How to Get a Crash Report in Missouri

The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Patrol Records Division is the statewide repository for motor vehicle crash reports. It keeps every crash report it receives in a permanent archive.^1,4

Law enforcement agencies across Missouri that are authorized to investigate traffic crashes send their crash information to the Patrol Records Division on the Missouri Uniform Accident Report.¹

Missouri law (Section 43.250 RSMo) applies to any officer who investigates a crash with injury or death, or apparent property damage of $500 or more to one person. The officer must send the report to the Highway Patrol within 10 days after the investigation.⁴

Within the Highway Patrol, the Patrol Records Division handles requests for crash reports, reconstruction reports and crash photographs, not the Custodian of Records.²

The Patrol's online crash search is not the official report. It shows preliminary, unofficial details only for injury and fatal crashes the Highway Patrol investigated. The entries come from the trooper's preliminary radio report, may change once the official report is completed, and stay online for 1 year.^3,5

Online: Go to the Highway Patrol's Public Records Center and choose Traffic Crash Report Request. You can request, receive and pay for the report online by credit or debit card. The Patrol has handled crash report requests electronically since August 1, 2024. Reconstruction reports, photographs and videos go through the same process.^1,2

By fax: The Patrol still accepts faxed requests, but they take longer to process.²

By mail: An older Patrol page says you can mail requests to Missouri State Highway Patrol, Patrol Records Division, P.O. Box 568, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, Attention: Traffic Crash Reports. Since August 1, 2024, the Patrol has handled crash report requests electronically.^2,6

Through a troop headquarters: The same older page says requests for crashes from 1997 or later can go to the headquarters of the troop where the crash happened, or to the nearest Highway Patrol headquarters. Requests for crashes from 1996 or earlier, certified reports, crash photographs and reconstruction reports must go to the Patrol Records Division.⁶

Details that help locate the report: the date of the crash, the location and the names of the people involved.^7,8

A written request. The Patrol Records Division says records requests should be submitted in writing under the Missouri Sunshine Law (Chapter 610 of the Missouri Revised Statutes).⁷

A way to pay. If you request online, you can pay by credit or debit card.²

A copy of a basic crash report for a crash the Highway Patrol investigated costs $6.00.^6,9

Additional fees apply for reconstruction reports, photographs, certified copies, crash data retrieval information, CD copies and electronic mapping data. The Patrol says fees depend on the nature of your request.^7,9

You can pay online by credit or debit card. The Patrol also accepts personal checks, cashier's checks, business checks and money orders. Make a check or money order payable to DPS - Missouri State Highway Patrol and include a copy of the invoice with it.^2,9,10

The Patrol does not accept cash for crash reports. It returns cash payments.⁶

If the Highway Patrol investigated your crash, wait 10 days from the date of the crash investigation before you request a copy of the basic report.⁶

The Patrol's standard processing time for records requests is 20 to 30 business days. Archived reports and complex cases may take longer.¹⁰

The Patrol reports a backlog of crash reports. Even if you request after 10 days, you may not get the report for an extended period.⁶

The Patrol can provide copies only after the finalized report reaches the Patrol Records Division and is reviewed and entered into the MoCARS database. Processing times vary with the complexity of the crash and the current workload.^1,7

Highway Patrol reconstruction reports are generally available within 45 to 60 working days from the date of the crash.¹¹

Missouri's Sunshine Law requires a response to a records request no later than three business days after it is received. The response can be the records, or a detailed explanation of the delay and the earliest date the records will be available.¹²

If you were involved in the crash and request the report in writing under Missouri law (Section 610.100.4 RSMo), the agency must provide it within 30 days or ask the circuit court to keep it closed.¹²

If you were involved in the crash, or your property was, Missouri law (Section 610.100.4 RSMo) lets you get a complete, unaltered and unedited copy of the report by written request. Your attorney or insurance company can also request it.¹²

A parent or legal guardian can request the report for a minor. A first-degree blood relative can request it only if the person involved has died or is incompetent.¹²

Missouri's Sunshine Law (Section 610.100.2 RSMo) requires state, county and city law enforcement agencies to keep records of incidents reported to them. It makes incident reports open records.¹²

If you were involved in a crash the Highway Patrol investigated, you or your attorney can contact the investigating officer's troop headquarters to question any part of the report.¹³

If a local police agency investigated your crash, ask that agency for a copy. The Highway Patrol refers these requests to the local agency.³

In most cases, the Highway Patrol does not work crashes inside city limits unless the local police department asks it to.¹³

Some towns do not have their own police department. A county sheriff, a neighboring police department or the Highway Patrol may patrol them instead.¹⁴

You can look up contact details for local police departments and county sheriffs by city or county name on the Missouri Attorney General's website.¹⁴

The Highway Patrol does not keep reconstruction reports that local agencies prepare. Request those from the agency that investigated the crash.¹¹

Crashes investigated by city or county officers are still filed with the Highway Patrol, but they do not appear in the Patrol's online crash search. Non-injury crashes the Patrol investigated do not appear there either. If your crash is not listed, the Patrol says to contact the local troop headquarters or the Patrol Records Division.^5,13