How to get a car accident report in New Hampshire

New Hampshire provides crash reports statewide through NH DMV Crash Report Request — Form DSMV 505 (Request for Motor Vehicle Records), Concord Drop Box / mail — including crashes handled by local police and county sheriffs.

Official source

NH DMV Crash Report Request — Form DSMV 505 (Request for Motor Vehicle Records), Concord Drop Box / mail

Official New Hampshire crash-report source — $1.00 per page, $5.00 minimum. Covers agencies statewide.

Open the official portal→

Source: New Hampshire — NH DMV Crash Report Request — Form DSMV 505 (Request for Motor Vehicle Records), Concord Drop Box / mail. Checked 2026-07-24. Details can change — always confirm with the official source.

Step by step

Identify the investigating agency and gather crash details. Determine whether NH State Police or a local city PD / county sheriff worked the crash, and collect the date, town/location, driver and owner names, and the case/report number if you have it. All investigating officers file the DSMV 159 police report and forward a copy to the NH DMV within 5 days (RSA 264:26), so the DMV holds a central copy statewide.
Complete Form DSMV 505 (Request for Motor Vehicle Records). Download and fill out DSMV 505 from the NH DMV (https://www.dmv.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt416/files/inline-documents/dsmv505.pdf). You must identify yourself, the involved party, the crash date/location, and your permissible-use / relationship — because NH crash reports are confidential motor-vehicle records under RSA 260:14, not open public records.
Submit via the Concord Drop Box (or mail). The DMV directs that DSMV 505 crash-report requests be submitted using the Concord Drop Box ONLY, or mailed to: NH Dept. of Safety, DMV – FR / Accidents, 23 Hazen Drive, Concord NH 03305.
Pay the fee — $1.00/page, $5.00 minimum. Enclose a check for the $5.00 minimum (the DMV contacts you if the cost is higher — include a phone number and/or email), or predetermine the exact cost first by emailing NH.DMVHelp@dos.nh.gov or calling (603) 227-4010.
Third-party, someone-else's, or fatal reports need extra handling. To release your report to another party or to request another individual's report, email NH.DMVHelp@dos.nh.gov or call (603) 227-4010 (access is restricted). Fatal-crash reports must first be 'released' — a copy goes to the County Attorney, who may withhold it pending litigation; allow ~30 working days once released and possibly several months overall.
Local-agency shortcut (alternative). Instead of the central DMV copy, you can request the report directly from the investigating municipal PD or sheriff. Many NH agencies sell crash reports online through LexisNexis BuyCrash (buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com, ~$10-15) once the agency uploads the report.

State police / highway patrol crashes

NH State Police (NHSP) troopers investigate a crash on the DSMV 159 Uniform Police Traffic Accident Report and forward it to the NH DMV; NHSP has no dedicated crash-report portal (its only public records unit is the Criminal Records Unit). To obtain a state-police-investigated crash report, use the same central path — submit Form DSMV 505 to the DMV Concord Drop Box (or mail to DMV – FR/Accidents, 23 Hazen Drive, Concord NH 03305), $1/page/$5 min, NH.DMVHelp@dos.nh.gov or (603) 227-4010 — or contact the investigating NHSP Troop directly. Location-specific crash DATA (not individual reports) comes from NH DOT at (603) 271-1699; fatal-crash questions go to the DMV Fatal Crash Unit at (603) 227-4185.

Crashes handled by local police or sheriffs

Two routes. (1) Central DMV copy: because every investigating officer forwards the DSMV 159 report to the NH DMV (RSA 264:26), a crash worked by a local city PD or county sheriff can be requested from the DMV with Form DSMV 505 via the Concord Drop Box ($1/page, $5 min). (2) Direct from the investigating agency: many NH municipal police departments distribute their own crash reports online through LexisNexis BuyCrash (https://buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com/ui/report/search?state=NH, ~$10-15, 24-48h after the agency uploads); agencies not on BuyCrash take requests directly (by mail, in person, or per their records process). Access remains limited to involved/interested parties under RSA 260:14.

Who can get the report: NH motor-vehicle records — which include DMV-held crash/accident reports — are confidential by statute, NOT open public records. RSA 260:14, II(a): 'Notwithstanding RSA 91-A [Right-to-Know Law] or any other provision of law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this section, such records shall not be public records or open to the inspection of any person.' Access is limited to involved parties, their personal representatives (RSA 260:14 defines 'Person' to include the injured/killed party's representative, conservator, executor, administrator, or next of kin), and DPPA-permissible-use requesters; the DMV requires you to email/call to release your report to a third party or to obtain another individual's report. Narrow exception: a crash report involving a vehicle owned/leased by the state, a county, a city, a town, or a local public entity IS a governmental record subject to RSA 91-A disclosure (RSA 260:14, II-a). Because ordinary private-party reports are confidential, the site must stay process-only (how to request), not offer a public lookup.

New Hampshire agencies (8)

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

After you get the report

Use the crash report to support your insurance claim — give it to your insurer/adjuster; it documents the date, parties, vehicles, and available insurance information (note: NH police reports record the facts but do NOT assign fault). Review it carefully for errors — misspelled names, wrong plate/VIN, incorrect insurance, or wrong location — and contact the investigating officer or agency to request a correction before the record propagates to your driving history (crash involvement stays on the NH driver record for 5 years).