How to Get a Copy of a Police Report

To get a police report, request it from the law-enforcement agency that responded to the incident. For a traffic crash, that is the investigating agency, which releases it through one channel: LexisNexis BuyCrash, Carfax crashdocs.org, a state DOT portal, or its own records division. Fees and access rules vary by state and by agency.

This guide covers how to get a police report you are named in, whether you request the copy online, by mail, or in person. FindMyReport is an independent guide, not a government website. It teaches the universal process that works in every state, then points you to the county accident-report directory to find your agency's exact channel and its working link.

How do you get a copy of a police report?

You get a copy by identifying the agency that filed it, gathering the report or case number, the incident date, and the involved parties' names, then requesting it through that agency's channel. Parties named in the record can order online, by mail, or in person.

The process is the same across states, even though the fee and the eligibility rules change. Follow these five steps.

1. Identify the law-enforcement agency that responded to the incident. For a crash, that is the police department, sheriff's office, or state patrol whose officer investigated the scene.
2. Gather your identifiers: the report or case number, the incident date, the location, and the names of the drivers involved.
3. Find the agency's report channel: LexisNexis BuyCrash, Carfax crashdocs.org, a state DOT or DMV portal, or the agency's own records division.
4. Submit the request through that channel and pay the fee if one applies. Confirm your eligibility first in states that restrict access.
5. Receive the copy as an online download, by mail, or in person, and choose a certified copy if a court or insurer requires one.

The single point people miss is that only the agency that wrote it can release the copy. A city police department, a county sheriff, and the state patrol each keep their own records, so you request from whichever one worked your scene.

Where do you request the report: online, in person, or by mail?

Agencies release reports through one of four channels: LexisNexis BuyCrash, Carfax crashdocs.org, a state DOT or DMV portal, or directly from the records division. A police report online usually comes from one of the two third-party portals or a state system. In-person and mail requests go to the records division itself.

Channel	Who uses it	How you access it	Typical fee
LexisNexis BuyCrash	Many local police agencies	Online, by report number and party names	$10 to $20, set by the agency
Carfax crashdocs.org	Agencies contracted with Carfax	Online, by report number and date	$0 to $15, varies by agency
State DOT or DMV portal	Statewide systems (Texas CRIS, Florida crash portal)	Online, by name, date, and crash ID	Fixed by the state (Texas $6 or $8)
Direct from the agency	Any agency, for in-person or mail requests	Records division counter, mail, or form	Low or free under public-records law

Only one channel holds your report, so the task is matching your agency to its channel rather than searching all four. Some agencies also publish the ORI, the FBI-assigned code that identifies a law-enforcement agency, which acts as the join key that links records across systems. To skip the guesswork, open the accident-report directory and select your county, or read the breakdown of which portal actually holds your report before you buy.

What information do you need to request a report?

To request one you need the report or case number, the incident date, the location, the involved drivers' names, and the agency name. Portals match your record using these identifiers, so gather them before you search.

Keep this checklist ready:

• The report or case number printed on the officer's exchange card.
• The date and approximate time of the incident.
• The location, such as the street, intersection, or city.
• The names of the drivers or parties involved.
• The agency that responded, so you know which channel to open.

Most of these appear on the exchange card the officer hands out at the scene. If you have that card, you have almost everything a portal asks for.

How do you look up a police report by case number?

Enter the report or case number in the agency's portal, along with the incident date and a party's last name. The case number, printed on the officer's exchange card, is the fastest identifier that LexisNexis BuyCrash, Carfax crashdocs.org, and state portals use to locate your record.

If you do not have the number, you are not stuck. The issuing agency's records division can find it by your name, the incident date, and the location, then give you the case number to complete an online order.

Who can request a copy of a police report?

Who can obtain a copy varies by state. Florida keeps crash reports confidential for 60 days, releasing them in that window only to involved parties, their insurers, and their legal representatives, under Florida Statute 316.066. Texas limits full copies to interested parties and gives everyone else a redacted copy.

