How to get a car accident report in Tennessee

Step by step

1. Wait until the report is filed. The investigating agency (Highway Patrol, city police, or county sheriff) has 7 days from the crash date to submit its report to the State of Tennessee; some investigations take a bit longer. Reports are generally available about 7 days after the crash, so wait roughly a week before searching.
2. Gather your search details. You will need the date of the crash, the county where it occurred, the name(s) of the driver(s) involved, and the agency tracking number (the report/case number from the officer). If you don't have enough information, contact the investigating agency to get it.
3. Search on PurchaseTNCrash. Go to https://apps.tn.gov/purchasetncrash/, sign up as a new user (or log in as a returning user), and search using your crash details. The portal covers reports from all Tennessee agencies once submitted to the state.
4. Pay and download. Pay the $10.00 fee with a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover — prepaid cards are not accepted). After purchase you have 48 hours to download the report. For help call 1-866-468-4587 or email purchase.tncrash@tn.gov.
5. Cheaper alternatives ($4). To pay only $4.00, mail a cashier's check, money order, or personal/business check to Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, Financial Responsibility Division, PO Box 945, Nashville, TN 37202-0945 (allow 2-3 weeks), or buy the report in person at a THP District Office or at the original investigating agency's office.

State police / highway patrol crashes

Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) crashes are available through the same channels. Buy online at PurchaseTNCrash (https://apps.tn.gov/purchasetncrash/) for $10 by credit card; or pay $4 by mailing a check/money order to Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, Financial Responsibility Division, PO Box 945, Nashville, TN 37202-0945 (allow 2-3 weeks); or buy in person at a THP District Office (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis, Fall Branch, Cookeville, Lawrenceburg, Jackson), where THP-investigated reports are available about 7 days after the crash. Any driver, owner, passenger, or their agent or legal representative may purchase a copy.

Crashes handled by local police or sheriffs

The same statewide PurchaseTNCrash portal covers crashes written by local city police departments and county sheriffs — Tennessee law requires every investigating agency to submit its crash report to the State within 7 days, and the portal draws from that central database, so most local-agency reports appear online alongside THP reports. If you cannot locate the report online, or you don't have enough information to search, contact the investigating agency directly: for a crash inside a town or city, the local police department; for a crash outside city limits, the county sheriff's office. You can also buy the report in person at the original investigating agency's office for the $4 mail/in-person fee.

Tennessee agencies (10)

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

• Bells Police Dept
• Collegedale Police Dept
• Elizabethton Police Department
• Estill Springs Police Dept
• Gainesboro Police Dept
• Greene County Sheriff'S Office
• Loudon County Sheriff'S Office
• Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
• Pittman Center Police Dept
• Polk Co Sheriffs Dept

After you get the report

Use the report to support your insurance claim — it is the official record of the crash, showing the parties, vehicles, location/date, and the officer's narrative and diagram. Read it carefully for errors (misspelled names, wrong vehicle or insurance info, incorrect date/location, or a mistaken fault/narrative) and ask the investigating agency to correct any mistakes, since insurers and any later legal process rely on what it says.