Know your rights
Where to go when something goes wrong.
Official places to get help or file a complaint, sorted by what happened. Every link was checked this month.
This isn't legal advice. Deadlines are short and they matter. If a page lists a deadline, act before it. If you're not sure where you stand, talk to a lawyer or a legal aid office near you.
Work
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Work
Filing a Charge of Discrimination
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Takes complaints of job discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. You start with an online inquiry and an interview with EEOC staff; the phone line answers questions but does not take charges.
Use it: If you were treated unfairly at work or while applying for a job because of your race or another protected trait.
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Work
Wage and Hour Division Complaints
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Investigates complaints about unpaid minimum wage, unpaid overtime, and other federal pay violations. Complaints are confidential, and the division enforces the law regardless of a worker's immigration status.
Use it: If your employer didn't pay you minimum wage, skipped your overtime pay, or held back wages you earned.
Housing
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Housing
HUD Housing Counseling Agency Search
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Finds HUD participating housing counseling agencies near you by ZIP code or state. Counselors help with catching up on a mortgage, renting, buying a home, reverse mortgages, homelessness, budgeting, and fair housing rights, in person, by phone, or online.
Use it: If you're behind on rent or your mortgage, facing eviction or foreclosure, or getting ready to buy a home.
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Housing
Report Housing Discrimination
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Takes reports of housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status, including in privately owned housing and HUD-funded programs. You can report online, by phone with an intake specialist, or by mail.
Use it: If a landlord, seller, or housing program treated you differently because of your race or another protected trait.
Money
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Money
AnnualCreditReport.com
Central Source, LLC, created by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion under federal law
The only website authorized by federal law to provide your free credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can check each report for free once a week, and checking your own reports won't affect your credit scores.
Use it: If you want to check your credit reports for mistakes or signs of identity theft, or before applying for a loan.
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Money
Submit a Complaint
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Sends your complaint about a bank account, credit card, loan, mortgage, debt collector, credit report, or money transfer to the company for a response. Most companies respond within 15 days, and complaints that another agency can better handle are passed along to that agency.
Use it: If a bank, lender, debt collector, or credit reporting company made a mistake or won't fix a problem.
Voting
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Voting
Election Protection Hotline (866-OUR-VOTE)
Election Protection coalition, administered by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
A nonpartisan coalition of more than 300 partners whose trained volunteers help with registration deadlines, mail-in ballots, early voting, and voting on Election Day. The hotline is open year round by call or text, with lines in Spanish, Asian languages, and Arabic.
Use it: If you run into a problem registering or voting, or have questions before or on Election Day.
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Voting
Vote.gov
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
Sends you to your state's official election website to register, update your registration, or check your registration status; it does not register you itself. It also explains mail-in and early voting, voter ID rules, and voting with a disability or after a felony conviction.
Use it: If you need to register to vote, confirm you're still registered, or update your address.
Civil rights
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Civil rights
Report a Civil Rights Violation
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
An online form for reporting discrimination and other civil rights violations in settings such as housing, work, school, voting, and public places. The page tells people reporting law enforcement misconduct or a hate crime to contact the FBI, and says a response can take several weeks.
Use it: If you believe your civil rights were violated because of your race, color, national origin, or another protected trait.
Health
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Health
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Administered by Vibrant Emotional Health with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Connects you with a trained counselor by call, text, or chat 24 hours a day for suicidal thoughts, mental health struggles, emotional distress, or alcohol or drug use concerns. Conversations are confidential, text and chat are available in Spanish, and there are options for Deaf and hard of hearing people.
Use it: If you or someone you care about is in crisis or needs someone to talk to right now.
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Health
Find a Health Center
Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Searches by city, state, ZIP code, or address for HRSA-funded community health centers, which provide primary medical and dental care whether or not you have health insurance. HRSA funds about 1,400 health centers running more than 16,200 sites.
Use it: If you need a regular doctor or dentist and don't have insurance or can't afford the usual cost of care.
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Health
HEAR HER Campaign: Urgent Maternal Warning Signs
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lists warning signs that can point to a life-threatening problem during pregnancy and in the year after delivery, such as a headache that won't go away, trouble breathing, chest pain, a fever of 100.4°F or higher, or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby. The page says to seek medical care immediately if you have any of them.
Use it: If you or someone close to you is pregnant or had a baby in the past year and has symptoms that feel wrong.
Business
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Business
SBA Local Assistance
U.S. Small Business Administration
Helps you find nearby business counseling and training through SBA partners, including Small Business Development Centers, SCORE mentors, Women's Business Centers, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers. It also points to local SBA district offices and help with federal contracting and exporting.
Use it: If you're starting or growing a business and want advice on planning, financing, or government contracting.
Education
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Education
Federal Student Aid (StudentAid.gov)
Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
The official site for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which schools use to decide your grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans, and for managing and repaying federal student loans. Its homepage currently links to updates on changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Use it: If you're applying to college or career school, helping your child pay for it, or repaying federal student loans.
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Education
File a Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
Investigates complaints of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age, and retaliation, at schools, colleges, and other institutions that receive Department of Education funding. You can file online or by mail, fax, or email; OCR's page says it works through a headquarters and 5 regional offices.
Use it: If a school or college treated you or your child unfairly because of race or another protected trait.