United Airlines: lost bag

Collect

• bag tag
• file reference number ending in M
• contents list with values
• receipts
• photo ID

Steps

1. Make sure the bag was reported as delayed within the reporting deadline and you have the file reference number ending in M.

   FormReport a delayed bag online (schedule pickup or free delivery)

2. File the lost bag claim with a detailed contents list, receipts and a photo ID within 45 days of arrival (21 days if international).

   FormLost bag claim

3. Ask for the checked bag fee back.

   FormRefund form (tickets, bag fees, Wi-Fi and other purchases)

4. Check the claim status on the bag help page, or call the Baggage Recovery Center.

   PhoneBaggage Recovery Center +1-800-335-2247

5. If United does not respond, file a complaint with the U.S. DOT.

   RegulatorU.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection +1-800-778-4838

More contacts for this issue

Facts you can cite

• Limit

  If all ticketed segments are within the U.S.A., United's liability for checked baggage is limited to USD 4,700 per ticketed passenger unless a higher value was declared in advance and additional charges paid. The passenger must document and prove the actual value of the loss.

  Source: united.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Limit

  For international carriage under the Warsaw or Montreal Convention, Rule 28 limits liability to 1,519 SDR per passenger for destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage.

  Source: united.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  The bag help page says the maximum reimbursement for a lost bag is $4,700 for flights in the U.S. and $2,000 for international flights, and interim expenses already reimbursed are deducted. United searches for about 21 days after a lost bag claim.

  Source: united.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  The Contract of Carriage says United will reimburse passengers for any fee charged to transport bags that are lost.

  Source: united.com, verified 2026-10-12

Rules in force

• DOT domestic baggage liability limit
  14 CFR part 254 (limit revised by 89 FR 84815, October 24, 2024, effective January 22, 2025)

  On domestic flights, a U.S. airline may not limit its liability for provable direct or consequential damages from lost, damaged or delayed baggage to less than $4,700 per passenger. The limit was raised from $3,800 effective January 22, 2025. It does not apply to wheelchairs and other assistive devices.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  4 citable points

  • Limit

    On flight segments using large aircraft (designed for more than 60 passenger seats), and on any segment on the same ticket as such a segment, a carrier may not limit its liability for provable direct or consequential damages from the loss of, damage to, or delay of a passenger's baggage in its custody to less than $4,700 for each passenger.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The carrier must give conspicuous written notice on or with the ticket of its liability limit, or the statement "Federal rules require any limit on an airline's baggage liability to be at least $4,700 per passenger."

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The part 254 limit does not apply to wheelchairs or other assistive devices. Compensation for a lost, damaged or destroyed wheelchair or assistive device is based on the device's original purchase price.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    DOT raised the limit from $3,800 to $4,700 by a rule effective January 22, 2025, and did not enforce the new limit until March 20, 2025.

    Source: federalregister.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Air Carrier Access Act rules - complaints and wheelchair handling
  14 CFR part 382 (Wheelchair Rule, 89 FR 102398, December 17, 2024)

  Airlines must make a Complaints Resolution Official (CRO) available at every airport they serve, and must answer written disability complaints within 30 days. Under the 2024 Wheelchair Rule, airlines must deliver delayed wheelchairs quickly, repair or replace damaged ones, provide loaners, and pay based on the original purchase price on domestic trips. DOT is not enforcing four of the 2024 provisions until April 30, 2027.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  2 citable points

  • Policy

    When a wheelchair or assistive device is lost, damaged or pilfered, the passenger may have the carrier repair or replace it with a device of equivalent or greater function at the carrier's cost, or use a preferred repair vendor with the carrier paying. The carrier must notify the passenger in writing of these rights, including the right to a loaner and to contact a CRO.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Limit

    For transportation covered by 14 CFR part 254 (domestic), the baggage liability limit does not apply to wheelchairs or other assistive devices, and compensation for a lost, damaged or destroyed device is based on its original purchase price. On international flights, Montreal Convention liability limits apply.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• DOT automatic refund rule for airline tickets and ancillary fees (2024)
  14 CFR part 260 and 14 CFR part 262 (89 FR 32760, April 26, 2024; amended 89 FR 65534, August 12, 2024)

  Airlines operating to, from or within the U.S. must give a full cash refund (to the original form of payment) when they cancel or significantly change a flight and the passenger does not accept the alternative. Refunds are due within 7 business days (credit card) or 20 calendar days (other payment). Airlines must also refund checked bag fees for significantly delayed bags and fees for paid extras that were not provided. Until July 7, 2027, DOT does not enforce the rule in one narrow case: a flight that is only renumbered, with no significant change or delay.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  1 citable point

  • Policy

    The carrier must refund the checked bag fee for a lost or significantly delayed bag. The passenger must first file a Mishandled Baggage Report with the carrier that operated the flight (or the last segment of a multi-carrier itinerary). No refund is due if the delay was caused by the passenger, for example by not rechecking the bag at the first U.S. entry point for customs.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Montreal Convention 1999 - baggage liability and claim deadlines
  Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal, 1999), Articles 17, 19, 22, 31, 35

  For international air travel covered by the Montreal Convention, the airline is liable for lost, damaged or delayed checked baggage up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger (revised limit effective 28 December 2024). Written complaints are due within 7 days of receiving a damaged bag and within 21 days after a delayed bag is returned. A lawsuit must be brought within two years.

  Source: icao.int, verified 2026-10-12

  4 citable points

  • Limit

    The baggage liability limit in Article 22, paragraph 2 is 1,519 SDR for each passenger, effective as of 28 December 2024 (revised from 1,288 SDR set in 2019; the original limit was 1,000 SDR).

    Source: icao.int, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The baggage limit applies to destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage, unless the passenger made a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination when checking the bag and paid any supplementary sum required (Article 22(2)).

    Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    If the carrier admits the loss of checked baggage, or the bag has not arrived 21 days after the date it ought to have arrived, the passenger may enforce the rights that flow from the contract of carriage (Article 17(3)).

    Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    The right to damages is extinguished if an action is not brought within two years from the date of arrival at the destination, the date the aircraft ought to have arrived, or the date the carriage stopped (Article 35(1)).

    Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, verified 2026-10-12

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

1. Customer service

   PhoneReservations and customer service, English (1-800-UNITED-1) +1-800-864-8331

2. Written complaint

   FormCustomer Care form (complaints, feedback, reimbursement of disruption expenses)

3. Federal regulator

   RegulatorU.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection +1-800-778-4838

4. Card or bank dispute

   Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)

   Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)

   Card dispute for a refund United owes but has not paid.

State agencies for this sector: your state’s attorney general. Find yours in the list of state agencies, or as JSON in states/<code>.json (for example states/ny.json).

Watch out

Related

• Lost bag at other companies
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• Airlines — how complaints work
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• United Airlines: long delay
• United Airlines: delayed bag
• United Airlines: damaged bag
• United Airlines: bumped or denied boarding
• United Airlines: paid extra and did not get it