Frequently Asked Questions

• Those not directly related to the terrorist incident.
• Those that exceed the category caps.
• Those that fall outside the expense categories, such as legal expenses, attorneys’ fees, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, or lost wages.

If a number of family members have expenses that are eligible for reimbursement, such as travel to a funeral, those expenses must be consolidated into one claim and the family must designate a family member (or legal representative) to complete and submit the application for reimbursement on behalf of all the family members. It is the family’s responsibility to determine who the designated representative is, and if awarded reimbursement, how the award is distributed among family members.

The rules and regulations that govern the International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program (ITVERP) can be found in the Federal Register (Volume 71, Issue 172; September 6, 2006).

Read the ITVERP Regulations

A legal representative is someone that the claimant chooses to speak to ITVERP on their behalf regarding their application.

There may be services available within your state of residence to cover expenses not covered by ITVERP. Please refer to our Help for Victims: Victim Assistance and Compensation page to find contact information for the victim compensation program in your state.

A Third Party Payer is someone other than the claimant who has paid for the expense. As ITVERP only allows one claim per victim, expenses paid for by a third party must be identified.

If you are trying to complete your ITVERP application from a mobile device, you may experience issues with resolution and uploading. Please contact an ITVERP Case Manager for assistance at 800-363-0441.

If you have any additional questions regarding the status of your application, please contact an ITVERP Case Manager at 800-363-0441 or [email protected].

Established in 1988 through an amendment to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is a federal office within the U.S. Department of Justice that provides federal funds to support victim assistance and compensation programs around the country and advocates for the fair treatment of crime victims.

More information about OVC is available on the About OVC section of our website.

The date of the 2024 National Crime Victims' Service Awards Ceremony has not been announced. Visit our National Crime Victims' Rights Week Awards & Events page for information about planned events this year.

Sign up for the National Crime Victims' Rights Week Subscription List to receive email updates about future National Crime Victims' Service Awards Ceremonies and other National Crime Victims' Rights Week updates.

Visit the OVC Gallery to view information and watch videos about award recipients from this year and previous years.

If you have not yet contacted law enforcement officials to report your missing child, please do so immediately. Ask them about the issuing an AMBER Alert.

Through AMBER Alert, law enforcement agencies and broadcasters activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child abduction cases. Request that law enforcement put out a Be On the Look Out (BOLO) bulletin. Ask them about involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the search for your child.

Additional helpful information for families about what to do when a child is missing is available in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report, When Your Child is Missing: A Family Survival Guide and the Missing and Exploited Children page. Also contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 800-843-5678 and view their Missing-Child, Emergency-Response, Quick-Reference Guide for Families.

Also visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) website. NamUs is a clearinghouse for missing persons and unidentified decedent records. This free online system can be searched by law enforcement officials, other allied professionals, and the general public to solve these cases.