How to Get a Crash Report in Minnesota

Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS), part of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS), says it maintains crash records under state and federal law.¹

State law says a peace officer who investigates a reportable crash as part of their regular duties must send a report of it to the commissioner of public safety.³

A crash is reportable if it happens on a street, highway or other part of a public right-of-way, or on public lands or a trail system, and has one of the outcomes the law lists.³

Outcomes on the law's list include a death and an injury where the person gets medical treatment right away, at the scene or away from it. Another is disabling damage that means a vehicle must be towed or otherwise moved from the scene. Disabling damage means the vehicle cannot leave the scene in its usual manner in daylight after simple repairs. Damage to fixtures, infrastructure or other property on or alongside a highway also makes a crash reportable.³

At a full-service deputy registrar office. DPS says you can get a crash report at one of these offices. Fill out the Crash Record Request Form (PS2503) and submit it there. To find an office, use the locator linked from the DPS crash report page.²

By mail. Mail your completed form PS2503 to Driver and Vehicle Services, Attn: Records Unit, 445 Minnesota St., Suite 161, St. Paul, MN 55101-5161. Include a legible copy of your driver's license or government-issued ID card, or a notarized signature. Include the $5 fee for each copy. Make checks and money orders payable to DVS.^2,4

In person at DVS in St. Paul. Take your completed form PS2503 to the Driver and Vehicle Services Downtown Saint Paul Exam Station in the Town Square Building, 445 Minnesota St., St. Paul, MN 55101-5190.²

A completed Crash Record Request Form (PS2503), signed by an authorized requester. A request will not be processed without that signature.^2,4

Proof of identity. In person, show a driver's license, a government-issued ID card or a notarized signature. By mail, include a legible copy of a driver's license or government-issued ID card, or a notarized signature.⁴

Details about the crash. Fill in every crash field you know, such as the law enforcement case number, crash location, county and date. A request cannot be completed if you give too little crash information.⁴

Details about the people involved. The form asks about up to two people. For each one, it asks for their name, driver's license number, license state, date of birth, vehicle identification number (VIN) and license plate.⁴

The mailing address where you want the report sent.⁴

Proof of death, if the crash was fatal and you are the next of kin, surviving spouse or legal representative of the estate. Examples include a death certificate, an obituary or a memorial card.^2,4

DPS says a crash report costs $5. The fee is due for each copy you request. State law sets this fee.^2,3,4

If you pay by check or money order, make it payable to DVS.⁴

If your crash was in Minneapolis, you can also request the report from the city. Minneapolis says it does not charge for individual accident reports.⁵

DPS says crash reports are available three weeks after the crash.²

State law requires the investigating officer to send the report to the commissioner of public safety within 10 days after the crash.³

DPS says crash reports are only available to the people involved in the crash or their authorized agent. You are an authorized requester if you were involved in the crash and are recorded on the police report, for example as a driver, passenger, pedestrian, vehicle owner or owner of damaged property.²

An authorized agent, such as an insurance company or attorney, can get a copy with a signed release from a party involved in the crash.²

After a fatal crash, the next of kin, surviving spouse or legal representative of the estate can get the report by providing proof of death.²

On form PS2503, you mark the type of requester you are: driver, passenger, pedestrian, next of kin, owner of damaged property, owner of vehicle, parent/guardian, insurance representative or legal representative. Insurance and legal representatives also give their client's name.⁴

State law says the report must be disclosed on written request to anyone involved in the crash, the representative of their estate, a surviving spouse, surviving next of kin, or a trustee appointed under section 573.02. The law also allows disclosure to anyone injured in person, property or means of support, or who has other financial loss because of the crash. Lawyers for these people, and representatives of their insurers, can also get the report.³

DPS says all crash reports are confidential. State law says a crash report must not be used as evidence in any civil or criminal trial or lawsuit for damages arising from the crash. The confidentiality rule applies to the report itself. It does not stop anyone from proving the facts the report describes. Sharing information from a crash report except as the law allows is a misdemeanor.^2,3

You can also make a written request to a law enforcement agency. State law says DPS or any law enforcement agency must disclose the officer's crash report, on written request, to the people the law lists.³

For example, if your crash was in Minneapolis, you can request a copy of the accident report from the city. Minneapolis says it does not charge for individual accident reports. It suggests contacting the city first to make sure the report is available.⁵

In Minneapolis, a person who was in the accident can request the report. So can the representative, trustee, surviving spouse or next of kin of a person who died, and anyone injured or who lost money because of the accident. Lawyers and insurance companies for these people can request it too.⁶

To request online in Minneapolis, first complete the city's accident request form. Then go to the city's OpenCity Portal, choose "Accident Reports" and attach the authorization form, ID copies and required documents. You do not need to register to use the "Accident Reports" request.^5,7,8

Minneapolis requires proof of your identity and your role with a request for a complete accident report. It will not process the request without it. Instead of sending ID copies, you can have the form notarized.⁷

You can also request a Minneapolis accident report in person at the City of Minneapolis Service Center in the Public Service Building, 505 Fourth Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415. The contact for accident reports is the Minneapolis Police Department Records Information Unit in the same building.^5,7

If you were a driver in a crash, you no longer send your own crash report to DVS. DPS says this changed because Minnesota Statutes section 169.09, subdivision 7, was repealed effective July 1, 2021. Under that subdivision, a driver in a crash with injury, death or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more had to send a written report to the commissioner of public safety within 10 days.^2,3,9

If you are a driver in a crash that injures or kills another person, state law says you must notify law enforcement of the crash by the quickest means of communication. This comes after you meet the law's duties to stop and give information.³

You give that notice to the local police department if the crash is within a city, to a State Patrol officer if it is on a trunk highway, or otherwise to the county sheriff's office.³