Access is restricted because a crash report is a records-retrieval document for the people involved, not a consumer report. FindMyReport is not a consumer reporting agency, and a police-report lookup must never be used to decide employment, housing, or other eligibility, which the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681a, governs. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. 2721, protects personal details in motor-vehicle records, which is why an agency redacts a copy for a requester without a permitted purpose.

A crash report documents a collision. It is not a determination of fault or guilt, and an officer's note about a contributing factor is an observation, not a legal finding. This page is general information, not legal advice; confirm your eligibility and any rights with the issuing agency or a licensed attorney in your state. Whether a police report counts as a public record also depends on the state and its type: many states treat a crash report as public, often after a confidentiality window, while active criminal-investigation reports are frequently exempt. Confirm the rule with the issuing agency before you request.

How much does a copy of a police report cost?

A copy's cost depends on the agency and channel. Texas charges $6 for a regular report and $8 for a certified copy through CRIS. Idaho charges $7 through its ITD portal. LexisNexis BuyCrash fees, set by each agency, commonly run about $10 to $20. Carfax crashdocs.org ranges from free to about $15.

Channel	Typical fee	Source
Texas CRIS (state portal)	$6 regular, $8 certified	TxDOT
Idaho ITD (state portal)	$7.00	Idaho Transportation Department
LexisNexis BuyCrash	$10 to $20, agency sets it	LexisNexis BuyCrash
Carfax crashdocs.org	$0 to $15, some agencies release free	Carfax crashdocs.org
Direct from the agency	Low or free under public-records law	Agency records division

There is no single national fee, so confirm the amount on your agency's own page before you pay. For a worked state example, Idaho's crash report guide shows the $7 ITD portal fee in context. The correction or removal of a record is never a paid service on this site. When a fee applies, it goes to the agency or its portal vendor, never to FindMyReport.

What is the difference between a certified copy and an informational copy?

A certified copy is stamped as an official record for court, legal, or insurance use. An informational copy carries the same facts without that certification, and a redacted copy has protected personal data removed. Texas issues a certified CR-3 to interested parties and a redacted copy to everyone else, under Transportation Code 550.065.

Type	What it is	When you need it
Certified copy	The official record, carrying the agency's seal	Court filings and some insurance claims
Informational copy	The same document, unsealed, for reference	Personal records and most claim needs
Redacted copy	Personal details removed under the DPPA	Requesters without a permitted purpose

The redaction is driven by the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, which shields addresses, license numbers, and other personal data in motor-vehicle records. An involved party usually receives the full copy, while a non-interested requester receives the redacted version. Ask the agency which type it issues to your category of requester before you order.

How do you get a copy of a police report from another state?

To get a copy from another state, use that state's own channel rather than a national database. Florida routes through the FLHSMV crash portal; Texas routes through TxDOT CRIS. Find the correct state and county in the directory to reach the right official source.

State records are governed by that state's open-records law, not the federal FOIA, which applies only to federal agencies. That is why there is no single nationwide lookup, and why the routing step matters. Open Florida's FLHSMV crash report page or the Texas crash report page (TxDOT CRIS) for those two states, or start at the national directory to find the agency and channel for anywhere else.

Is getting a copy the same as filing a new report?

Getting a copy is not the same as filing a report. A copy is an existing record you retrieve after an officer files it. Filing a new report means reporting a fresh incident to police. This guide covers retrieving an existing record, not filing one.

The two intents get tangled because both use the phrase "police report online." Filing online means submitting a new incident to a police department's reporting system, which returns a temporary transaction number. Getting a copy online means buying or downloading a record an officer has already written. If you were in a crash and an officer responded, you need the copy path described on this page.

How long does it take to get a copy?

Once an officer completes the report, it usually appears on a portal within 24 to 48 hours. LexisNexis BuyCrash states that "authorized parties have access to crash reports within 24 to 48 hours of crash report completion." Counting the officer's filing time, the practical wait runs from a few days up to about two weeks.

The wait comes in two parts: the officer writing and filing it, which is the slow part, and the portal publishing the copy, which is fast. For the full breakdown of how long the wait usually runs by channel and why it varies, see the timing guide.

Next step: once you have the copy, learn to make sense of the codes on your report, and open the county accident-report directory to find your agency's exact channel and go straight to your copy.