Anyone, including members of the public and Department employees, may file a complaint with the OIG Hotline.
We encourage you to report tips or information related to fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement involving the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Please think carefully about the allegation and the information you have available that can help us determine whether there were criminal, civil, or administrative violations committed. Provide relevant and specific details that answer all the applicable questions on the Hotline Complaint Form. Without sufficient and relevant information, we may be unable to act on your allegation.
The OIG Hotline receives all allegations regarding fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement involving the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Upon receipt of a specific allegation, the OIG will thoroughly review the details of your complaint. If you did not file anonymously, someone may contact you for additional information, so we may properly assess the issues. Once the complaint has been assessed, we will take any one of the following actions:
- Initiate an OIG review, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or audit;
- Refer the matter to the appropriate U.S. Department of the Interior bureau for appropriate review and action;
- Refer the allegation to another Federal or State Law Enforcement Agency, including other Offices of Inspector General; or
- Hold the matter in abeyance until further, specific details are reported which would require additional consideration.
The information you provide will be processed according to our internal policies and guidelines, and appropriate action will be taken pursuant to those policies and guidelines. The decision to initiate a review, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or audit, or otherwise, based on a Hotline complaint, is made solely by OIG.
If we initiate an OIG review, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or audit based on the information you provided, you may request information about the outcome by filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Due to privacy concerns, you will not generally be entitled to receive information on disciplinary or adverse action taken against specific individuals involved in an OIG investigation.
Your rights include the following:
- Direct access to OIG. We want to hear from you if you have information or concerns relating to possible wrongdoing at DOI.
- Confidentiality. OIG will protect the identity of complainants who request confidentiality to the maximum extent possible by law. Confidentiality for DOI employees is established by Section 7(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, which precludes the Inspector General from disclosing the identity of a DOI employee who reports an allegation or provides information without the employee’s consent, unless OIG determines that disclosure is unavoidable during the course of the investigation. Non-DOI employees who report allegations may also specifically request confidentiality.
- Anonymity. Individuals who contact the OIG hotline are not required to identify themselves. We encourage you to provide us with your contact information, however, so that we can contact you for additional details if the need arises as OIG evaluates or pursues your allegations. Note that allegations with limited specificity or merit may be held in abeyance until more details are reported.
Information Disclosure and Privacy Act Notice
OIG uses submitted information for investigations or audits into fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement in connection with the programs and operations of DOI. Submission of any information is voluntary, and the information you submit might be incorporated into a Privacy Act System of Records. Hotline complaints are reviewed by auditors, evaluators, and/or criminal investigators as conditions warrant, and access is limited to OIG staff assigned to the case, their supervisors and managers, and those who have a need to know on a case-by-case basis.
If you are unable to file your complaint online, you may call or write to the OIG Hotline:
- DOI OIG Hotline: 1-800-424-5081
- Fax: 703-487-5402 (Attention: Intake Management Unit)
- Mail:
Office of Inspector General
U.S. Department of the Interior
Attention: Intake Management Unit
1849 C Street, NW.
MS 4428
Washington, DC 20240
You may also report fraudulent activities to your nearest regional DOI OIG offices:
- Headquarters, Washington, D.C., 202-208-4349
- Eastern Investigations, Herndon, Virginia 703-487-8051
- Eastern Investigations, Atlanta, Georgia, 770-801-7923
- Western Investigations, Anchorage, AK - 907-644-3325
- Western Investigations, Sacramento, California, 303-236-8283
- Western Investigations, Lakewood, Colorado, 303-236-8296
- Western Investigations, Albuquerque, NM - 505-346-2721
- Western Investigations, Billings, MT - 406-657-6319
- Western Investigations, Rapid City, SD - 605-342-7280
- Energy Investigations, Lakewood, Colorado, 303-236-8284
If you would like to receive OIG training at your location, please contact the DOI OIG Outreach Program at oig_outreach@doioig.gov.
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – Enforces Federal laws that prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment practices.
- Federal Labor Relations Authority – Governs labor relations between the Federal Government and its employees.
- FOIA.gov - Provides basic guidance about the Freedom of Information Act to help you exercise your right to obtain Federal agency records.
- DOI OIG FOIA - For records held by the OIG.
- DOI FOIA - For records held by DOI’s other bureaus and offices.
- DOI Ombudsman - An independent, neutral person with whom all employees may speak confidentially, informally, and off-the-record about work-related concerns, complaints, or questions.
- IGNet - Information on all Offices of Inspectors General, including how to report fraud, waste, or mismanagement involving other Government agencies.
- Merit Systems Protection Board – Adjudicates individual employee appeals of alleged adverse personnel actions.
- Office of Special Counsel – Has jurisdiction over prohibited personnel practice complaints, to include cases of Whistleblower Retaliation; investigates and prosecutes cases before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
- OIG Hotline Poster – Download, print, and share the OIG Hotline poster to increase awareness of how to deter, detect, and disclose fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.
- U.S. Office of Government Ethics – Provides oversight of the Executive Branch ethics program designed to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Provides human resources support to Federal agencies.