Using the UK UFO Database
How to Navigate and Get the Most From the UK UFO Database
The UK UFO Database has been designed to make thousands of reported UFO and UAP sightings from across the United Kingdom easier to search, explore and investigate.
Whether you are looking for reports from your hometown, researching a particular year, hunting for unusual object shapes or simply browsing cases at random, there are several different ways to explore the archive.
This guide explains how to navigate the website and get the most from the tools available.
Start With the Homepage
The homepage gives you a quick overview of the database and provides shortcuts to the main areas of the site.
At the top of the page you can jump straight into either the Interactive Map or the Case Archive.
You will also find live database statistics showing how many reports are currently held, how many years are covered, the number of locations represented and the different reported object shapes within the archive.
Further down the homepage, Recent Sightings highlights some of the latest cases by actual sighting date, giving you a quick way to discover reports you may not have encountered before.
Explore Sightings Using the Interactive Map
For many people, the map is one of the easiest ways to begin exploring the database.
The Interactive Sightings Map plots reported UFO sightings across the UK, allowing you to visually explore activity around different towns, cities and regions.
You can zoom into an area, click individual markers and open the associated case file directly from the map.
The map also includes several tools to help narrow down what you are looking for.
You can search by location, case number or object shape, filter sightings by year, county and reported shape, and search using a specific date.
There is also a postcode search, which allows you to enter a UK postcode and explore reports within approximately ten miles of that location.
This can be a particularly interesting way to investigate reports close to your home, workplace or somewhere you are visiting.
A Note About Map Locations
Not every UFO report contains an exact set of coordinates.
Many historical reports simply record a town, city or general area. In these cases, the marker represents the reported location rather than the precise position of the witness.
Where multiple reports come from the same town or location, some markers may be slightly separated from one another so that individual cases remain visible and clickable.
Search the Full Case Archive
If you already have an idea of what you are looking for, the Sighting Archive is usually the most powerful place to start.
The main search box searches across multiple parts of each record, including case numbers, towns, counties, countries, object shapes and witness reports.
That means you can search for something broad such as:
Manchester
or something more specific such as:
triangle Manchester
and the archive will attempt to find cases containing all of those search terms.
You can then narrow the results further using the filters for County, Object Shape and Country.
The separate Search by Date controls allow you to search by day, month, year or any combination of those fields.
For example, you could search for every sighting reported in August 2023, or every report recorded on 31 December across the years held in the database.
Try the Lucky Dip
Not sure what to search for?
Use the Lucky Dip button on the archive page.
This opens a random case from the database and is one of the best ways to discover reports you would probably never think to search for yourself.
With thousands of cases in the archive, it can lead you down some very interesting rabbit holes.
Understanding Individual Case Files
Clicking View Case File opens the full record for that sighting.
Depending on the information available, a case file may include the sighting date and time, town and county, reported object shape, duration, evidence, original source and the witness report.
Cases also include a map showing the reported location.
Where possible, the database will also suggest Nearby Sightings, allowing you to see other reports from within the surrounding area.
This is useful when investigating whether a location has produced several reports over time rather than just a single isolated sighting.
Use Nearby Sightings to Follow the Trail
One report often leads to another.
If a case interests you, check the Nearby Sightings section before moving on.
You may find another sighting only a few miles away, sometimes from a completely different year.
That can be useful when looking for recurring activity, geographical patterns or clusters of reports.
Look Beyond the Individual Case
The database becomes particularly interesting when you start combining its tools.
Instead of simply reading one report, try taking a detail from that case and searching for it elsewhere.
For example, if you find a triangular object reported over Leeds, you could search the archive for other Triangle sightings, look at other reports from West Yorkshire, or use the map to investigate activity around Leeds itself.
The database is intended to encourage exactly that kind of exploration.
Statistics and Trends
The Statistics section is being developed to provide additional ways of examining patterns within the database.
As the project grows, this area will be used to explore things such as locations, object shapes, reporting trends and other patterns hidden within the archive.
The database itself is constantly growing, so these tools will continue to evolve alongside it.
Members-Only Areas
The complete interactive map, searchable sighting archive and detailed case files are available to members of the UK UFO Database.
Membership helps support the hosting, research, development and ongoing maintenance required to keep a project of this size running.
If you reach a members-only section while not logged in, you will be directed to the membership page where you can find out more about gaining access.
Already a member?
Use the Member Login page to access your account and return to the database.
Read the Blog
The blog is where we can share database updates, research, guides, interesting cases, project news and deeper looks at some of the sightings contained within the archive.
It is also worth checking the pinned posts at the top of the blog, as these may contain important guides, announcements or information about the project.
Report a UFO Sighting
The database is not intended to remain a static historical archive.
New reports can be submitted through UFO Identified and may be added to the database as the project continues to grow.
If you have witnessed something unusual in the sky, try to provide as much detail as possible, including the date, time, location, duration, appearance, direction of movement and any photographs or video that may exist.
Report a sighting:
https://ufoidentified.co.uk/report-a-sighting
Found an Error?
With thousands of individual records, corrections and additional information are extremely valuable.
If you spot an incorrect location, date, source, spelling or another issue with a case, please get in touch and include the relevant case number.
A Few Ways to Get More From the Database
- Start locally: search your town, county or postcode before exploring further afield.
- Search object shapes such as Triangle, Sphere, Disc, Cigar or Light to compare similar reports.
- Use the date filters to investigate particular years, months or significant dates.
- Open nearby sightings whenever a case catches your attention.
- Try Lucky Dip occasionally — some of the most interesting reports are the ones you were never looking for.
- Remember that inclusion in the database means a sighting was reported, not that it has been proven to be unexplained or extraterrestrial.
Keep Exploring
The UK UFO Database is a growing grassroots research project.
More sightings, historical reports, corrections and research tools will continue to be added as the archive develops.
There is no single “correct” way to use the database. Search for your hometown, follow a cluster across the map, compare similar-shaped objects, explore a particular year or simply open a random case and see where it takes you.
Explore the Interactive Map
Search the Case Archive
Become a Member
The archive is there to be explored.
