Indiana
Indiana Police Reports: BuyCrash, Records Requests, and Bodycam Footage
Indiana is one of the minority of states that makes police-filed crash reports explicitly not confidential, and it has one of the cleanest statutory separations of body camera footage from the general investigatory-records exemption found anywhere in the country. Indiana Code section 5-14-3-4(b)(1) states outright that "a law enforcement recording is not an investigatory record," routing bodycam footage into its own dedicated inspection statute instead.
This guide covers Indiana's BuyCrash crash report system, the local incident report process, and the state's bodycam inspection right.
Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
How to Get a Copy of an Indiana Crash Report
BuyCrash, at buycrash.com, is Indiana's official statewide crash report channel. Indiana State Police "maintains the central repository of all crash reports for the State of Indiana, and makes electronic vehicle crash reports available for a nominal fee through the BuyCrash website." Reports purchased there "are Official State of Indiana Crash Reports and are usually $12.00 each." A report is available online once purchased, though it must first be filed and processed by the investigating agency before it can be bought, which can take a few days after the crash. Government and state agencies that need a report for official business are directed instead to the Public Records Request section of Indiana State Police's contact page rather than BuyCrash.
Indiana Does Not Treat Crash Reports as Confidential
Indiana Code section 9-26-2-3 puts the state in a minority position nationally: "a report filed by a law enforcement officer... is not a confidential record and shall be made available for inspection and copying" under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act. That is the opposite default from states like Florida or Texas, where a crash report is confidential unless the requester fits an eligible category.
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How to Get an Indiana Police Incident Report
Other police reports, unrelated to a crash, are requested from the responding agency's records unit under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act, IC 5-14-3. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is a typical example: its process has reportedly included in-person requests at Room E100 of the City-County Building, or by mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope, but this guide could not independently confirm that room number or mailing address on IMPD's own site. Confirm the current intake location and any fee directly with IMPD's records section before relying on it.
Indiana's investigatory records exemption, IC 5-14-3-4(b)(1), lets an agency withhold investigatory records of a law enforcement agency, but that same subsection carries the state's headline structural fact: "a law enforcement recording is not an investigatory record." The subsection also includes a victim-protection provision: information about a crime victim contained inside a law enforcement recording is exempt from disclosure unless a parent, guardian, or custodian of the victim consents in writing, with an express bar on a parent or guardian who is charged with or convicted of a crime against that victim giving that consent.
Body Camera Footage in Indiana
Indiana routes bodycam footage out of the general investigatory-records exemption and into a dedicated inspection statute, IC 5-14-3-5.1. Because IC 5-14-3-4(b)(1) declares that "a law enforcement recording is not an investigatory record," a recording cannot be withheld under the general law enforcement exemption the way an ordinary investigative file can be. Instead, IC 5-14-3-5.1 requires that "a public agency shall allow a requestor to inspect a law enforcement recording at least twice, if the requestor submits a written request," defining who qualifies as a requestor and setting that twice-inspection floor as a genuine minimum guarantee. The same statute requires an agency to obscure any undercover law enforcement officer or confidential informant shown in a recording before it is released. For the state's fuller legal picture, see Indiana's body camera laws.
Corrections and Practical Notes
No dedicated correction process or driver exchange of information form specific to Indiana was located for this guide. If a report contains an error, contact the investigating agency or Indiana State Police directly.
Related Resources
Police Reports by State covers the full 50-state picture. See also how to file a police report, how to read a police report, are police reports public, how to request body camera footage, Indiana bodycam laws, Indiana car accident laws, Indiana public records laws, and Indiana court records.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about Indiana's police report and public records process. It is not legal advice. Fees, portals, and eligibility rules change; verify current details with the agencies named above or a licensed Indiana attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.
Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and portals reflect their published status as of August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I buy an Indiana crash report?
BuyCrash, Indiana's official statewide channel, maintained through the Indiana State Police central repository. Reports usually cost around $12.00 each.
