FindMyReport

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How to get a car accident report in Illinois

Illinois provides state-police crash reports through Illinois State Police Crash Reports – E-Pay (Obtain a Copy of a Crash Report Online). Crashes handled by local police or county sheriffs are requested from the responding agency (listed below).

Official source

Illinois State Police Crash Reports – E-Pay (Obtain a Copy of a Crash Report Online)

Official Illinois crash-report source — $5.00 statutory fee per report ($20 for a crash-reconstruction report), plus an E-Pay service fee of 2.35% ($1.00 minimum) for credit-card payments. Requesting by mail avoids the online service fee. NOT free (seed 'free' was wrong — confirmed against 625 ILCS 5/11-416 and the live E-Pay page).. State-police crashes; locals request from the responding agency.

Open the official portal

Source: Illinois — Illinois State Police Crash Reports – E-Pay (Obtain a Copy of a Crash Report Online). Checked 2026-07-24. Details can change — always confirm with the official source.

Step by step

  1. Confirm which agency investigated the crash. Look at the 'Investigated By' / investigating-agency box in the upper-left of the motorist crash report. Only crashes investigated by the Illinois State Police go through the ISP E-Pay portal; if it names a city police department or county sheriff, you must request from that agency instead. No report on hand? Call ISP Patrol Records at 217-785-0614 to check.
  2. Gather your search details. Have ready the Agency Crash Report Number (upper-middle of the motorist report), the driver's first and last name, the crash date, the crash location (e.g., Interstate 55, State Route 29, U.S. Route 50), and the county. The report number plus driver name locate the report fastest.
  3. Order an ISP report via E-Pay (or by mail). Go to the ISP Crash Reports E-Pay portal (isp.illinois.gov/CrashReports/EPay), enter your details, and pay the $5 statutory fee ($20 for a reconstruction report) plus the 2.35%/$1-minimum card service fee. To avoid the service fee, mail the request to ISP Patrol Records, 801 South 7th Street, Suite 600-M, Springfield, IL 62703. You may cart up to 30 reports at once.
  4. Wait for approval and delivery. E-Pay does not return the report instantly — requests are processed in the order received and may take 10 or more business days. The redacted report is emailed from ISP.CrashReport@illinois.gov (subject 'Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Report'); check your spam/junk folder.
  5. For a local-agency crash, request from that agency. If a city PD or county sheriff investigated, request from that department's records unit. Many Illinois agencies deliver reports online through LexisNexis BuyCrash (buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com, state=IL); others fulfill by direct request or FOIA. Local fees are capped at $5 by statute ($20 reconstruction), though online vendors add convenience fees.

State police / highway patrol crashes

Order the Illinois State Police report through the ISP Crash Reports E-Pay portal at https://isp.illinois.gov/CrashReports/EPay, or request it by mail to ISP Patrol Records, 801 South 7th Street, Suite 600-M, Springfield, IL 62703 (phone 217-785-0614; email ISP.CrashReport@illinois.gov). First verify ISP handled the crash via the 'Investigated By' box on the motorist report. Fee is $5 per report ($20 for a crash-reconstruction report) under 625 ILCS 5/11-416; E-Pay adds a 2.35%/$1-minimum card service fee (mail avoids it). The report is emailed as a FOIA-redacted copy and typically takes 10 or more business days.

Crashes handled by local police or sheriffs

Crashes investigated by LOCAL agencies (city police, county sheriffs) are NOT in the ISP E-Pay portal — the ISP page explicitly says ISP 'rarely handles traffic crashes occurring on municipal streets' and directs you to 'contact the listed investigating agency.' Illinois has no single statewide portal for local reports (this is why it is bucket B). You obtain a local report directly from the investigating agency's records unit. Many Illinois municipal and county agencies deliver crash reports online through LexisNexis BuyCrash (buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com / policereports.lexisnexis.com, state=IL — live search shows IL jurisdictions such as Palos Park PD and Eureka PD); others require a direct/FOIA request or use their own system (e.g., Chicago Police Department). Statute caps the agency copy fee at $5 ($20 for reconstruction), though online vendors add their own service fee.

Illinois agencies (600)

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

After you get the report

Use the report to file and support an auto-insurance claim — it supplies the report number, date, parties, vehicles, and the officer's fault/citation notes that insurers rely on. Read it carefully and check for errors: misspelled names, wrong plate/VIN, incorrect date or location, or an inaccurate fault determination or narrative. If something is wrong, contact the investigating agency to request a correction or amendment, since errors can affect your claim and liability. Note the copy you receive is FOIA-redacted, so some personal identifiers will be blacked out.