National UFO Reporting Center

The National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) is a United States non-governmental, nonprofit organization devoted to collecting and preserving reports of unidentified flying objects, now commonly described as unidentified anomalous phenomena or UAP. Founded in 1974 by Robert J. Gribble, the center developed as a public-facing reporting service rather than as a government investigative agency or a commercial product company. Its central function is to receive first-person accounts from members of the public, record the details in a searchable archive, and make aggregated information available to researchers, journalists, aviation observers, law-enforcement personnel, and other interested users. NUFORC has historically maintained a 24-hour telephone hotline for reports of sightings in progress. It also accepts written submissions through an online reporting form. Reports can describe a wide range of observations, including lights, apparent flying saucers, triangular objects, unusual aerial formations, and alleged encounters with non-human entities. The center records these accounts as reports; inclusion in its database does not establish that an event involved an extraterrestrial craft or that the reported object was independently verified. Its work therefore occupies an unusual position between public record keeping, citizen reporting, and the broader UFO research community. The organization has accumulated a large historical database, numbering nearly 170,000 reported sightings according to reference material describing its archive. Most reports have originated in the United States, although the online service and public visibility have allowed NUFORC to receive reports from other locations. The center has used the database to produce statistics, charts, maps, and other summaries of reporting patterns. Its material has also been used to visualize geographic concentrations of reports, including interactive treatments of sighting density relative to population or land area. Peter Davenport has been the organization’s director since 1994. He became involved after learning about the Kelly–Hopkinsville encounter and has described himself as both a believer in the possibility of unusual phenomena and a skeptic who does not assume that all reports share a common explanation. His approach has involved cataloguing reports without claiming that different categories of observation—such as colored lights, triangles, and disc-shaped objects—necessarily represent the same phenomenon. Christian Stepien has been associated with NUFORC as its chief technology officer over the same broad period. NUFORC has occasionally served as a referral destination for police departments and public officials dealing with unusual aerial reports. The organization has been mentioned in connection with cases such as the Phoenix Lights, which Davenport has publicly regarded as a genuine unexplained sighting. Other referrals have later received conventional explanations, illustrating the distinction between documenting a report and confirming its interpretation. The center has also collaborated or interacted with other UFO information organizations, including the Mutual UFO Network, and has received public exposure through radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM and Jeff Rense’s show. The organization has operated with a highly limited institutional structure. Reference accounts state that, apart from donations, much of its operating cost was personally covered by Davenport and Stepien, with estimated monthly expenses ranging from approximately $500 to $5,000 at the time those estimates were reported. These figures are historical estimates rather than current financial disclosures. Until 2006, NUFORC was based in Seattle, Washington. It subsequently relocated to a former nuclear missile installation roughly 50 miles west of Spokane, Washington, described in accounts as a bunker. Its continuing public role is primarily archival and informational: it provides a channel for reporting, preserves a substantial body of testimony, and makes patterns in that testimony available for independent examination.

The National UFO Reporting Center was established in 1974 by Robert J. Gribble in Washington State. Its founding purpose was to create a centralized place where members of the public could report observations of unidentified aerial objects and alleged encounters. Unlike a government investigation office, NUFORC developed as an independent nonprofit service focused on intake, documentation, archival preservation, and public dissemination of reported information. From its early years, the center maintained a 24-hour telephone hotline through which people could report events while they were occurring. This hotline gave NUFORC a role as an immediate point of contact for witnesses, although the center’s receipt of a report did not itself constitute verification. The organization later supplemented telephone reporting with an online form, allowing witnesses to submit written accounts and supporting details through the internet. Over time, NUFORC assembled a large database of reports, most originating in the United States. Reference accounts describe the archive as containing nearly 170,000 reported sightings. The records cover varied descriptions rather than a single consistent object type. Reports have included apparent flying saucers, colored lights, triangular forms, and other unusual aerial observations. The center has generally treated these accounts as records of what witnesses reported, rather than asserting that all observations had the same cause. Peter Davenport became associated with the center after hearing about the Kelly–Hopkinsville encounter and became its director in 1994. His public position has combined an openness to the possibility that some cases represent genuinely unexplained phenomena with skepticism toward unsupported conclusions. He has described himself as a UFO believer and skeptic, and has not claimed that every reported category or incident represents the same phenomenon. Christian Stepien, a technology entrepreneur, has been associated with NUFORC as chief technology officer during the same period. Under Davenport’s direction, NUFORC expanded the informational use of its records. It published or supplied statistics, graphs, and maps intended to show patterns in the timing and geographic distribution of reports. The organization’s data were also used in interactive media presentations, including a graphic discussed by Slate that examined reported-sighting density in relation to area. This work helped move NUFORC beyond a simple telephone archive and made it a recognizable source of raw and aggregated material for journalists and amateur or academic researchers. The center has maintained relationships with people and institutions that encounter unusual aerial reports. Police departments, including the Stamford police department in earlier years, have used or consulted the organization’s reporting resources. Police officers in Lebanon, Missouri, and officials in Arizona have also referred sightings to NUFORC. Some cases subsequently received ordinary explanations, while other reports remained unresolved in the available public record. Arizona officials’ reliance on the organization was discussed in relation to the Phoenix Lights, an event Davenport has characterized publicly as genuine. NUFORC has also operated within a wider network of UFO organizations. The Mutual UFO Network, one of the largest United States organizations collecting sighting information, has worked with NUFORC to publicize trends in reports. NUFORC has received additional public visibility through radio appearances and discussion on programs including Coast to Coast AM and the Jeff Rense show. The organization’s finances and staffing have historically been modest. Accounts state that, aside from donations, Davenport and Stepien personally covered most operating expenses, with historical estimates placing the cost at roughly $500 to $5,000 per month. These estimates should not be treated as current audited financial information. NUFORC was based in Seattle until 2006, when it moved to a former nuclear missile site approximately 50 miles west of Spokane, Washington. The unusual location became part of the organization’s public profile, while its primary institutional function remained the collection and publication of UFO and UAP reports. Today, NUFORC is best understood as an independent public reporting and data-preservation project. Its archive provides a substantial record of what people have said they observed, but the organization’s database should not be confused with a scientific confirmation of extraterrestrial visitation. Its continuing significance lies in the scale of its archive, the accessibility of its reporting channels, and its role as a frequently cited source within public UFO and UAP discourse.

