An Interpol Red Notice is an international “lookout” and is the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant in use today. Please be aware that if a fugitive is arrested pursuant to a Red Notice, the prosecutor's office is obligated to do whatever work is required to produce the necessary extradition documents within the time limits prescribed by the controlling extradition treaty or, in the absence of a treaty, the arresting country’s domestic law, whenever and wherever the fugitive is arrested. Further, the prosecutor's office is obliged to pay the expenses pursuant to the controlling treaty.

Interpol Red Notices are useful when the fugitive's location or countries to which he or she may travel, are unknown. Red Notices may be broadly distributed or tailored specifically to countries to which it is believed the fugitive will travel. For additional information about Interpol Red Notices, see www.interpol.int//INTERPOL-expertise/Notices.

Because many countries will arrest a fugitive based solely on a Red Notice, it is the responsibility of the prosecutor to inform Interpol if a Red Notice should be withdrawn.

[updated April 2018]