled over a trademark complaint and the reporter won’t retract, there is no equivalent statutory process; you’d be left with Instagram’s internal appeal or a court action.

Liability for False Reports

If you are retracting because the original report was wrong, acting quickly matters legally, not just as a courtesy. Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing can be held liable for damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees incurred by the person whose content was removed, by the actual copyright owner, or by the service provider.³

The standard is “knowingly,” so an honest mistake does not trigger liability on its own. Courts have found, though, that failing to consider whether the use qualified as fair use before sending a takedown notice can cross into knowing misrepresentation. Retracting now won’t erase exposure you’ve already created, but it limits the harm the other side can point to and shows good faith.

The misrepresentation provision in Section 512(f) is a copyright rule. A fraudulent trademark report can still create liability under other legal theories and violates Instagram’s own policies, which is why the retraction form itself warns that abuse of the system may end your account.¹

1
Instagram Help Center. Intellectual Property Retraction Form
2
Instagram Help Center. Repeat Infringer Policy
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 512 – Limitations on Liability Relating to Material Online