How to get a car accident report in Connecticut

Step by step

1. Get the free summary first (optional). Within about 30 days of the crash you can pull a free, non-official Accident Information Summary at accidents.despp.ct.gov. It's informational only — useful to grab your report/case number, but it is not the official police report insurers want.
2. Buy the official report online via BuyCrash. For most Connecticut State Police crashes (and many municipal-PD crashes), buy the official report at BuyCrash (buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com), typically 10-30 business days after the crash. Select Connecticut, choose the reporting agency, and enter the involved party's last name, the date of the accident, and the report number. Cost is the $16 state fee (C.G.S. §29-10b) plus a small BuyCrash convenience fee; download instantly.
3. If it's not online, request from DESPP directly. For State Police reports not yet posted, or for serious-injury, fatal, or investigative reports, submit a request through the CT DESPP GovQA online customer portal, or mail form DPS-96-C with a $16 check/money order to DESPP Reports & Records Unit, 1111 Country Club Road, Middletown, CT 06457. The $16 search fee is non-refundable even if no report is found.
4. For a local-agency crash, route to that town's PD. If a city or town police department responded (Connecticut has no county-sheriff patrol), check whether that agency is listed on BuyCrash and buy it there. If the town isn't on BuyCrash, contact that department's Records Division directly (in person or by mail); each municipality sets its own copy fee.
5. Use and review the report. Give the report/case number to your insurer and read the report for errors before relying on it (see below).

State police / highway patrol crashes

Connecticut State Police crashes are handled by DESPP. Free non-official Accident Information Summary at accidents.despp.ct.gov (available 30 days). The official certified copy is sold at BuyCrash (buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com) roughly 10-30 business days after the crash for the $16 state fee (C.G.S. §29-10b) plus a BuyCrash convenience fee — enter Connecticut, the involved party's last name, the crash date, and the report number. Reports not yet online, or serious-injury/fatal/investigative reports, are requested through the DESPP GovQA online portal or by mailing form DPS-96-C with a $16 payment to the DESPP Reports & Records Unit, 1111 Country Club Road, Middletown, CT 06457.

Crashes handled by local police or sheriffs

Connecticut has no county-sheriff road patrol (county government was abolished and state marshals replaced sheriffs), so local crashes are worked by a municipal police department. The state's DESPP path only covers Connecticut State Police reports. For a municipal-PD crash, first check BuyCrash (buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com) — many CT towns (e.g., Rocky Hill PD) post their reports there; select that agency and enter last name + date + report number. If the town does not participate in BuyCrash, request the report directly from that police department's Records Division (in person or by mail); the town, not the state, sets the fee.

Connecticut agencies (62)

Pick the agency that responded to your crash for its exact request process:

• Ansonia Police Department
• Avon Police Department Ct
• Berlin Ct Police Department
• Bethel Police Department
• Bloomfield Police Department
• Branford Police Department
• Bridgeport Police Department
• Bristol Police Department Ct
• Brookfield Police Department
• Canton Police Department Ct
• Cheshire Police Department
• City of Groton
• Connecticut State Police
• Coventry Police Department
• Danbury Police Department
• Delaware River Port Authority
• East Hampton Police Department
• East Hartford Police Department
• East Haven Police Department
• Enfield Police Department - Ct
• Fairfield Police Department
• Farmington Police Department Ct
• Glastonbury Police Department
• Greenwich Police Department
• Guilford Police Department
• Hamden Police Department
• Middlebury Police Department
• Middletown Police Deparment
• Milford Police Department Ct
• Naugatuck Police Department
• New Britain Police Department
• New Canaan Police Department
• New Haven Police Department
• Newington Police Department
• Newtown Police Department
• North Branford Police Department
• North Haven Police Department
• Norwalk Police Department
• Old Saybrook Police Department
• Orange (Ct) Police Department
• Plainfield Police Department
• Putnam Police Department
• Rocky Hill Police Department
• Seymour Police Department
• Shelton Police Department
• Simsbury Police Department
• Southbury Police Department
• Stamford Police Department
• Stratford Police Department
• Torrington Police Department
• Trumbull Police Department
• Vernon Police Department Ct
• Wallingford Police Department
• Waterbury Police Department
• Waterford Police Department
• Watertown Police Department
• West Hartford Police Department
• Westport Police Department
• Willimantic Police Department
• Wilton Police Department
• Wolcott Police Department
• Woodbridge Police Department

After you get the report

Use the official report for your insurance claim — it carries the report/case number, involved parties and their insurance and vehicle info, the officer's diagram and narrative, and any citations, which is what the insurer's adjuster relies on. Read it closely for errors: misspelled names, wrong plate, VIN or insurance details, an inaccurate crash diagram, or a mistaken fault/contributing-factor notation. If something is wrong, ask the issuing agency (DESPP Reports & Records for State Police, or the town's records division for a local crash) to file a correction or supplemental report, since an uncorrected error can affect your claim or liability.