• 2006

  Headquarters moved from Seattle

  [1]National UFO Reporting Centeren.wikipedia.org

  NUFORC relocated from Seattle to a former nuclear missile site west of Spokane, Washington.

• 1994

  Peter Davenport becomes director

  [1]National UFO Reporting Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Peter Davenport began serving as the organization’s director, a role he has continued to hold according to the reference material.

• 1994

  Christian Stepien associated with NUFORC as chief technology officer

  [1]National UFO Reporting Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Technology entrepreneur Christian Stepien became associated with the center as its chief technology officer.

• 1974

  National UFO Reporting Center founded

  [1]National UFO Reporting Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Robert J. Gribble established NUFORC in Washington State as an independent nonprofit organization for collecting and documenting UFO reports.

• Archive grows to nearly 170,000 reports

  [1]National UFO Reporting Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Reference material describes the center as having catalogued nearly 170,000 reported UFO sightings, predominantly from the United States.

An independent, nonprofit public reporting and archival organization for UFO and UAP sightings. NUFORC emphasizes collecting and documenting public testimony rather than presenting itself as a government authority or claiming that every report has an extraterrestrial explanation.

• Public reporting service · 1974

  UFO/UAP sighting reports

  NUFORC receives accounts from people who report observing unidentified aerial objects or related phenomena. Reports may contain descriptions of lights, shapes, movements, locations, dates, and alleged contact experiences. The service records witness statements for archival and informational purposes; submission or publication does not independently establish the truth of an account or identify its cause.

• Archive and research resource · 1974

  NUFORC sighting database

  The center’s principal long-term resource is its archive of reported sightings. It brings together many years of public submissions, primarily from the United States, and supports searches and analysis of reported events. The database is a record of testimony and reported observations rather than a scientifically validated catalogue of extraterrestrial craft.

• Data visualization and analysis

  Sightings statistics, maps, and charts

  NUFORC has provided aggregated statistics, geographic maps, and charts derived from its report archive. These materials help users examine patterns such as the distribution and frequency of public sightings. Media treatments of the data have included interactive visualizations of reported-sighting density.

• Telephone reporting channel · 1974

  24-hour reporting hotline

  For much of its history, NUFORC has maintained a 24-hour telephone hotline intended for people reporting UFO or UAP activity in progress. The hotline gives witnesses an immediate channel to contact the organization, while the resulting information remains subject to the limitations of eyewitness reporting.

• 2006

  Relocation to a former nuclear missile siteStrategy

  Background

  After operating in Seattle for decades, NUFORC changed its base of operations as its archive and reporting activities continued.

  Action taken

  The organization moved to a former nuclear missile installation roughly 50 miles west of Spokane, Washington.

  Aftermath

  The relocation became a notable part of NUFORC’s institutional history and public identity. No subsequent financial or operational effect is documented in the supplied reference material.

  Source

1. 1National UFO Reporting Centeren.wikipedia.org
2. 2National UFO Reporting Center official websitenuforc.org