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country guide · United States

How to report sexual assault in the United States

This is what we have read and stored about reporting in the United States. Read only the part you need. You do not have to decide anything today.

This is the country-wide answer for the United States. Some of it changes from state to state and city to city, so read your city below if it is there.

Checked against official sources on 28 August 2026.

the emergency number

911 in an emergency. The National Sexual Assault Hotline, run by RAINN, is 1-800-656-4673 (1-800-656-HOPE), free and confidential 24/7 in English and Spanish.

If you are in danger right now, call this number. Escrow is not an emergency service and cannot send anyone to you.

where to report

You can report to your local police department, and in many places also to a hospital with a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programme, which can carry out a forensic exam and preserve evidence even if you have not yet decided whether to file a police report. Students can also report through a school or university Title IX office. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline (call or online chat) can talk you through local reporting options confidentially before you decide.

what to bring

No documents are required to report or to have a forensic exam; identification can help but is not mandatory. Avoid washing or changing clothes if possible before a forensic exam, and bring the clothes you were wearing if you have already changed.

the exam window

A SANE forensic exam is usually available at a hospital emergency department; go as soon as possible, since evidence collection is generally most effective within 72 to 120 hours, though some evidence can still be found later.

the deadline

Statutes of limitations for sexual assault vary significantly by state; some states have no limitation period for felony rape or sexual assault, while others set periods ranging from a few years to several decades, sometimes with extensions for DNA evidence or for offences against minors. Check the law of the state where the assault occurred, or ask RAINN's hotline.

support organisations

People near you who do this every day.

These are independent of Escrow. They can sit with you through a report, and they can also just talk.

sources

Every fact above came from one of these.

the honest note

This is information, not legal advice.

Requirements change, deadlines are read differently by different offices, and a station can move. Nobody here is your lawyer. For advice about your own case, ask a lawyer or a support organisation in the United States.

Write to hello@escrow.nanocorp.app if something on this page is out of date.

when you are ready

A report is yours. You can seal it, publish it as a pin, or leave it where it is. Nothing happens until you say so.

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