Nebraska
Nebraska Police Reports: How to Get a Crash Report, Incident Report, or Bodycam Video
Nebraska crash reports come from the Nebraska Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Section, not from the investigating police department directly. Nebraska also draws a sharp statutory line most other states do not: a report an officer prepares is public, but a report a driver files is not, even when both describe the same crash.
A general incident report, meaning the record of a call for service or a criminal complaint rather than a crash, comes from the responding department under Nebraska's public records law. Below is how both channels work, plus Nebraska's dedicated bodycam statute.
Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
This guide is part of a broader look at police reports by state. For the filing side rather than requesting a copy, see how to file a police report.
Getting a Nebraska Crash Report
Nebraska routes crash reports through the Department of Transportation rather than the investigating police department. NDOT's Highway Safety Section handles requests by email (NDOT.CrashReport@Nebraska.gov), phone (402-479-4645), in person (1500 Nebraska Parkway, Room 14B, Lincoln), or mail (PO Box 94759, Lincoln, NE 68509-4759, after calling first to confirm the current tax amount). NDOT's own page does not describe an online purchase storefront for the public, despite some secondary sources suggesting one exists, so this guide treats email, mail, phone, and in-person requests as the confirmed channels.
An officer-prepared, or investigator, crash report costs $13.00 plus tax. That is the report available to the public. A driver-filed report is a different document entirely, and Nebraska law keeps it confidential: NDOT states directly that all driver's reports are confidential by law, so only the person who filed the report can access it through the portal where they originally submitted it, and another driver involved in the same crash cannot obtain a copy of someone else's driver-filed report. That confidentiality rule tracks the text of Nebraska Revised Statutes section 60-699, which makes a peace officer's accident report open to public inspection while keeping a driver-filed report closed.
That distinction matters for a reader after a minor crash where no officer responded and only a driver's report was filed. In that scenario, there is no officer-prepared report to purchase, and the driver's own filing stays private even from the other driver involved.
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Getting a Nebraska Incident Report
Nebraska's general public-records statute governs incident and investigative-file access statewide. Section 84-712.05 lists categories of records a public body may withhold, including records developed or received by law enforcement agencies charged with investigation duties, when the records are part of an active examination, investigation, intelligence gathering, complaint, or inquiry, or would expose an informant's identity or strategic and tactical information. This is the same statute the crash-report law, section 60-699, cross-references as the governing authority for withholding a peace officer's accident report, so Nebraska's crash-confidentiality and general law-enforcement-exemption rules are structurally linked rather than separate.
For a city-level example, Omaha Police Department's own records-request page could not be independently reached during this article's research. Figures describing a modest per-report fee and a roughly five business day wait circulate for Omaha, but because they could not be confirmed against the department's own page this pass, contact Omaha PD's records unit directly, or the relevant department in your own Nebraska city, to confirm current fees and timelines before requesting.
Nebraska Bodycam Footage
Nebraska has a dedicated statewide bodycam statute built across a three-section subchapter: section 81-1452 defines terms, section 81-1453 requires a model policy, and section 81-1454 sets what that policy must contain. Under section 81-1454, an agency's body worn camera policy must govern both the use of cameras by peace officers and the retention and disposition of recordings, with a minimum retention period of 90 days.
This article's research pass did not independently reconfirm a specific public request fee or process beyond that statutory framework. For the underlying law in more detail, see Nebraska bodycam laws; for the general request process across states, see how to request bodycam footage.
Related Resources
Police Reports by State covers the national picture. See also How to File a Police Report, How to Read a Police Report, Are Police Reports Public?, Nebraska Bodycam Laws, Nebraska Car Accident Laws, Nebraska Public Records Laws, and Nebraska Court Records.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about how to request Nebraska crash reports, incident reports, and bodycam footage. It is not legal advice. Fees and agency contact information change; verify current details with the Nebraska Department of Transportation, the relevant local department, or a licensed Nebraska 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
How much does a Nebraska crash report cost?
