Columbus Police Property Room (Property Recovery Center)
Hours of Operation, Location and Contact Number:
The Columbus Police Property Room is located at 724 E. Woodrow Ave. Columbus, OH. 43207.
The public window is now open from 9am-5pm Monday through Friday for persons to retrieve property. (The COVID restrictions regarding appointments are no longer in effect.)
If you have items at the Property Room, you will be notified by mail when those items are available to be released. Once you receive the letter, please proceed to the Property Room (in person) with a valid state ID, military ID or a valid passport along with the letter you received. If you reside out of state and have items to be released from the Property Room, it is recommended that you contact the Property Room at 614-645-4736 before proceeding to the Property Room to ensure you have all necessary paperwork and avoid unnecessary travel.
You must be the owner of the listed property for it to be released to you. If you are not the owner please see the below section on Power of Attorneys. Contraband will not be released. If the property is a firearm, the process will take a few days whereas a background check will be completed on the owner and/or the person picking up the firearm before the firearm will be released. Please contact the property room regarding firearms release. (Please see the "Firearm Background Check" section below.) Background checks are NOT conducted on the same day as pick up.
If you feel you have items at the Property Room but have not received a letter, please contact the officer or detective involved in your case to determine the status of your property. If you do not have a contact number, you can contact the Police Information Desk at 614-645-4760 for further assistance.
If you are the administrator of a decedent’s estate, please refer the section below on Probate requirements or go directly to the attached link. https://probate.franklincountyohio.gov/search/
Accepted forms of Identification:
The follow forms of identification are the ONLY means of identification that will be accepted at the Property Room for release of property:
~ Valid state ID or Driver’s License
~ Valid Military ID
~ Valid Passport
NO OTHER FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION WILL BE ACCEPTED; NO EXECPTIONS
Police Property Room Auction Information:
Police Property Room Auctions are held at the Columbus Police Property Room, located at 724 E. Woodrow Ave. Columbus, OH. 43207. The auctions consist of a wide variety of items. Public viewing of the items for auction is from 9:00am to 10:00am on the day of the auction. All auctions begin at 10:00am. All items purchased must be removed from the facility immediately following the auction. Cash is the only form of payment accepted for items that are purchased.
Police Property Room Auction Schedule
Public viewing of auction items begins at 9:00AM on the day of the auction.
Power of Attorney (POA) Issues & Releases:
For persons residing WITHIN the State of Ohio:
Persons residing within the State of Ohio who have Power of Attorney to obtain property from the Property Room must present, IN PERSON, the original Power of Attorney, the property release letter, and valid ID (see Accepted Forms of Identification section) to the Property Room located at 724 E. Woodrow Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43207. It will take some time for the Power of Attorney to be processed (usually within two weeks) to allow the property to be available for release. Powers of Attorney are processed through a different city entity. Once the Power of Attorney has been processed, you will be notified by the Safety Director’s Office that the property is available for release.
For persons residing OUTSIDE the State of Ohio:
Persons residing outside the State of Ohio who have Power of Attorney to obtain property from the Property Room may contact the Property Room at 614-645-4736 to obtain a fax number/email address to send the necessary documents needed to process a Power of Attorney. Faxing/Emailing those documents to the Property Room may avoid unnecessary travel to Columbus, Ohio to have property released via a Power of Attorney.
NOTE:The valid ID presented to the Property Room when the property is available for release MUST be the same valid ID that was faxed/emailed to the Property Room.
Sample Power of Attorney:
Below is generic Power of Attorney that can be downloaded for convenience.
Sample Power of Attorney Form
Probate (Owner of items retained in the Property Room is deceased):
When the rightful owner of property stored in the Property Room is deceased, the Property Room is prohibited by law from releasing those items without a valid court order issued by Probate Court. Below is printable PDF document to guide persons through the process of retrieving items from the Property Room when the owner of the property is deceased. Once a probate court order is issued, please contact the Columbus Police Property Room in advance, and a Property Room Clerk will ensure you have the necessary information before arrival at the Property Room. This is especially true of the probate order is issued out of state.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm. 614-645-4736.
A guide to retrieving a Decedent’s Property Link (Division Form # I-20-116)
Note: Probate Court Orders MUST list the item(s) to be released along with the corresponding PR# listed on the property release letter.
Firearm Background Check
If property belonging to or associated with the owner is any type of firearm, please be advised that the timeline for property release/retrieval will be extended. For safety and security reasons, a background check will be completed on the owner and/or the person designated as Power of Attorney. The background check will NOT be completed on the same day as the owner's/Power of Attorney's first visit to the Property Room. If any firearm has been identified among your property, please provide the Property Room with sufficient individual information about yourself and/or the individual with Power of Attorney authority to complete the background check. If the background check determines either that the owner or the Power of Attorney is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, it will not be released. This process should generally extend the release or retrieval time by a few days.