How to Get a Crash Report in California

The agency that investigated your crash holds the report. The CHP can only provide copies of crash reports it investigated itself. If a city police department or another agency handled your crash, ask that agency for the report.^1,2

Police departments send the CHP's main office in Sacramento their crash reports each month. The CHP uses crash reports to collect traffic safety data. That does not mean the CHP can give you a copy of a police department's report. It only releases reports it investigated.^2,4,5

The CHP's crash investigation manual says Caltrans keeps copies of all crash reports related to state highways for ten years from the month of the crash. The manual sends requests for duplicates that are missing from local files or have been purged to the Caltrans Legal Division.⁵

CHP Headquarters keeps copies of fatal crash reports for the current year plus three years.⁵

Online: If the CHP investigated your crash and you are a proper Party of Interest, you can request a copy through the CHP Crash Portal. You do not have to go to the CHP Area office where the report was filed.^3,6

In person: Go to any CHP office and fill out form CHP 190. You pay a fee for a copy of a CHP-investigated report. You can get a CHP report from any CHP Area in the state, no matter which CHP Area handled the crash. Reports can be picked up during normal business hours. Any CHP office can also arrange to mail the copy to your address.^2,3,7,8

By mail: Fill out form CHP 190 (Application for Release of Information), or write a personal letter. The form is available in English and Spanish. Mail it to the CHP office that filed the report. Include a photocopy of your driver license, proof that you are a proper Party of Interest, and a personal check or money order made out to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP checks that you are a proper party of interest. Once it has your payment, it mails a copy to your address. You can request a report by mail even if you live outside California.^2,8

Through your insurer: You can have your insurance provider get a copy of the report and give one to you. The CHP says this may save you the report fee.²

By e-mail or fax: CHP General Order 110.2 lists other ways a CHP Area can provide a report. It can e-mail a copy to an address you ask for. It can also fax a copy to another CHP Area or to another location you ask for.⁷

The date of the crash. If you do not know the exact date, give an approximate one.³

The location of the crash. If you do not know the exact location, give as much detail as you can.³

The name of the driver or owner of the vehicle. If only your property was damaged, give your own name and address.³

A photocopy of your driver license or photo ID card. If you have neither, your CHP 190 must be certified by a notary.²

Proof that you are a proper Party of Interest. When you sign the CHP 190, you declare under penalty of perjury that you are the party of interest you checked on the form.^2,9

For a mailed request, the CHP FAQ also asks for a copy of your CHP 418 Crash Report Information card. CHP officers normally hand this form to the people involved at the crash scene. It tells them the crash report will be available.^5,8

The report number, if you know it. The CHP asks you to write it on your check.²

If you represent an insurance company or adjusting agency, it must have insured someone involved in the crash at the time of the accident. You must give a policy or claim number.⁹

The CHP's posted charges for a copy are $10.00 for 1 to 25 pages, $20.00 for 26 to 50 pages, $30.00 for 51 to 75 pages and $40.00 for 76 to 100 pages. For a report over 100 pages, add $10.00 for each extra 25 pages or part of 25 pages.^2,7

The CHP does not add any charge for handling or mailing.²

The CHP tells you to check the exact fee with the office where the report was filed or the Area office you are sending your CHP 190 to.^2,3

Paying by mail: Send a personal check or money order made out to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP does not accept cash for mailed requests. It says it does not accept credit or debit cards at this time.²

Paying in person: The CHP FAQ says you can pay by cash or check. It tells you to ask your local Area office about the fee.⁸

Under CHP General Order 110.2, a person with a proper interest can review the whole report without charge.⁷

Under Vehicle Code 20012, the fee for a copy of an accident report may not exceed the actual cost of providing the copy.¹

The CHP advises you to call the CHP office handling your crash before you go, to see whether your report is ready to pick up.⁸

Under CHP General Order 110.2, the CHP can share only a few details with the public until the report is complete. Those details are the time, date and location of the crash, the make of the vehicles and the names of the occupants. Occupant names are not released for fatal crashes.⁷

The CHP's crash investigation manual says crash reports are to be kept for at least four years from the date of the crash. The CHP keeps reports of crashes that involve felony charges for serious injury or death for seven years. It keeps unsolved fatal hit-and-run investigations indefinitely.⁵

