World Trade Center Repository - OCME

Office of Chief Medical Examiner

Science Serving Justice


World Trade Center Repository

Family Services Centers
Forensic Pathology Centers
Charles S. Hirsch Center for Forensic Sciences
World Trade Center Repository

Family Services Centers

Forensic Pathology Centers

Charles S. Hirsch Center for Forensic Sciences

World Trade Center Repository


World Trade Center Repository

About the Repository at the World Trade Center Memorial

The World Trade Center Memorial site includes a Repository for the remains of those killed on 9/11. OCME has jurisdiction over the Repository, which is located at bedrock on the sacred ground of the World Trade Center site.

While the Repository is within the structure of the National September 11 Memorial complex, it is accessed, operated and maintained solely by OCME. Situated between the two footprints of the Twin Towers, the Repository includes an adjacent office for OCME and a private reflection room for family members only. None of these spaces is accessible and visible to the public. The Repository occupies approximately 2,500 square feet of space, and has been designed by OCME to provide the highest levels of care, security, and the safest environment for the remains.

Under the professional auspices of OCME, the Repository provides a dignified and reverential setting for the remains to repose - temporarily or in perpetuity - as the work to identify the 9/11 victims continues. OCME is committed to the effort to make identifications through the use of DNA, but no identification work is performed on site at the Repository.

Due to COVID-19 health considerations, OCME will only provide access to the Family Reflection Room by appointment. Appointments must be made at least 48 hours in advance and will be restricted to the regular operational hours of the 9/11 Memorial Museum. To schedule a visit, call the WTC Hotline at 212-447-7884 Monday-Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or send an e-mail to WTC_Hotline@ocme.nyc.gov.

During this time, Anthropologists will not be meeting with family members in person. Any consultations with an Anthropologist will be handled remotely via the WTC Hotline.