A city or municipal police department often investigates traffic collisions within its boundaries. To obtain the report, identify the exact agency, locate its official records process, and provide enough information to match the correct incident. The request is separate from filing an insurance claim and may also be separate from state motor-vehicle reporting requirements.
Identify the correct local police department
Use the report number, officer information, exchange card, citation, tow receipt, or photographs from the scene. Do not assume that a mailing address identifies the agency: highways, unincorporated areas, campuses, transit systems, airports, and neighboring jurisdictions may be handled by different departments. If uncertain, call the non-emergency line for the collision location and ask which agency responded.
Use the agency’s official records page
On the department or city website, look for a records division, police reports, traffic collision reports, or public-records section. The agency may offer an online portal, mail form, email procedure, telephone appointment, or in-person pickup. Some departments use an outside report vendor. When that happens, access the vendor through the government website rather than through a sponsored search result.
Read the eligibility rules before paying. Collision reports may be limited to involved drivers, passengers, owners, injured people, parents or guardians, insurers, attorneys, and authorized representatives. A report involving a juvenile, arrest, death, or open investigation may require a different process or additional review.
Gather the request details
Common matching information includes the report or incident number, collision date and time, precise location or cross streets, involved-party names, vehicle descriptions, plate numbers, and your relationship to the event. The agency may request identification, a signed declaration, authorization, or proof of relationship. Provide accurate information and avoid sending unrelated private documents.
Ask whether the basic report includes the officer narrative, diagram, witness information, photographs, supplements, citations, or dispatch details. Additional materials may be stored separately and may require their own request. If you need a certified copy for a formal proceeding, confirm that before ordering.
How long does a report take?
A report may not be available immediately. It can require officer completion, supervisor review, corrections, redaction, and approval for release. Processing can take longer for serious injuries, fatalities, arrests, extensive diagrams, multiple vehicles, or ongoing investigations. Save the confirmation number and follow the agency’s stated status procedure instead of submitting duplicate requests.
Reviewing the collision report
Compare the report with the exchange information and your own notes. Check the date, time, location, driver and owner names, vehicle descriptions, insurance information, passengers, witnesses, direction of travel, roadway conditions, diagram, and narrative. Police reports reflect information available to the officer; later symptoms, repair findings, video, or witnesses may not appear.
If a factual detail is incorrect, ask the records or traffic unit about a correction, amendment, or supplemental statement. Distinguish a clerical error from a conclusion you disagree with. The officer may not revise an opinion, but the department may have a method for preserving additional documentation. Never alter the original report.
Do not confuse related filings
A police report does not automatically open an insurance claim. Notify the appropriate insurer and preserve the claim number and communications. In California, the DMV SR-1 requirement is separate from a police report. In Texas, eligible peace-officer crash reports may also be purchased through TxDOT’s CR-3 system.
Protect personal information
Store the report securely. Before sharing a working copy, redact Social Security numbers, license numbers, birth dates, addresses, medical-record numbers, and unrelated witness information unless the recipient genuinely needs them. Use secure delivery for an unredacted report.
See the online request guide, sheriff’s report guide, and our overview of collision police reports.
General educational information only. Verify current request methods, fees, eligibility, and processing times with the investigating agency.