Lost and found notice format

Use this to write a notice about something lost or found, for a school, office or society notice board. It is also a common notice-writing question.

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[SCHOOL OR SOCIETY NAME, CITY] NOTICE [Date] LOST: [ITEM, FOR EXAMPLE A BLUE WATER BOTTLE] I have lost my [Item with Description, for example blue steel water bottle with my name on the lid] on [Date of Loss], most likely in [Place Where It Was Lost]. It is [Why It Matters or One Mark of Identity]. Anyone who finds it is requested to return it to the undersigned or hand it to [Office or Person]. [Your Name] [Class or Flat Number] For a FOUND notice, change the heading to "FOUND: [ITEM]" and the body to: A [Item] was found in [Place] on [Date]. The owner may collect it from [Person or Office] after describing it.

When to use this notice

Write a lost notice the same day you miss the thing, while people still remember seeing it. Write a found notice when you have picked up something and want the true owner, and nobody else, to claim it. For lost identity papers, bank cards or a phone, a board notice is not enough: the bank, the mobile company and often the police must be told as well.

Before you send it

Describe the lost thing well enough to be recognised: colour, brand, size, a mark.
In a found notice, hold back one detail, such as what is inside the purse. The real owner can tell you that detail.
Say exactly whom to contact and where.
Do not offer a big reward in a school notice. A word of thanks is the custom.

How to put it up

Get the notice signed by the person in charge of the board, such as the class teacher, office manager or society secretary, and pin it where the thing was lost. A copy in the school, office or residents' group reaches people faster than paper. Remove the notice when the thing is back with its owner.

Mistakes that make a notice fail

Describing the thing so loosely that it could be anyone's: "a blue bottle" in a school of blue bottles.
Giving away every detail in a found notice. Then anybody can claim it.
No date and no place of loss. Both help a finder connect the notice with what they saw.
Putting a home address or other private details on a public board. A name, class or flat number and a contact is enough.

This is a general format, written by us, to save you time. If the school or society has its own printed form, use that form. Last checked: 11 November 2026.

More notice formats

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