How to Get a Crash Report in Oklahoma

In Oklahoma, a crash report is called a collision report. The police agency that writes one must send it to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS).^1,2

Service Oklahoma provides copies of collision reports on file with DPS, for a fee. State law also requires Service Oklahoma to file all collision reports it receives. DPS says collision reports must be requested through Service Oklahoma.^1,2

Officers must write a report when they investigate, or get a report of, a crash that causes injury, death, or apparent total property damage of $500 or more. DPS lists the Oklahoma Traffic Collision Report form and its manual as for law enforcement use only.^2,4

On private property, police must respond to and report a crash that involves an injury, a driver who may be under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating substance, or a vehicle owned by the state or a local government.²

DPS Open Records handles some other records, but not collision reports. These include arrest reports, CAD reports (dispatch logs or incident detail reports) and vehicle examination reports. DPS provides them digitally at no cost. Requests are processed in the order received and can take up to 90 days or more.¹

DPS says photos, witness statements, third-party video, diagrams and other investigative documents beyond arrest or CAD reports require a subpoena. DPS redacts all records it releases to comply with the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act and the Oklahoma Open Records Act.¹

Highway Patrol dash or body camera footage and dispatch audio are requested from the DPS Dash Cam Unit with its Dash Cam Request Form. Footage is provided as a digital download at no cost. Requests are handled in the order received and can take up to 90 days or more.^5,6,7

By mail: Get Form 303RM-C, Collision Request for Records. Service Oklahoma's Forms page lists it under Collisions as Collision Report Request for Records. Mail the completed form and the full amount due to Service Oklahoma, Business Support Services/Records, PO Box 11415, Oklahoma City, OK 73136-0415. Pay by cashier's check, money order or check. Do not mail cash.^3,8

In person: Bring the completed form and the full amount due to Service Oklahoma, 6015 N Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73118. In person, you can pay by cash, credit or debit card, cashier's check, money order or check.³

Email: Service Oklahoma cannot process requests sent by email. If you give an email address on the form, it can send your records back by encrypted email. The form lets you choose whether records go to your mailing address or your email address. For questions about requesting records, the form lists a Service Oklahoma email address.³

Phone: DPS says you can request a collision report by calling Service Oklahoma. Service Oklahoma's form, however, says requests must be mailed or delivered in person with payment. Service Oklahoma takes calls Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except state holidays. Its numbers are on its Contact page.^1,3,9

A completed Form 303RM-C, Collision Request for Records. The form says that if you are getting your own report, you complete Sections 2 and 3. Anyone else completes Sections 2, 3, 4 and 5.³

Section 1 asks for the crash date, the city and county, and the case number.³

Section 2 requires the driver's first, middle and last name, driver license number, sex and date of birth.³

Section 3 requires your first, middle and last name, mailing address, phone number and email address.³

Section 4 requires the name of the business, organization or entity, your title, and the type of business. Section 5 lists permitted reasons for a request.³

You affirm, under penalty of perjury, that you want the information only for the reasons you checked or with the named person's consent.³

Payment of the full amount due: $7.00 for a copy, or $10.00 for a certified copy.³

A copy of a collision report costs $7.00. A certified copy adds a $3.00 fee, for a total of $10.00.^2,3

Oklahoma law says a certified copy is admissible in court like the original.²

By mail, Service Oklahoma accepts cashier's checks, money orders and checks. Do not mail cash. In person, it also accepts cash and credit or debit cards.³

Oklahoma law bars anyone from charging an accident response fee for law enforcement's response to or investigation of a crash.²

A collision report may take up to 30 days to appear in Service Oklahoma's system.³

The police agency that writes the report must send it to DPS within 30 days of the crash, or within 20 days of a resulting death, whichever period is shorter.²

State law keeps collision reports confidential for 60 days after the crash. During that time, they must still be made available as soon as practicable to the people the law lists, including anyone involved in the crash.²

Service Oklahoma's form says that, by law, you are only allowed to get your own collision report.³

