How to Get a Crash Report in Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security sells official copies of crash reports. This covers crashes investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) or by another law enforcement agency.¹

The agency that investigated the crash completes the report and submits it to the State of Tennessee.²

If the THP investigated the crash, the report is also available at the THP District Office.³

If another agency investigated, such as a county sheriff's office or city police department, you can also contact that agency to buy a copy from its office.³

Online: Use the state's PurchaseTNCrash portal. First, you verify your involvement in the crash. Then you enter details about the involved party and the crash to find the report. You pay $10.00 by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. You cannot use a prepaid card. The report comes as an Adobe PDF, so you need to be able to print or save it. You have 48 hours after you buy it to download it.^2,3,4,5

In person: You can buy a crash report at a THP District Office or at the office of the agency that investigated the crash. For a THP crash, use the Highway Patrol office that covers the county where the crash happened. The state lists offices in Chattanooga, Cookeville, Fall Branch, Jackson, Knoxville, Lawrenceburg, Memphis and Nashville. A THP crash report costs $4.00.^2,3,6

By mail: You can order a crash report by mail for $4.00. The Department lists this option for THP crash reports. Fill out and sign Form SF-1595 (Traffic Crash Report Request). Include a cashier's check, money order, or personal or business check for $4.00. Also include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and the address where you want the report mailed. Send it to the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, Financial Responsibility Division, PO Box 945, Nashville, TN 37202-0945.^2,3,7

Online, the search asks for details about the involved party and the crash. You need the last name, the date of the crash, the reporting agency and the driver's license number.^3,4

Online, you also need one of these: the vehicle identification number (VIN), the license plate number, or the case or tracking number.³

To pay online, you need a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover card that is not prepaid. You also need to be able to print or save an Adobe PDF.^3,5

When you buy a crash report, the Department says to give the date of the crash, the county where it happened, the names of the drivers involved and the agency tracking number.³

For a mail request, Form SF-1595 asks you to print as much as you can about the crash. It asks for a driver's name, the driver's license number of the person involved, the date of the crash, the license plate number, the investigating agency, the incident number, the county, and the roadway name and number.⁷

Online: $10.00 per report, paid by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. You cannot use a prepaid card.^3,4

THP crash report by mail or at a THP District Office: $4.00. For a mail request, pay by cashier's check, money order, or personal or business check.^2,3,7

On its refund policy, the PurchaseTNCrash help page says the transaction is complete once you have bought your report. If you bought or were given the wrong report, the help page lists a phone number and an email address to contact.²

By state law, the investigating agency has 7 days from the date of the crash to submit its report to the state. In some cases, an investigation can take a bit longer to complete.²

THP crash reports are available at the THP District Office about 7 days after the crash.³

If you order by mail, allow two to three weeks from the day you mail your request to receive the report.⁶

After you buy a report online, you have 48 hours to download it. After that, the retrieval link stops working. To have it reactivated, call the number on the PurchaseTNCrash Retrieval Link page during normal business hours. The 48-hour limit does not apply to reports bought by mail or at a THP District Office.^2,8

If you download the report again through the retrieval link, you get the exact version you bought. Any changes made to the crash report in the past 48 hours will not be on it.⁸

If you can't find your report online, the help page gives reasons this can happen. The investigating agency may not have completed it and submitted it to the state yet. Or your search details may not match what the agency provided. For help finding a report, the help page lists a phone line, open during normal business hours, and an email address.²

For a crash the THP investigated, any driver, owner or passenger, or their agent or legal representative, may buy a copy of the report.³

Online, you pick your connection to the crash. The options include a driver or passenger involved in the crash; someone who owns, leases or has an interest in property involved in the crash; a legal representative of a driver or property owner; a licensed insurance agent of a party involved; and someone other than these. Before you can continue, you must check boxes acknowledging T.C.A. 55-10-108.^4,9

Form SF-1595 says the requester must be a driver involved in the crash, the owner of property involved in the crash, the insurer of any party who is the subject of the report, or a legal representative of the driver or owner. The form says crash information is regulated under T.C.A. 55-10-108(d).⁷

