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

Massachusetts separates a crash report, which comes from the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), from a general incident report, which is requested from the responding department under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. Massachusetts is also one of the states with no dedicated body camera statute, so bodycam requests fall back on that same general records law, applied case by case. This page covers the crash-report process, the incident-report process, and what is actually known about how Massachusetts departments handle bodycam requests without a dedicated law.

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

Getting a Crash Report in Massachusetts

Massachusetts crash reports come from the Registry of Motor Vehicles rather than the responding police department directly. If you hold a Massachusetts driver's license or ID, the RMV's online myRMV Online Service Center lets you request the report yourself. Everyone else mails a crash-report request form to the RMV along with the required search fee, which the RMV describes as a non-refundable, per-search charge on its published request instructions. For more on fault rules and deadlines after a Massachusetts crash, see our Massachusetts car accident laws page.

Because mass.gov's crash-report request page could not be independently re-verified against a direct fetch this cycle, treat the fee amount and the timing figures below as the RMV's published guidance rather than independently reconfirmed detail, and confirm the current numbers on the RMV's own request page before relying on them. RMV guidance advises waiting at least four weeks after the crash before requesting, to give the responding department time to file the report with the Registry, and to expect a further wait, typically several additional weeks, while RMV researches the request; RMV states it will continue searching for up to 90 days from the crash date if the report is not immediately located. A standard copy of the report does not carry the Registrar's official stamp; if you need a certified copy, for instance because an insurer or a court requires one, request that option specifically, since it is a different product from a standard copy.

Getting an Incident Report in Massachusetts

A general incident report, meaning anything other than a vehicle crash report handled by the RMV, is requested under the Massachusetts Public Records Law from the responding agency's Records Access Officer, or RAO. Every Massachusetts agency and municipality is required to designate an RAO, and a request can be made by email, letter, fax, or another written means addressed to that person.

Massachusetts structures its investigatory-records exemption differently from most states: rather than a standalone exemptions section, the carve-out for investigatory material sits inside the statutory definition of "public record" itself, at General Laws Chapter 4 Section 7, clause Twenty-sixth(f), which excludes investigatory materials compiled out of public view by law enforcement where disclosure would probably prejudice effective law enforcement. For the state's broader open-records framework, see our Massachusetts public records laws page.

Because the Secretary of the Commonwealth's public-records-request page, sec.state.ma.us, could not be independently re-verified against a direct fetch this cycle, treat the following response-time and fee figures as the published Massachusetts Public Records Law framework rather than independently reconfirmed detail, and confirm the current numbers on the Secretary's own request page before relying on them. A response is required as soon as practicable and, in any case, within 10 business days. Fees are capped at $25.00 per hour of the work involved; the first four hours are free for a state-agency request, and the first two hours are free for a municipal request. If the agency expects production costs to exceed $10.00, it must provide an itemized, good-faith fee estimate before proceeding. Denials can be appealed to the Supervisor of Records within the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Body Camera Footage in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has no dedicated statewide body camera statute. The state's 2020 police reform law, Chapter 6E, created a statewide certification and decertification system for officers and addressed use of force, but none of its sections govern body camera footage access or disclosure. That leaves the general Public Records Law described above as the only applicable framework, applied case by case by each department.

Reporting on Boston Police Department's practice is the clearest window into how that plays out. Boston Police Department has no formal department-level policy dictating when bodycam footage is released; each request is evaluated individually under the general Public Records Law's 10-business-day response window, with active criminal proceedings generally taking priority over release. Boston City Council formally called for a bodycam release policy review in 2026 specifically because no consistent, dedicated policy exists, which is itself evidence that the absence is real and current rather than a gap in available research.

Because the outcome of a Massachusetts bodycam request depends heavily on the individual department's discretion and any pending investigation, expect variation from one municipality to the next. For more on how Massachusetts's absence of a dedicated law plays out, see our Massachusetts body camera laws page and the cluster guide on how to request body camera footage, and for a specific recent court ruling touching Massachusetts bodycam recordings and the state's wiretap law, see our coverage of the Massachusetts bodycam wiretap ruling.

Other Practical Notes

Massachusetts does have a codified correction mechanism for crash reports: General Laws Chapter 90 Section 26, the same statute that establishes the driver's duty to report a crash, is titled to include a supplemental report provision, so a formal path to add or correct information exists, even though the exact mechanics were not independently re-verified against the live statute this cycle. Contact the RMV or the investigating department directly to use it.

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 Massachusetts 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.