The same form has sections for other requesters. If none of the form's permitted reasons applies, the driver named in the request must give written consent to release the report.³

Permitted reasons on the form include use by an insurance company, insurance support organization or self-insured entity for claims investigation, anti-fraud activity, rating or underwriting. They also include legal use in connection with a court, administrative, arbitration or self-regulatory body, service of process, or investigation in anticipation of litigation.³

The form also allows use by a licensed private investigative agency or licensed security service for any purpose permitted under 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b). It also allows use by a federal, state or local government agency, including a court or law enforcement, in carrying out its functions.³

State law keeps collision reports confidential for 60 days after the crash. During that time, the law still requires them to be made available as soon as practicable to a list of requesters.²

That list includes any party involved in the crash and the party's legal representatives, insurer and licensed insurance agents. It also includes an insurer a party has applied to for coverage, and anyone under contract with those insurers or agents to provide claims or underwriting information.²

The list also includes state, county and city law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, newspapers as defined in state law, radio and TV broadcasters, licensed private investigators employed by a party, and a party's health care providers. It also covers the Department of Transportation and county or city transportation or road and highway maintenance agencies.²

Service Oklahoma will not release personal information from the driving record unless the driver consents by waiving privacy rights under the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), or unless the DPPA requires or allows release without consent. State law also says Service Oklahoma does not have to provide personal information from a collision report if that would go against the DPPA.^2,3

It is a misdemeanor to obtain or use information from a collision report to make a commercial solicitation. You may be asked to state in writing, under penalty of perjury, that you will not use the report for that purpose. Copies from DPS and local police departments must carry a commercial-solicitation warning.²

Any law enforcement agency that writes a collision report must send it to DPS. Service Oklahoma provides copies of collision reports on file with DPS.²

DPS Open Records does not process police reports issued by other law enforcement agencies. It advises you to contact the police department of the officer who responded.¹

The DPS dash camera and dispatch audio request form only accepts incidents the Oklahoma Highway Patrol worked. If another agency worked the incident, contact that agency.⁷

Oklahoma law lets any city, town or other municipality require, by ordinance, that drivers in a crash also file a report with a city department it names.²

The Oklahoma Driver Manual from Service Oklahoma says that if you are in a crash that causes death, injury or property damage, you must stop and call emergency services or local law enforcement.¹⁰

If a crash causes injury or death, the driver must immediately notify law enforcement by the quickest means available. If the crash is in a city or town, that means the local police department. The law also names the county sheriff's office or the nearest Highway Patrol office for this notice.²

Oklahoma also has a written report that drivers file themselves. It applies to crashes anywhere in the state, except on private property, that cause injury or death, or apparent damage of more than $300 to one vehicle or other property. If the crash has not been settled within six months, the driver must send this report to DPS. If a settlement has been made, the parties must report the settlement.²

Service Oklahoma's form for this is the Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Collision Report. It is listed under Collisions on Service Oklahoma's Forms page. The form tells drivers to submit it if settlement has not been made. Date and sign it, attach documents as evidence of injury or property damage, and mail it to Service Oklahoma at the address on the form.^8,11

If the other party's insurance information was denied or does not exist, or you did not have a chance to get it, the form says you must complete its reverse side. It says to submit it within one year from the date of the crash.¹¹

When a driver files this report, DPS notifies the other parties named in it. They must give DPS the information it asks for within 20 days.²

Collision reports and related information filed under Oklahoma's security-deposit and financial-responsibility laws are confidential and not open to general public inspection. A person named in one, or a representative they designate in writing, can still examine it or get a copy. These reports cannot be used as evidence in any civil or criminal trial arising out of a collision.²

If you fail to report a crash as required, the Commissioner of Public Safety may suspend your driving privileges until the report is filed. The Commissioner may extend that suspension by up to 30 days. Giving information in a required driver report that you know, or have reason to believe, is false can bring a fine of up to $500, up to one year of imprisonment, or both.²