Vehicle Code 20012 says required accident reports are for the confidential use of the DMV and the CHP. The same law says reports are released to any person with a proper interest. The CHP says any involved or interested party can get a copy.^1,2

The CHP lists these as proper Parties of Interest: drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians, passengers, parents of minors, legal guardians, vehicle or property owners, legal representatives, manufacturer representatives, and insurance companies with a valid claim or policy number. It also names attorneys, the coroner and Caltrans as interested parties.^2,3

Vehicle Code 20012 also covers the drivers' guardians or conservators, the parent of a minor driver, a driver's authorized representative and any named injured person. It also covers owners of damaged vehicles or property and anyone who may face civil liability. Attorneys who declare under penalty of perjury that they represent any of these people are covered too. CHP policy also lets anyone named in a legal action over the crash buy a copy.^1,7

Parents of adult children do not have a proper interest unless the adult child involved in the crash has signed an authorization.⁷

For a fatal crash, CHP policy gives proper interest to the surviving spouse, minor children through their guardians, or a family member appointed by a court under Probate Code 6401.⁷

If one crash caused or contributed to later crashes, all drivers and passengers in all of those reports have a proper interest.⁷

If you are requesting as someone's representative, you must complete a CHP 190 before you buy the report. A written statement that you represent a person with a proper interest counts as a declaration under penalty of perjury. It allows the report to be released to the attorney or the attorney's named agent.⁷

Insurance company representatives must give the policy or claim number that was in effect at the time of the crash, along with the name of the insured. The CHP FAQ says a licensed insurance agent needs a signed release from an involved party.^7,8,9

Manufacturer representatives need a letter from the manufacturer, dated within the last 12 months, confirming their authority. They qualify only for crashes involving the manufacturer's make of vehicle or a vehicle with its component installed.⁷

If you are not sure you qualify, contact any CHP Area office to check whether you are a proper Party of Interest.³

If a city police department or another law enforcement agency investigated your crash, request the report from that agency. The CHP cannot provide reports it did not investigate.^1,2

If you do not know which police department investigated your crash, contact your local police department or a CHP office. They can help you find the right agency.²

Vehicle Code 20012 applies to local agencies too. The agency your crash was reported to is responsible for releasing its reports to people with a proper interest. The fee for a copy may not exceed the actual cost of providing it.¹

The CHP's crash investigation manual says other agencies should set crash report retention schedules that suit their own needs.⁵

You must report some crashes to the DMV yourself on form SR-1. You, or your insurance agent, broker or legal representative, must send it within 10 days if anyone was injured (however minor) or killed, or if property damage was over $1,000. This applies to crashes on a California street or highway or on private property.^10,11,12

The driver must file the SR-1 regardless of fault. A report to the police, the CHP or your insurance company does not replace it. You need an SR-1 as well.^10,12

You can file online with the DMV's "Start an SR-1" button. You can also mail a paper SR-1 to DMV Insurance Unit, Mail Station J237, P.O. Box 942884, Sacramento, CA 94284-0884. The DMV says paper forms are likely to take longer to process. A Spanish version of the form is available as a PDF.^10,12

Before you file, have these ready: your driver license or ID card, your license plate number or VIN, your insurance information, and the other party's vehicle and insurance information if it applies.¹⁰

The SR-1 form warns that late reporting could lead the DMV to suspend your driver license. The DMV will not accept an SR-1 that it receives more than one calendar year after the accident.¹²

No SR-1 is required if the vehicle was owned or leased by, or under the direction of, the United States, California, another state or a local agency. Crashes on a military base are not reportable. Neither are crashes on your own property that involve only your personal property and cause no injury or death.^11,12

You can file a traffic collision report at any CHP office in California, wherever the crash happened. The CHP cannot accept traffic collision reports online at this time.⁸

Vehicle Code 20008 covers a driver's written report of a crash with injury or death. If the crash happened in a city, the report can go to either the CHP or that city's police department. If the agency that receives it is not responsible for investigating the crash, it must forward the report to the agency that is.⁴

If you own or drive a common carrier vehicle that was in a crash with injury or death, report it to the CHP by the 10th day of the month after the crash.⁴