{"type":"organizations","slug":"national-ufo-reporting-center","title":"National UFO Reporting Center","url":"https://disclosdex.com/organizations/national-ufo-reporting-center","description":"Founded in 1974 by Robert Gribble, NUFORC collects and publishes U.S. civilian UFO reports via hotline and online database","date":"1974-10-01T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Ufology"],"updated":"2025-06-13T13:26:43.000Z","connectionCount":0,"content":{"markdown":"NUFORC operates a 24-hour telephone hotline and an online data bank that accepts civilian UAP reports in real time.[^1] The non-profit publishes the raw narrative text and minimal metadata within hours, giving researchers an unfiltered longitudinal sample of U.S. sighting activity.\n\n## Early development\n\nIn 1974 Seattle firefighter and veteran investigator Robert J. Gribble incorporated the centre, extending work he had started in the 1950s with the Aerial Phenomenon Research Group.[^5] Gribble's hotline quickly became a default referral point for the FAA, law-enforcement dispatchers and newsrooms.\n\n## Leadership transition\n\nBiologist and entrepreneur Peter B. Davenport assumed the directorship in 1994. He self-funded operations, automated e-mail alerts and, in 2006, relocated the archive to a decommissioned Atlas-E missile silo near Davenport, Washington for physical security.[^4]\n\n### Technical modernization\n\nChristian Stepien joined as chief technologist in 1994, building the SQL database that still underpins the public website and interactive sighting map.[^2]\n\n## Data products and archival assets\n\nThe NUFORC Data Bank now holds more than 180,000 entries indexed by event date, posting date, location and observed shape.[^3] Downloadable CSV files underpin dozens of academic and journalistic analyses. Historical reel-to-reel recordings from 1974-1977 were digitised by historian Wendy Connors and released as the \"Night Journeys in Ufology\" collection.[^5]\n\n## Notable contributions\n\n| Contribution                                 | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                        |\n| -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |\n| Rapid public release of unredacted case text | First to publish civilian report narratives within days of receipt, creating a time-stamped public record that cannot be retroactively altered.                                                                    |\n| National hotline for real-time UAP reporting | Hotline used by FAA centers, 911 operators, and police departments to redirect real-time UAP calls, ensuring preservation of eyewitness testimony.                                                                 |\n| Statistical summaries and incident bulletins | Issued press bulletins and summaries that flagged major incidents (e.g., 1997 Phoenix Lights, 2006 Chicago O'Hare sighting, 2023 Bad Axe jet intercept), enabling media to confirm multiple-witness cases quickly. |\n\n## Current status\n\nNUFORC remains a Washington-registered non-profit run primarily by Davenport. Operating costs average U.S.$500–5,000 per month, covered by personal funds and small donations.[^4] The centre continues to add several hundred reports monthly and supplies curated datasets to academic teams investigating spatial and temporal patterns in UAP reports.\n\n[^1]: https://nuforc.org/\n\n[^2]: https://nuforc.org/about-us/\n\n[^3]: https://nuforc.org/databank/\n\n[^4]: https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ufoguy28mar28-story.html\n\n[^5]: https://nuforc.org/gribble/","readingTime":"2 min read"},"relatedRecords":[],"citation":{"canonicalUrl":"https://disclosdex.com/organizations/national-ufo-reporting-center","title":"National UFO Reporting Center","publisher":"Disclosdex","retrievedFrom":"https://disclosdex.com/api/v1/organizations/national-ufo-reporting-center","license":"CC-BY-4.0"}}