
Are Police Reports Public Record? What's Open and What's Not
Whether a police report is public depends on which record you mean. Crash reports, incident reports, investigative files, and bodycam video all differ.
Loading...
56 articles

Whether a police report is public depends on which record you mean. Crash reports, incident reports, investigative files, and bodycam video all differ.

Get a Florida crash report from the FLHSMV Crash Portal for $10, request an incident report under Chapter 119, and see Florida's bodycam access rules.

Order a Georgia crash report through GEARS or BuyCrash, request an incident report under the Open Records Act, and see Georgia's narrow bodycam rule.

Hawaii has no statewide police report portal. Learn how to request a report from Honolulu PD or county police, and why Hawaii has no bodycam law.

When to call 911 versus a non-emergency line, when a crash actually requires a report, and what filing a police report does and does not accomplish.

Get an Alabama crash report through ALEA's online portal ($15) or a police incident report from the local records unit. Fees, eligibility, and bodycam access.

Order an Alaska crash report by mail or email using DMV Form 440 ($10), or request an incident report from the investigating police department. No bodycam law.

Get an Arizona crash report from AZDPS or the local police department, or an incident report through ARS 39-121. No bodycam or codified LE exemption statute.

Order an Arkansas crash report online at crashreports.ark.org ($10-$25), or an incident report under the Arkansas FOIA. Bodycam access is narrowly scoped.

Get a California crash report using CHP Form 190 (tiered $10-$40+ fees) or a local incident report under the CPRA. Bodycam access runs on SB 1421 and AB 748.

Order a Colorado crash report from CSP or a local agency, or an incident report under CORA. Bodycam misconduct footage releases within 21 days under state law.

Get a Connecticut crash report via BuyCrash ($16 search fee) or a DESPP GovQA request. Incident reports run under CT FOIA; bodycam release runs 48-96 hours.

Request a DC crash report (PD-10, first-party only) or an incident report (PD-251, open to the public) from MPD. Fees, the FOIA route, and bodycam access.

Order a Delaware collision report by mail only ($25, or $60 for a fatal collision) from DSP. Incident reports run under Delaware FOIA. No walk-ins accepted.

How to get a Kentucky crash or incident report: KSP self-report portal, BuyCrash, open records requests, KRS 189.635, and the KRS 61.168 body camera statute.

How to get a Louisiana crash report from LSP or an incident report under R.S. 44:3, plus the state bodycam privacy rule at R.S. 44:3(A)(8).

How to get a Maine crash report online or by mail, request a local incident report, and the truth about Maine bodycam law: there is no statewide statute.

How to get a Maryland crash report from MSP or BuyCrash, an incident report under the MPIA, and how Public Safety 3-511 sends bodycam access to agency policy.

How to get a Massachusetts crash report from the RMV, request an incident report under the Public Records Law, and where bodycam access stands with no statute.

How to get a Michigan crash report through TCPS, request an incident report under FOIA, and how MCL 780.313 governs body camera footage access.

How to get a Minnesota crash report from DVS, request an incident report under the MGDPA, and the 2025 amendment giving crash parties unredacted bodycam access.

How to get a Mississippi crash report via reportbeam.com or DPS, request an incident report under Section 25-61-12, and why there is no statewide bodycam law.

What each section of a police or crash report actually means, why some fields are blank, and why an officer's opinion isn't the same as legal fault.

Body camera footage access runs on three different legal models depending on the state. Here's how to tell which one applies and how to actually request video.

Order an Idaho crash report from the ITD portal for $7, request an incident report under Idaho's Public Records Act, and see Idaho's bodycam rule.

Buy an Illinois crash report through ISP E-Pay or BuyCrash, request an incident report under FOIA, and see the state's detailed bodycam disclosure law.

Buy an Indiana crash report through BuyCrash for about $12, request an incident report under IC 5-14-3, and see Indiana's twice-inspection bodycam right.

Get an Iowa crash report by mail from Iowa DOT, request an incident report under Chapter 22, and see the Hawk Eye test that governs bodycam footage.

Get a Kansas crash report through the kansas.gov portal, request an incident report under the Open Records Act, and see the 20-day bodycam viewing rule.

How to request a Missouri crash report from the Highway Patrol, an incident report under the Sunshine Law, and bodycam or dashcam footage under RSMo 610.100.

How Montana crash reports, incident reports, and bodycam footage work under the Montana Highway Patrol and the Montana Criminal Justice Information Act.

How to order a Nebraska crash report from NDOT, request an incident report, and understand Nebraska's driver-versus-officer crash report confidentiality split.

How to order a Nevada crash report through CRASHDOCS.org, request an incident report, and understand Nevada's public police-filed crash report rule.

How New Hampshire crash reports, Right to Know requests, and bodycam footage under RSA 91-A:5 and RSA 105-D actually work, with current fees to confirm.

How to buy a New Jersey crash report on the NJSP portal, request an OPRA incident report, and understand the Fuster ruling on bodycam footage.

How to request a New Mexico crash report from the DPS Law Enforcement Records Bureau, file an IPRA request, and get bodycam footage under 14-2-1.2.

How New York DMV, Thruway, and FOIL crash and incident reports work, why some minor crashes have no report at all, and how bodycam access runs under FOIL.

How to get a North Carolina crash report through myNCDMV, request an incident report, and North Carolina's disclosure-vs-release rule for body camera footage.

How to buy a North Dakota crash report for $7, request a police incident report, and North Dakota's narrow private-place body camera exemption.

How to search Ohio's crash-report lookup, get an official copy, request a police incident report, and Ohio's body camera footage release rules.

How to request an Oklahoma collision report from Service Oklahoma, get a police incident report, and Oklahoma's 10-day body camera release rule.

Oregon has no state crash-report portal; here is how to request one from the investigating agency, get an incident report, and Oregon's body camera access rule.

Pennsylvania runs crash reports, incident reports, and body camera footage through three separate laws. Here is how to request each and Act 22's 60-day trap.

Find your state's real crash-report portal and incident-report process, what it costs, the federal privacy rules behind redactions, and a 51-state table.

How to request a Rhode Island crash report from State Police for $15, get a police incident report, and what Rhode Island's body camera law actually covers.

South Carolina's collision report is Form TR-310, not FR-10. Here is how to request it for $10, get an incident report, and the state's body camera law.

How to get a South Dakota crash report through safesd.gov, request a local incident report, and what SDCL 32-34-13 says about confidentiality.

How to get a Tennessee crash report through purchasetncrash.gov, request an incident report, and what TCA 10-7-504(u) says about bodycam video through 2027.

How to buy a Texas crash report through TxDOT’s CRIS system, request a local incident report, and how bodycam footage and report corrections work.

How to request a Utah crash or incident report through the UHP GovQA portal and what GRAMA says about accident-report and bodycam confidentiality.

How to request a Vermont crash report from state police or DMV, what fees apply, and why access runs through the general public records exemption.

How to request a Virginia crash report from DMV for $8, get a local incident report under VFOIA, and how body camera deployment policy works.

How to buy a Washington collision report through WRECR for $10.50, request an incident report, and what RCW 42.56.240(14) says about bodycam access.

How to request a West Virginia crash report from state police, why WV has no crash-confidentiality statute, and how FOIA governs incident reports.

How to download a Wisconsin crash report from crashreports.wi.gov, request an incident report, and what Wisconsin Statute 165.87 says about bodycam access.

How to request a Wyoming crash report through WYDOT's Highway Safety Office, get an incident report, and how the state's peace officer recording law works.