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

Minnesota crash reports are requested from Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) using a dedicated form, while a general incident report is requested under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA). Minnesota also has one of the most detailed dedicated body camera statutes in the country, and it changed in a way that matters directly for crash victims: since July 2025, anyone entitled to a Minnesota crash report can also get unredacted body camera footage of that same crash. This page covers all three, including that amendment.

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

Getting a Crash Report in Minnesota

Minnesota crash reports are no longer filed with Driver and Vehicle Services for central storage in the way older guidance describes; that filing requirement, Minn. Stat. Section 169.09, subdivision 7, was repealed effective July 1, 2021. The current path to get a copy is the Crash Record Request Form, PS2503, submitted in person at the DVS Central Office or a full-service deputy registrar office, or by mail to the DVS Records Unit in St. Paul. The fee is $5.00, and reports generally become available about three weeks after the crash.

Access is limited to an authorized requestor, defined as a person recorded on the police report itself as the driver, a passenger, the owner of damaged property, the vehicle owner, or a pedestrian involved in the crash, or that person's authorized agent. The PS2503 form requires that person's signature, so a third party cannot simply request someone else's crash report without documented authorization.

The confidentiality and evidentiary rules for the report itself sit in Minn. Stat. Section 169.09, subdivision 13, which states that accident reports and the data in them are not discoverable under any provision of law or rule of court, and generally may not be used as evidence at trial, while still governing which categories of people may obtain a copy. For more on fault rules and deadlines after a Minnesota crash, see our Minnesota car accident laws page.

Getting an Incident Report in Minnesota

A general incident report, for a crime or other call unrelated to a traffic crash, is requested under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) from the responding local department. Requests can be made in person, by phone, email, or mail, and some cities, including Minneapolis, offer an online portal.

The relevant exemption is Minn. Stat. Section 13.82, subdivision 7, which keeps investigative data confidential or protected nonpublic while a criminal investigation is active, and similarly while it remains inactive in many circumstances. Other categories the MGDPA calls out as generally withheld or requiring redaction include active criminal-investigative data, juvenile records, victim information, and vulnerable-adult data.

The MGDPA's general response standard, Minn. Stat. Section 13.03, requires an agency to respond in an appropriate and prompt manner within a reasonable time to a general public request; some agencies describe that as approximately 30 days as a practical guideline, though the statute itself does not set a fixed number of days for that category of request. A data subject requesting their own data gets a firmer deadline: compliance is required immediately if possible, or within 10 days otherwise. For the state's broader open-records framework, see our Minnesota public records laws page.

Body Camera Footage in Minnesota

Minnesota's body camera statute, Minn. Stat. Section 13.825, is one of the most detailed dedicated bodycam laws in the country, running across 12 subdivisions. It defines a portable recording system as a device worn by a peace officer capable of both video and audio recording, and classifies the data it collects as private data on individuals or nonpublic data by default, subject to the statute's own disclosure exceptions.

A material change took effect July 1, 2025, under 2025 Minnesota Laws chapter 35, section 5: agencies must now provide anyone entitled to obtain the collision report under Section 169.09, meaning a crash-report-eligible party, with copies of unredacted body camera data from that same crash investigation, generally even while the investigation remains active. That right is not absolute: the same subdivision lets the agency deny the unredacted request if it determines there is a compelling reason release would interfere with an active investigation, if the data is clearly offensive to common sensibilities, or if the data is otherwise classified as not public. This directly links Minnesota's two records regimes for crash victims: if you qualify for the crash report, you generally also qualify for unredacted bodycam footage of the same incident, subject to that agency denial ground.

Also effective in 2025, Minnesota added a rule that incident-related body camera data documenting a death resulting from a use of force must become public within 14 days, unless the agency's chief law enforcement officer asserts that release would interfere with an ongoing investigation. General retention rules set floors of 90 days for routine footage, one year for a firearm discharge or serious use of force, and indefinitely for a deadly-force incident, with a data subject able to request an extension of up to 180 days. In an officer-involved death, next of kin have a right to inspect footage within 5 days. Redaction generally protects non-consenting subjects shown in the footage, while an on-duty officer's own identity is generally not redactable absent a separate privacy statute.

For the full 12-subdivision framework and how it compares with other states, see our Minnesota body camera laws page and the cluster guide on how to request body camera footage.

Other Practical Notes

No statewide statutory procedure for correcting a completed Minnesota crash report was independently verified this cycle; contact DVS or the investigating agency directly. Minnesota's redaction regime for both crash and bodycam records draws heavily on Section 13.825 and Section 13.82's juvenile, victim, and vulnerable-adult categories described above.

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 Minnesota 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.