The Department of Defense Hotline - About Us

About the DoD Hotline

The Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General Hotline ("DoD Hotline") is an important avenue for reporting fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement regarding programs and personnel under the purview of the U.S. Department of Defense.  The DoD Hotline continues its primary mission of providing a confidential and reliable vehicle for military service members, DoD civilians, contractor employees and the public to report fraud, waste, mismanagement, abuse of authority, threats to homeland defense and leaks of classified information. 

The DoD Hotline received 20,402 contacts within the past year, and has processed over 375,000 since its inception.  As a result of the initiation of DoD Hotline investigations, the Government saved or recovered over $551.5 million.  More importantly, many of the cases resulted in safer products and equipment for our military personnel and Defense Department employees.

The DoD Hotline is staffed by professional investigators.  They are knowledgeable of military, criminal and civil laws and procedures; Defense Department and military services regulations; Defense contracting procedures; as well as provisions of agency ethics regulations. Complaints are received, evaluated, investigated, and corrective measures are instituted. Complaints appropriate for inquiry are referred to the appropriate inspector general, Defense agency or organization, or investigative agency for inquiry, investigation, or other appropriate action. All completed investigations are then reviewed by our office to assure independence and thoroughness. The Hotline staff works closely with the military services and Defense agencies Inspector General points of contact to ensure that complaints are efficiently and effectively investigated and reported.

Our primary responsibility is to receive and evaluate your concerns and complaints, and to determine the agency responsible to take appropriate action.  In many instances, DoD Hotline investigators can provide information which may answer your questions or address your concerns, in lieu of filing a complaint. The DoD Hotline is staffed and available to answer your calls Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., (ET).