The PurchaseTNCrash help page quotes T.C.A. 10-7-504(a)(31)(B). It covers a written request from a person named in a crash report, or from that person's agent, legal representative or attorney who certifies that the person has permission. As quoted, such a requester can receive a report that includes the personally identifying information of the people involved.²

Form SF-1595 warns that getting a crash report through the request under false pretense is a criminal offense. By signing it, you swear or affirm that crash report information made confidential by law will not be used for any other purpose, including commercial solicitation of crash victims.⁷

Quoting T.C.A. 55-10-108, the help page says that misrepresenting your identity or making a false statement on a request for personally identifying information is a Class B misdemeanor punishable only by a $2,500 fine.²

Start by finding out which agency investigated your crash. The Department says the most important question is whether it was the Tennessee Highway Patrol or another agency, such as a county sheriff's office or city police department.³

If you are not sure which agency investigated, contact the local police department of the city or town where the crash happened. If it happened outside a town or city, contact the sheriff's department or the State Highway Patrol.²

If you reported a minor crash yourself through the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department's Report Minor Vehicle Crash Online portal, the PurchaseTNCrash site says you must contact that department directly to get the record. These are crashes that a law enforcement officer did not investigate.⁵

For a THP crash, you can buy the report in person at the Highway Patrol office that covers the county where the crash happened.^3,6

Chattanooga Highway Patrol Office: 4120 Cummings Hwy, Chattanooga, TN 37419. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. It covers crashes in Bledsoe, Bradley, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties.³

Cookeville Highway Patrol Office: 1291 S. Walnut Ave., Cookeville, TN 38501. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time. It covers crashes in Cannon, Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Trousdale, Van Buren, Warren and White counties.³

Fall Branch Highway Patrol Office: 184 Joe R. McCrary Rd., Fall Branch, TN 37656. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. It covers crashes in Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington and Union counties.³

Jackson Highway Patrol Office: 336 Smith Lane, Jackson, TN 38301. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time. It covers crashes in Benton, Carroll, Chester, Decatur, Dyer, Gibson, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Madison, McNairy, Obion and Weakley counties.³

Knoxville Highway Patrol Office: 1755 Neals Commerce Lane, Suite 1, Knoxville, TN 37914. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. It covers crashes in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott and Sevier counties.³

Lawrenceburg Highway Patrol Office: 1209 North Locust Ave., Lawrenceburg, TN 38464. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time. It covers crashes in Bedford, Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Perry and Wayne counties.⁶

Memphis Highway Patrol Office: 6348 Summer Ave., Memphis, TN 38134. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time. It covers crashes in Crockett, Fayette, Hardeman, Haywood, Lauderdale, Shelby and Tipton counties.³

Nashville Highway Patrol Office: 1603 Murfreesboro Rd., Nashville, TN 37217. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time. It covers crashes in Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties.³

Tennessee also requires some drivers and car owners to file their own report, called the Owner Operator Report, with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The Department says this applies if you are a car owner or driver involved in a crash that caused death or injury, more than $1,500 in property damage, or more than $400 in damage to state or local government property.^1,10

If it applies to you, you must file the report, or have one filed for you, within 20 days of the crash. This is true no matter who was at fault. It is in addition to any report the investigating officer files.¹

If you do not file it, your driver license and registrations, or nonresident operating privileges, may be suspended.¹

To file online, go to the Department's e-Services and choose Submit an Owner Operator Report in the Driver Services section. You need a valid email address for confirmation, your driver's license, information on the other driver if you have it, and about 5 to 10 minutes.^1,11

To file by mail, print the Owner / Driver Report (Form SF-0395) and mail it to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, P.O. Box 945, Nashville, TN 37202. The form says the requirement is set out in T.C.A. 55-12-104. It also says the insurance information you give will be forwarded to the insurance company for verification.^1,10

For questions about the Owner Operator Report, the Department lists a toll-free number and a TDD line on its Owner Operator Report page.¹