How to Get a Police Report in Louisiana (2026 Guide)

Louisiana routes a crash report through Louisiana State Police (LSP) or the investigating parish or municipal agency, while a general incident report is a separate request handled under the Louisiana Public Records Act. The two run on different statutes: R.S. 32:398(I) makes a crash report confidential and expressly exempt from the Public Records Act, with its own list of who may receive a copy, while an incident report and body camera footage are governed by the Public Records Act and its law enforcement exemption, R.S. 44:3. This page covers how to get each type of report, what R.S. 44:3 actually says, and where body camera access fits in.

Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Getting a Crash Report in Louisiana

Louisiana crash reports investigated by LSP are purchased online at lsp.org, under the link labeled LSP Statewide Crash Reports and Photos, for $11.50 per report, payable by Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. You can also buy a report in person at any LSP Troop office. LSP advises allowing roughly ten to fifteen business days after the crash, and its ordering system recommends waiting fifteen or more business days to be safe, before the report and any photos are ready.

Fatal crash reports are handled differently: LSP's crash-report system states plainly that fatal crash reports are not available online and must be purchased in person at the investigating Troop.

Access to the report itself is restricted. R.S. 32:398(I) makes Louisiana crash reports confidential and exempt from the state's general Public Records Act, R.S. 44:1 et seq., releasing the report only to the categories of requesters the statute enumerates, which include an involved party, that party's insurer, and an attorney representing a party. Because the crash report is carved out of the Public Records Act entirely, the exemptions and deadlines in R.S. 44:3 and R.S. 44:32 discussed below do not govern it. If your crash was investigated by a parish sheriff's office or a municipal police department rather than LSP, contact that agency directly, since many local agencies run their own crash-report request process outside the LSP system. For more on fault rules and deadlines after a Louisiana crash, see our Louisiana car accident laws page.

Getting an Incident Report in Louisiana

A general incident report, for anything other than a traffic crash, is requested under the Louisiana Public Records Act, R.S. 44:32, from the custodian of records at the agency that responded. New Orleans Police Department runs a 24/7 online portal at nola.nextrequest.com, which requires the item number from the responding officer's Form 026 handout to locate the report. Other parishes and municipalities typically accept a written request by mail, email, or in person to the agency's records division.

The relevant exemption categories sit in R.S. 44:3(A)(1) through (7), which let an agency withhold records tied to pending criminal litigation, a confidential source's identity, security procedures and investigative techniques, and an undercover officer's identity. The arrest-record exemption is broader than it is often described: R.S. 44:3(A)(4)(a) covers the records of a person's arrest, other than the investigating officer's report of a complaint, until a final judgment of conviction or the acceptance of a plea of guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, so an arrest record can stay closed well past the end of the investigation.

On timing, R.S. 44:32(A)(1) requires the custodian to present any public record to a requester of the age of majority, with examination during regular office or working hours, so a record the agency treats as public should not involve a wait. The five-day deadline applies in a narrower situation. Where a record is requested and the custodian raises a question as to whether it is a public record, R.S. 44:32(D) requires the custodian to notify the requester in writing within five days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays, of that determination and the reasons for it. There is no single statewide fee schedule; the Commissioner of Administration recommends twenty-five cents per page for state agencies, but local agencies set their own reasonable fee. New Orleans Police Department, specifically, charges fifty cents per page for records outside its own department and fire department holdings. For the state's broader open-records framework, see our Louisiana public records laws page.

Body Camera Footage in Louisiana

Louisiana does not have a standalone body camera statute the way Kentucky or Illinois do. Instead, bodycam access is folded into the state's general law enforcement records exemption, R.S. 44:3(A)(8), which allows a custodian to withhold a video or audio recording generated by an officer's body-worn camera if the custodian finds that releasing it would violate an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy. Related procedural requirements on how specific a bodycam request must be sit in R.S. 44:3(I).

The custodian's privacy finding is not the last word. R.S. 44:3(A)(8)(b) provides that recordings determined to violate an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy shall be disclosed upon a determination and order from a court of competent jurisdiction under R.S. 44:35, the Public Records Act's enforcement provision, and R.S. 44:3(A)(8)(c) leaves all costs of production associated with a court-ordered disclosure to be set by the court.

Because Louisiana's bodycam rule is a privacy-balancing standard rather than a fixed list of categories, the outcome of a request can vary by agency and by what the footage shows. For more on how that balancing works in practice and how it compares to other states, see our Louisiana body camera laws page and the cluster guide on how to request body camera footage.

Corrections and Other Practical Notes

No primary LSP or parish page describing a formal process for correcting a completed crash report was located; if you spot an error, the practical step is to contact the investigating Troop or agency directly and ask about its supplemental-report or correction process.

R.S. 44:3(A)(8)'s reasonable-expectation-of-privacy standard functions as Louisiana's main redaction hook for bodycam footage involving a juvenile or a crime victim, rather than a separate categorical carve-out written into the statute. For general guidance on filing a new report or reading a completed one, see how to file a police report and how to read a police report. If a case tied to the incident proceeds through the courts, related filings are available through Louisiana court records.

Disclaimer

This article provides general legal information about public-records access in the state named above. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about a specific situation. Fees, forms, and processing times change; confirm current figures with the listed agency before relying on them.

Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and portals reflect their published status as of August 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a copy of my Louisiana crash report?

Purchase it online at lsp.org for $11.50, or in person at any LSP Troop. Fatal crash reports are not sold online and must be purchased in person at the investigating Troop. Allow ten to fifteen business days after the crash before requesting.

Who can get a copy of a Louisiana crash report?

R.S. 32:398(I) makes Louisiana crash reports confidential and exempt from the Public Records Act, releasing them only to the categories the statute lists, which include an involved party, that party's insurer, and an attorney representing a party.

How do I request a Louisiana police incident report?

Send a written request to the responding agency's custodian of records under R.S. 44:32. New Orleans Police Department offers a 24/7 online portal at nola.nextrequest.com; other agencies generally accept a written request by mail or in person.

Is Louisiana body camera footage public?

It depends. Louisiana has no standalone bodycam statute; access runs through R.S. 44:3(A)(8), which lets a records custodian withhold footage found to violate an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy. That finding is not final: under R.S. 44:3(A)(8)(b) the footage shall be disclosed on the determination and order of a court of competent jurisdiction under R.S. 44:35, with the costs of production set by the court.

How long does a Louisiana public records request take?

R.S. 44:32(A)(1) requires the custodian to present any public record to a requester during regular office hours, so a record the agency treats as public should not involve a wait. The five-day clock applies only where the custodian raises a question about whether the record is public: R.S. 44:32(D) then requires written notice of that determination, and the reasons for it, within five days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays.