Ethics and compliance hotline FAQ

Ethics hotline, compliance hotline, and whistleblower hotline are different names for the same service: a confidential, anonymous channel — usually web, phone, and text — that lets employees, volunteers, vendors, and others report misconduct, fraud, harassment, or safety concerns without fear of being identified. Reports go to the organization so authorized staff can investigate and follow up. Safe Hotline provides this reporting channel with case management included.

Yes. Smaller organizations often have fewer internal controls, and tips are the most common way fraud is detected (43% of cases, ACFE 2026). Safe Hotline is built for organizations under 250 employees, with flat pricing of $600 a year for businesses and $500 a year for nonprofits.

Safe Hotline provides organizations with an affordable, confidential, and anonymous ethics hotline that employees, volunteers, vendors, customers, and other interested parties can use to report potential fraud, ethical issues, and other wrongdoing. By subscribing, your company demonstrates a desire to maintain high integrity and transparency and to provide a safe working environment for everyone concerned.

Safe Hotline does not have additional hidden fees like many competitors. Your subscription fee is all you will pay. Learn more on our features and reasons pages.

Safe Hotline is available in the United States and Canada.

Pricing is a flat fee for organizations under 250 employees. We emphasize yearly billing for the best value. There is no charge for additional admins and no fee based on the number of calls or reports.

No. There is no charge for the number of reports made. Your flat yearly or monthly fee covers unlimited reports through web, phone, and text, plus case management.

Register online and your Company ID is emailed to you immediately, so employees can start reporting right away by web, phone, or text. We also mail a poster with your Company ID and reporting instructions to display at your organization. There are no setup fees and no long-term contract.

Need more posters or wallet cards? Admins can log in and order them from our online store.

No long-term contract is required, and there are no setup fees. After the initial signup terms for monthly billing (typically a 6-month minimum), you are free to cancel when you need to.

Safe Hotline is a dedicated third-party ethics hotline for small businesses and nonprofits, with published flat yearly pricing — $600 for businesses and $500 for nonprofits (under 250 employees) — and no long-term contract. Anonymous reporting by web, phone, and text and case management are all included in that one plan. NAVEX offers a small-business hotline, Whistleblowing & Incident Management Essentials (formerly EthicsPoint Essentials), with web and phone reporting, plus an enterprise edition; its pricing is a custom quote, so contact NAVEX for current pricing. See the full comparison.

Yes. Per ACFE 2026 research, organizations with hotlines had a $100,000 median fraud loss versus $150,000 without. Tips remain the #1 detection method — nearly three times as many cases as the next most common method. See our reasons page for more context.

We offer three safe and secure methods for someone to report a workplace concern:

• Secure web form on our website
• Toll-free phone 24/7 — leave a voicemail we transcribe
• Text message to the same toll-free number

All channels are available 24/7/365 so people can use the method that feels safest. See features for details.

Yes. With Safe Hotline, reporters can file by web, phone, or text without giving their name, email, or phone number. We do not require identity to submit a report. Your organization receives the substance of the complaint without learning who filed it unless the reporter chooses to identify themselves. That is what “really anonymous” means here: the channel is built so tipsters stay unnamed by default.

Yes. Employees can send a text message detailing the concern to our toll-free number and remain anonymous — no name or callback is required. Text is one of three anonymous channels alongside web and phone. For status checks and two-way follow-up after filing, see anonymous follow-ups.

Yes — anonymity and follow-up are separate. Reporters keep a report key so they can answer investigator questions and check updates without identifying themselves. For web reports that opt in, Safe Hotline acts as an intermediary: your team asks questions through the system, the reporter is notified to reply, and you are notified when they respond — while the reporter stays anonymous.

Reporters use their report key to check status and answer questions without revealing who they are. On the Report Status page, they can see case updates and submit replies. When a web reporter opts in, admins ask questions by email through the system; the reporter is notified to reply; admins are notified when a response arrives. See anonymity and anonymous follow-ups for the privacy promise.

There are numerous examples of issues and concerns that can be reported anonymously and confidentially using Safe Hotline. Some examples are:

• Accounting Errors or Misrepresentations
• Bribery, Kickbacks, or Corruption
• Discrimination
• Embezzlement or Misappropriation of Assets
• Ethics Violation or Misconduct
• Falsification of Documentation
• Harassment or Violence
• Privacy Law, Identity Theft, or Security of Personal Information
• Substance Abuse
• Theft of Inventory or Assets
• Vandalism or Sabotage of Company Property
• Violation of the Law or Company Policy

We support reports made in English and Spanish.

No. All reported complaints can be viewed by authorized company personnel exactly as they were reported. Safe Hotline does not filter or rewrite the substance of reports before your team sees them.

An independent provider makes employees more confident that reports will not be traced back through internal channels — which usually means more tips and earlier detection. In some cases, the very person an employee would report is their immediate supervisor; a confidential third-party channel removes that barrier. More on our reasons page.

Yes. Case management is included with every plan at no extra charge. Administrators can track cases, attach notes and documents, assign access by role, set priority and status, and get email alerts when a new report is filed. See the case management page for a walkthrough.

All users set up with the Administrator role receive an email when a new report has been submitted. Notification by text message is optional. The first Administrator user is created during registration. Once notified, admins can go to our secure site and view the complaint in summary or detail format through our Case Management System.

You can set up as many users as you need. Users can also be set up in the Investigator role and then assigned and restricted to individual cases.

Admins have full rights, receive new-case email alerts, and can manage users and all cases. Investigators only see the cases assigned to them — useful when you want to limit access for sensitive investigations. You can add as many Admin and Investigator users as you need at no extra charge.

Yes. Investigator users are restricted to the individual cases assigned to them and do not see the full case list by default. Admins control those assignments in case management.

Yes. Optionally set up each location with a 10-digit location ID so the Location field fills in automatically when someone reports. You can also create location admin users who only have access to certain locations. Details are on the features page.

Reports stay in your case management system for as long as you’re a customer, and after that unless you ask us to delete them when you cancel.

It’s strongly recommended, and the IRS asks nonprofits about it on Form 990. Federal laws protect employees who report certain wrongdoing, such as accounting irregularities, from retaliation, so a written policy explaining how concerns are reported and handled is prudent business practice. Offering a hotline as part of that policy is a proactive detection measure that can help catch fraud sooner and limit losses.

Need a starting point? Use our free whistleblower policy template.

Running a nonprofit? See how a hotline supports a nonprofit whistleblower policy.

Our service is an integral component of a written whistleblower policy. We offer a safe and secure way for employees to report concerns about company incidents. In some cases, the very person an employee would like to report for unscrupulous practices is their immediate supervisor. Having a confidential way for an employee to voice complaints assures all employees that management embraces high standards of business and personal ethics and desires the best possible working environment.

The IRS believes a whistleblower policy is helpful because “a whistleblower policy encourages staff and volunteers to come forward with credible information on illegal practices or violations of adopted policies of the organization, specifies that the organization will protect the individual from retaliation and identifies those staff or board members or outside parties to whom such information can be reported.” (Quote taken from the Instructions for Form 990.)