Free tool

LEGO Missing Piece Checker

Rule out the usual hiding places first. If the piece really is gone, check the set piece by piece and leave with the element ID LEGO asks for, or a link to buy the part.

Before you call it missing

Builders who report a missing piece often find it in one of these places. Tick each one off as you look.

Every bag and the box. Shake out each bag, check its corners and seams, and look inside the empty box.
Inside what you have built. Small pieces lodge inside tubes, under plates and between studs. Turn the model over and look.
The last few steps. Compare each recent step with its parts callout. A piece used in the wrong place earlier leaves you one short later.
Look-alike colors. White and Trans-Clear, Light Gray and Light Bluish Gray, Black and Dark Bluish Gray: the color list below has more.
The spare pieces. Many sets include a few extra small pieces. Check them before you order a replacement.
The floor and your building area. Check under furniture, the chair and the edges of your building surface.

LEGO colors that look alike

The closest pairs among the colors used most across the catalog, measured from each color's reference value, plus a few pairs builders often confuse even though they measure further apart. When the colors will not settle it, the element ID will: the parts list at the back of the instructions gives each color its own. Pick a set above to see which of these pairs it uses for the same piece.

Trans-Red Red Trans-Red is see-through: hold the piece up to a light.
Trans-Clear White Trans-Clear is see-through: hold the piece up to a light.
Trans-Yellow Yellow Trans-Yellow is see-through: hold the piece up to a light.
Light Bluish Gray Light Gray Light Bluish Gray is bluer than Light Gray.
Dark Bluish Gray Dark Gray Dark Bluish Gray is bluer than Dark Gray.
Light Nougat Tan Light Nougat is bluer and lighter than Tan.
Trans-Orange Orange Trans-Orange is see-through: hold the piece up to a light.
Flat Silver Light Gray Flat Silver is darker than Light Gray.
Flat Silver Dark Bluish Gray Flat Silver is lighter than Dark Bluish Gray.
Flat Silver Light Bluish Gray Flat Silver is darker than Light Bluish Gray.
Medium Azure Dark Turquoise Medium Azure is lighter than Dark Turquoise.
Dark Brown Reddish Brown Dark Brown is greener and darker than Reddish Brown.
Tan Dark Tan Tan is lighter than Dark Tan.
Dark Blue Black Dark Blue is bluer and lighter than Black.
Dark Bluish Gray Black Dark Bluish Gray is lighter than Black.

When a piece really is missing

Ask LEGO

LEGO takes requests for pieces missing from a new set through its customer service site. The form asks for the set number and each piece's element ID, the number printed beside the piece in the parts list at the back of the instructions. This checker lists both.

Request a replacement from LEGO

Buy the piece

Mark a piece missing and your list links it to an eBay search for that part, which also covers pieces from older or second-hand sets.

Keep a record

Copy or download your missing list (the CSV opens in any spreadsheet), or print the whole checklist and tick pieces off on paper. Your marks stay in this browser, so you can check a big set over several sittings.