Lost or delayed luggage: what to do

Report it before you leave the airport.

The answer in 2 lines. Before you leave the baggage claim area, go to your airline's baggage service office, file a report and keep the file number. Buy only what you really need and keep the receipts: airlines must cover reasonable expenses while your bag is delayed. Then send a written claim. On international trips, the Montreal Convention sets the deadlines: 21 days after the bag is delivered for a delay, 7 days for damage. On domestic flights, your airline's contract of carriage sets them, and they can be short.

The first 3 steps

Stay in the baggage claim area and go to the baggage service office of the airline that flew your last flight (or its handling agent).
File a mishandled baggage report (often called a PIR, Property Irregularity Report) with your bag tag, boarding pass and a description of the bag. Get a copy and the file number.
Give an address and phone number where the bag can be delivered, and ask what the airline covers while you wait (some give an amenity kit or a daily allowance).

Deadlines not to miss

International trip (Montreal Convention): written claim within 21 days of delivery for a delayed bag, 7 days of receipt for a damaged bag or contents. A bag still missing after 21 days can be treated as lost: claim compensation. Lawsuit: within 2 years of arrival.
Domestic flight: deadlines are set by each airline's contract of carriage (on its website, usually linked at the bottom of the home page). Some require damage to be reported within hours, or before you leave the airport: check yours right away.
The report at the airport doesn't always count as the written claim: send it through the airline's online form, or by email or certified mail, and keep a copy.

What you can get back

Delayed bag: reasonable, documented expenses for essentials (toiletries, a change of clothes, a charger). DOT says airlines may not refuse to pay these, though they may set their own guidelines (DOT: lost, delayed or damaged baggage).
Bag fee refund: under DOT's refund rule, if you paid a checked-bag fee and filed a mishandled bag report, the airline must refund that fee when the bag is significantly delayed: not delivered within 12 hours of arrival for a domestic flight, 15 hours for an international flight of 12 hours or less, 30 hours for a longer one (DOT refund rule compliance guide, PDF). DOT has paused or reconsidered other parts of this refund rule since December 2025; we found no change to the bag-fee refund as of November 1, 2026, but check its Flight Help page.
Lost bag: the value of the bag and its contents, with proof (receipts, photos, card statements). Older items are usually paid at depreciated value, not replacement cost. The bag fee is refunded too.
Damaged bag: repair, or replacement if it can't be repaired. Airlines often exclude normal wear (scuffs, small dents) and fragile items: read the contract of carriage.

Payout limits

US domestic flights: airlines may not limit their liability to less than $4,700 per passenger, the federal minimum set in DOT's latest revision found (published in 2024; no later inflation adjustment found as of November 1, 2026) (Federal Register, October 24, 2024, Eckert Seamans: revised limits now effective). Airlines restate it in their contract (example: American Airlines liability limitations).
International trips: 1,519 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger under the Montreal Convention since December 28, 2024 (ICAO). The SDR is an International Monetary Fund unit whose dollar value changes daily: roughly $2,000, depending on the rate.
These are maximums, not automatic payouts: you get what you can prove, up to the limit.

What not to do

Leaving the airport without filing a report: proving the problem afterward is much harder.
Buying a whole new wardrobe: only reasonable, documented purchases are reimbursed.
Packing valuables, medication or documents in a checked bag: many airlines exclude them from liability.

Valuables and other coverage

Jewelry, electronics, cash, medication, documents: keep them in your carry-on.
Some airlines sell "excess valuation" at check-in, which raises the limit for a high-value bag: ask at the counter.
Your travel insurance, your credit card's baggage benefit or your homeowners or renters policy may cover part of the loss: read their terms. Problems with an insurer: contact your state insurance department (NAIC map of state insurance departments).

If the airline doesn't respond

Follow up in writing with your file number, receipts and the amount you claim.
File a complaint with DOT on its air travel complaint page: it forwards it to the airline, which must answer.
For a modest amount the airline refuses without good reason, small claims court in your state is an option.

Preventing the next one

Photograph your bag and what's inside before you leave, and put a tag with your name and phone number outside and inside.
Pack a change of clothes and your medication in your carry-on.
Most airline apps track a checked bag by its tag number: install yours before the trip. If you already use an item tracker, slip it in the bag; it helps locate it but doesn't replace the report.

Landing in Seattle from Atlanta, Priya's suitcase doesn't come off the carousel. She files a report at the airline's baggage office and notes the file number. She buys a toothbrush, underwear and a charger, keeping the receipts. The bag reaches her hotel the next evening, more than 12 hours after she landed; that week she sends the airline her receipts and asks for the $35 bag fee back.

A made-up story, for illustration.

The numbers (latest published)

$4,700: minimum liability limit per passenger on US domestic flights (DOT, 2024 revision, the latest found as of November 1, 2026).
1,519 SDR: Montreal Convention limit per passenger, since December 28, 2024.
7 days (damage) and 21 days (delay): Montreal Convention claim deadlines, Article 31.
DOT publishes the rate of mishandled bags by airline every month in its Air Travel Consumer Report (latest edition found: October 2026, with August 2026 data; all 2026 editions: DOT Air Travel Consumer Reports 2026).

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on November 1, 2026, for the United States. Confidence: high for the Montreal Convention deadlines and limit (ICAO) and the domestic liability minimum (Federal Register 2024); medium for the bag-fee refund, part of a DOT rule under revision in 2025–2026, and for domestic claim deadlines, which each airline sets. This guide is general information, not legal advice.