Is an Indiana crash report confidential?
No. Indiana Code section 9-26-2-3 states that a police-filed accident report is not a confidential record, placing Indiana among the minority of states that treats crash reports as open by default.
How do I get an Indiana police report that is not a crash report?
From the responding agency's records unit under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act, IC 5-14-3. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, for example, accepts requests in person or by mail.
Can I get Indiana body camera footage?
Indiana Code section 5-14-3-5.1 requires a public agency to allow a requestor to inspect a law enforcement recording at least twice after a written request, since bodycam footage is not treated as an investigatory record in Indiana.
Does Indiana redact anything from released body camera footage?
Yes. Indiana's dedicated bodycam statute requires undercover officers and confidential informants to be obscured before a recording is released, and separately protects certain crime-victim information absent written consent.
Updates
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on 3 statutory provisions held in our own legal record, each retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Indiana Code, TITLE 5. STATE AND LOCAL ADMINISTRATION
§ 5-14-3-4Records and recordings exempted from disclosure; time limitations; destruction of recordsIn forcecited in 2 of our articles
Sec. 4. (a) The following public records are excepted from section 3 of this chapter and may not be disclosed by a public agency, unless access to the records is specifically required by a state or federal statute or is ordered by a court under the rules of discovery: (1) Those declared confidential by state statute. (2) Those declared confidential by rule adopted by a public agency under specific authority to classify public records as confidential granted to the public agency by statute. (3) Those required to be kept confidential by federal law. (4) Records containing trade secrets. (5) Confidential financial information obtained, upon request, from a person. However, this does not include information that is filed with or received by a public agency pursuant to state statute. (6) Information concerning research, including actual research documents, conducted under the auspices of a state educational institution, including information: (A) concerning any negotiations made with respect to the research; and (B) received from another party involved in the research. (7) Grade transcripts and license examination scores obtained as part of a licensure process.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at iga.in.gov
Also relied on in: Indiana Public Records Laws: The Access to Public Records Act (APRA) Explained
§ 5-14-3-5.1Inspection of law enforcement recordings; obscuring of undercover law enforcement officer; obscuring of confidential informantsIn forcecited in 2 of our articles
Sec. 5.1. (a) As used in this section, "requestor" means the following: (1) An individual who is depicted in a law enforcement recording. (2) If the individual described in subdivision (1) is deceased: (A) the surviving spouse, father, mother, brother, sister, son, or daughter of the individual; or (B) the personal representative (as defined in IC 6-4.1-1-9) of or an attorney representing the deceased individual's estate. (3) If the individual described in subdivision (1) is an incapacitated person (as defined in IC 29-3-1-7.5), the legal guardian, attorney, or attorney in fact of the incapacitated person. (4) A person that is an owner, tenant, lessee, or occupant of real property, if the interior of the real property is depicted in the recording. (5) A person who: (A) is the victim of a crime; or (B) suffers a loss due to personal injury or property damage; if the events depicted in the law enforcement recording are relevant to the person's loss or to the crime committed against the person.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at iga.in.gov
Indiana Code, TITLE 9. MOTOR VEHICLES
§ 9-26-2-3Accident report not confidential recordIn force
Sec. 3. A report filed by a law enforcement officer under section 2 of this chapter is not a confidential record and shall be made available for inspection and copying under IC 5-14-3. [Pre-1991 Recodification Citations: 9-3-1-3 part; 9-4-1-46(e).]
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at iga.in.gov
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Sources and References
- Indiana Code section 9-26-2-3, Accident report not confidential record(iga.in.gov).gov
- Indiana Code section 5-14-3-4, Records and recordings exempted from disclosure(iga.in.gov).gov
- Indiana Code section 5-14-3-5.1, Inspection of law enforcement recordings(iga.in.gov).gov
- Indiana State Police, Crash Reports(in.gov).gov