About the Immobilise System
Immobilise is the world's largest free online registration service, allowing you to record ownership details of your valued possessions—acting as your very own safety net for any lost or stolen items. It helps to reduce crime and successfully reunites property with its rightful owners.
All registered items and ownership information are accessible to the police through the National Property Database (NMPR) giving you, as an Immobilise user, distinct benefits— including a significantly higher chance of item recovery.
For over two decades, Immobilise has been used thousands of times each day by UK police forces to investigate lost and stolen property, helping to reduce theft-related crime.
Immobilise is the only ownership registration service supported by all UK police forces, the Greater London Authority, and the mobile phone industry.
Quick Links
- Benefits of Immobilise
- History of Immobilise
- How is my information safely stored on Immobilise?
- Why do the police support Immobilise?
- Need help registering your item?
- What is Immobilise's sister service, CheckMEND?
- How did Immobilise become so popular? I hadn't heard of it until now!
- How is Immobilise funded?
- Keep up to date with Immobilise news
Immobilise user benefits explained
Immobilise Property Register is part of the Recipero Crime Reduction Ecosystem. An extensive data set built to protect you and your valuables from theft and fraud, collecting mobile device intelligence through collaboration with Industry specialists, Government, Law Enforcement, Insurers, Retailers and Consumers.
Learn more about Recipero's systems and how we combat property crime on the main Recipero website.
The infographic below highlights the diverse benefits Immobilise offers you, alongside it's interactions within the ecosystem.
History of Immobilise
Set up in 2003, the Immobilise systems have been supported by the police, mobile phone industry and central government since inception.
With their support—and that of numerous other organisations—the Immobilise service has grown to hold details of over 34 million items of property.
How is my information safely stored on Immobilise?
All information uploaded to Immobilise is safe and secure.
Our platform takes your security and privacy seriously, implementing industry-standard measures to protect your data.
Accredited by Secured by Design (the official police security certification scheme), Immobilise is recognised for retaining high security standards.
Alongside this, LPCB Loss Prevention Standards and ISO 27001, also credit Immobilise for its security regarding your privacy—ensuring the highest levels of protection.
With ongoing testing and annual compliance checks, our database features multiple layers of security, preventing unauthorised access or data breaches to maintain our accreditation.
Why do the police support Immobilise?
Utilised by the police, our free Immobilise property registration service acts as a powerful tool in the battle against crime.
Immobilise, along with many other information sources, has a direct link to the NMPR (National Mobile Property Register) police systems. This system allows officers to search the serial numbers of recovered goods or, if needed, suspected stolen property, enabling them to act accordingly
The strength of the combined Immobilise/NMPR system is best demonstrated by way of an example:
- A police patrol identifies an individual acting suspiciously near a car park that has often been targeted by thieves.
- They perform a stop and search on the individual, finding the suspect carrying several mobile devices alongside a laptop.
- The officer's radio in the serial numbers of the devices to their control room, where numbers are searched on the NMPR.
- The results come back instantly; two of the phones were reported as stolen via Immobilise only a few hours earlier.
- The suspect is arrested and taken to the station for interview, the possession of stolen phones, evidenced by Immobilise, gives reasonable grounds for the police to search the suspect's home. They find numerous items, to check using the NMPR.
- While conducting the search several more items associated with previous crimes are revealed, one of which involves serious assault, providing the team investigating the assault with a fresh lead to pursue.
The example given above is purely fictitious, however remains a typical way in which registering property on Immobilise can lead to quick results for the police, thus helping to reduce the attractiveness of property crime.
To learn more about the NMPR visit: thenmpr.com
Registration help
If you need help registering an item of property, we've got you covered with a range of our step-by-step guides:
What is Immobilise's sister service, CheckMEND?
The CheckMEND database holds over 150 billion records of property, providing relevant and comprehensive information to purchasers of used goods.
The information that CheckMEND searches against is updated in real-time every few minutes by law enforcement, insurers, industry bodies and the public in over 40 countries, ensuring all information is recent, relevant and up to standards.
This is the standard due-diligence system used by the UK's phone recycling industry, to ensure they don't accept or handle stolen goods, supporting them in compliance with the Recycler Code of Practice.
CheckMEND, as recommended by eBay (Buying & Selling Mobile Phones Safely on eBay), is also used by consumers globally who wish to check that goods such as mobile devices, tables and computers, etc. are not stolen, counterfeit or blocked.
From a seller's perspective, CheckMEND can help in the sale of an item as each check comes with an official CheckMEND report. This can be provided to any potential buyer as proof that the item is legitimate and in many cases, helps to achieve a better price for the item.
To learn more or run a check, please go to: checkmend.com
How has Immobilise become so popular? I hadn't heard of it until now!
Although Immobilise has been in operation for over two decades, the free nature of the service means advertising budgets have been all but non-existent.
However, the ongoing support from police and other organisations that hold marking/registration events, alongside efforts from retailers, offering free registration at the point of sale, have supported Immobilise in becoming the largest service of its kind in the world.
How is Immobilise funded?
Immobilise is provided to users free of charge.
Operated by Recipero, the property registration service is just one of several other services, including police systems, such as the NMPR and the loss reporting system: Report My Loss.
Immobilise receives no central funding, primarily supported by revenue derived from the sales of marking products available via the online shop and several retail outlets.
It is important to emphasise (to secure your trust, avoiding any doubt) that Recipero, the provider of Immobilise, does not sell or rent your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.
Please read our privacy policy for more details/information about your data.
Any queries regarding the service or data should be directed to our support team.
Connect with Immobilise
If you love it, register it
“By registering their valuables on Immobilise.com owners can put details of their prized possessions on a national database that police can access and compare against items that have been found or recovered from suspected criminals.”
“The online service is totally free and is quick and easy to use. Items marked as being registered with Immobilise are less likely to be stolen, and households displaying Immobilise stickers are less likely to be targeted by burglars.”
£250K New Home Office funding to tackle mobile phone crime
“Linking the National Mobile Phone Register (NMPR) to the Police National Computer (PNC) will also provide enormous benefits to the fight against mobile phone crime. Currently an average of 25% of searches result in the police obtaining vital information that could result in property being retrieved and cases being solved. I believe that putting this invaluable tool at front-line officer's fingertips will see that number rise further.”
“Last year 835 mobile phones were reported stolen in the district. Registering mobile phones on the Immobilise's website should have an impact in reducing this figure, particularly where phones have been stolen, as the phone can very quickly be blocked on the UK network, rendering it useless to the thief.”
Keep up to date with Immobilise news
Keep up to date using Immobilise socials!
Follow us for various tips and tricks such as — crime prevention advice, details of marking events, police campaigns and other important news: