FindMyReport

Independent guide — not a government website and not affiliated with any agency. We link to official sources.

How to get a car accident report in New York

New York provides crash reports statewide through Order Crash Reports Online (NY DMV Crash Report Sales Portal) — DMV page: "Order and Access Motor Vehicle Crash (Accident) Reports" — including crashes handled by local police and county sheriffs.

Official source

Order Crash Reports Online (NY DMV Crash Report Sales Portal) — DMV page: "Order and Access Motor Vehicle Crash (Accident) Reports"

Official New York crash-report source — $7.00 search fee + $15.00 report fee per report (online self-service, instant certified PDF). Agent-assisted via Records Request Navigator: $10 search + $15/report. The $15 report-copy fee is set by NY Vehicle & Traffic Law § 202.. Covers agencies statewide.

Open the official portal→

Source: New York — Order Crash Reports Online (NY DMV Crash Report Sales Portal) — DMV page: "Order and Access Motor Vehicle Crash (Accident) Reports". Checked 2026-07-24. Details can change — always confirm with the official source.

Step by step

  1. Check availability timing. Wait until the report is in the DMV system: electronically filed reports from the 5 NYC boroughs are available ~14 days after the crash, paper police reports ~30 days, and motorist-filed reports ~60 days.
  2. Log in with NY.gov ID. Go to the DMV crash-report page and click 'Order Crash Reports Online' (https://getcrashreports.dmv.ny.gov). Sign in with an existing NY.gov ID or create one (email verification, shared secrets, and two-factor setup are required).
  3. Search for the report. Enter at least one identifier — DMV case number (8-digit), local police code, date + county of crash, VIN, plate number, or driver license number. Some fields prompt for a second piece of information to run the search.
  4. Certify and add to cart. Certify you are legally authorized to obtain the report (repeat this for each new search), then add one or more matching reports to your cart.
  5. Pay and download. Pay the $7.00 search fee + $15.00 report fee per report in one transaction and immediately download the certified PDF. Purchased reports remain accessible in the portal for 7 calendar days.
  6. Use an alternate path if needed. For minor crashes (no injury and property damage ≤ $1,000), e-bike/e-scooter crashes, or if you can't self-search, order via the Records Request Navigator ($10 search + $15/report) or mail form MV-198C to: NYS DMV, MV-198C Processing, 6 Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12228.

State police / highway patrol crashes

No separate State Police portal is needed. NY State Police file their crash investigations on the same MV-104A police accident report with DMV, so a State Police-investigated crash report is obtained the identical way — through the DMV Order Crash Reports Online portal (getcrashreports.dmv.ny.gov), or via the Records Request Navigator / mailed MV-198C. (A NY State Police record can alternatively be requested directly from NYSP under FOIL, but the DMV central system is the standard, fastest route.)

Crashes handled by local police or sheriffs

Same statewide portal. New York DMV is the central repository for essentially all police accident reports (form MV-104A) — crashes worked by city police departments, town/village police, and county sheriffs are filed with DMV just like State Police reports, so you obtain them through the single Order Crash Reports Online portal (getcrashreports.dmv.ny.gov), NOT from individual agencies and NOT through a separate BuyCrash/Carfax site. NYC (5-borough) electronic reports post ~14 days after the crash; other paper police reports ~30 days. Sub-threshold, e-bike/e-scooter, or hard-to-locate reports go through the Records Request Navigator or a mailed MV-198C. (Some local agencies also sell their own copies directly, but the DMV central system is the canonical route and already covers local-agency reports.)

New York agencies (125)

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

After you get the report

Use the certified crash report (MV-104A) to open or support your auto-insurance claim and any injury/liability claim — insurers and attorneys rely on the officer's diagram, narrative, and contributing-factor notations. Review every detail (date, location, vehicle/plate, driver and insurance info, and fault indicators); if something is wrong, contact the investigating police agency to request a correction or amendment — DMV sells the report but does not edit the officer's findings.