An officer-prepared crash report costs $13.00 plus tax through NDOT's Highway Safety Section, ordered by email, phone, mail, or in person.
Can I get a copy of the other driver's Nebraska crash report?
Not if it was a driver-filed report rather than an officer-prepared one. Nebraska law makes driver-filed reports confidential, and only the person who filed a report can access it. Only officer-prepared reports are available to the public.
Does Nebraska have an online portal to buy a crash report?
NDOT's own crash reporting page does not describe an online storefront for the public. Confirmed channels are email, phone, mail, and in person requests to the Highway Safety Section.
Does Nebraska require police body cameras?
Nebraska Revised Statutes section 81-1453 requires agencies to adopt a body worn camera policy, and section 81-1454 sets minimum content for that policy, including at least 90 days of retention for recordings.
How do I get a Nebraska police incident report?
Contact the responding department's records unit. General access runs under Nebraska's public records law, section 84-712.05, the same statute the crash-report law cross-references for withholding a peace officer's accident report.
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.
Nebraska Revised Statutes, Chapter 60: MOTOR VEHICLES
§ 60-699Accidents; reports required of operators and owners; when; supplemental reports; reports of peace officers open to public inspection; limitation on use as evidence; access to information, when; violation; penaltyIn force
(1) The operator of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injuries or death to any person or damage to the property of any one person, including such operator, to an apparent extent that equals or exceeds two thousand dollars shall within ten days forward a report of such accident to the Department of Transportation. Such report shall not be required if the accident is investigated by a peace officer. If the operator is physically incapable of making the report, the owner of the motor vehicle involved in the accident shall, within ten days from the time he or she learns of the accident, report the matter in writing to the Department of Transportation. The Department of Transportation or Department of Motor Vehicles may require operators involved in accidents to file supplemental reports of accidents upon forms furnished by it whenever the original report is insufficient in the opinion of either department. The operator or the owner of the motor vehicle shall make such other and additional reports relating to the accident as either department requires.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at nebraskalegislature.gov
Nebraska Revised Statutes, Chapter 81: STATE ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS
§ 81-1454Body-worn camera policy; contentsIn forcecited in 3 of our articles
A body-worn camera policy required by section 81-1453 shall include provisions which govern the use of body-worn cameras by peace officers and the retention and disposition of recordings created with such cameras by law enforcement agencies. Such body-worn camera policy shall include, but not be limited to: (1) A requirement that training be provided to any peace officer who will use a body-worn camera and to any other employee who will come into contact with video or audio data recorded by a body-worn camera; (2) A requirement that recordings created by body-worn cameras shall be retained for a minimum period of ninety days from the date of recording.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at nebraskalegislature.gov
Also relied on in: Nebraska Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules, Nebraska Police Body Camera Laws: Retention & Records
Nebraska Revised Statutes, Chapter 84: STATE OFFICERS
§ 84-712.05Records which may be withheld from the public; enumeratedIn forcecited in 4 of our articles
The following records, unless publicly disclosed in an open court, open administrative proceeding, or open meeting or disclosed by a public entity pursuant to its duties, may be withheld from the public by the lawful custodian of the records: (1) Personal information in records regarding a student, prospective student, or former student of any educational institution or exempt school that has effectuated an election not to meet state approval or accreditation requirements pursuant to section 79-1601 when such records are maintained by and in the possession of a public entity, other than routine directory information specified and made public consistent with 20 U.S.C.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at nebraskalegislature.gov
Also relied on in: Nebraska Public Records Law: How to Request Government Records (2026)
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Sources and References
- Nebraska Revised Statutes, § 60-699 (accident reports; peace officer reports open to public inspection)(nebraskalegislature.gov).gov
- Nebraska Revised Statutes, § 84-712.05 (records which may be withheld from the public)(nebraskalegislature.gov).gov
- Nebraska Revised Statutes, § 81-1454 (body worn camera policy; contents)(nebraskalegislature.gov).gov
- Nebraska Department of Transportation, Highway Safety Section, Crash Reporting(dot.nebraska.gov).gov