South Carolina
South Carolina Police Reports: FR-10 vs. TR-310 and How to Get a Copy
South Carolina channels a car-accident report request through the Department of Motor Vehicles using a specific form, FR-50, and readers regularly confuse the resulting report with a different form the responding officer hands them at the scene. General incident reports and body camera footage each run through their own separate statutes.
This guide untangles South Carolina's collision-report form confusion, covers how to request a general incident report, and walks through the state's dedicated body camera statute.
Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
How to Get a South Carolina Collision Report
South Carolina's confidentiality statute, S.C. Code section 56-5-1340, sets the baseline for a driver's own accident report:
All accident reports made by persons involved in accidents shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting and shall be for the confidential use of the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety, or other State agencies having use for the records for accident prevention purposes.
That confidentiality attaches to the report a driver files. The law enforcement officer's collision report is a separate document, requested through SCDMV's Collision Reports program.
Three request paths exist. Online, through scdmvonline.com, you have to authenticate your identity, and the system cannot process collisions from before March 22, 2012; out-of-state license holders may have extra difficulty using it. In person, any SCDMV branch office accepts cash, credit or debit card, check, or money order. By mail, send two signed copies of Form FR-50 (Request for Copy of Collision Report) with a check or money order, not cash, to SCDMV, Titles Mail-in Unit FR-50, PO Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016-0050. The fee is $10 per collision report. SCDMV's page does not specify a precise turnaround time; it only states that the official copy is unavailable until SCDMV has received and processed the request.
FR-10 vs. TR-310: Two Different South Carolina Forms
A lot of confusion about South Carolina crash paperwork comes down to two similarly named forms that do completely different things.
FR-10 is the green Financial Responsibility form the responding officer hands the driver at the scene of the crash. It is an insurance-verification form, meant to be filled out and returned by the driver's insurer, and it has to go back to SCDMV within 15 days of the crash. Miss that deadline and you risk having your driver's license or vehicle registration suspended. FR-10 is not the collision report, and you cannot request it using Form FR-50.
TR-310, the South Carolina Traffic Collision Report Form, is the actual law enforcement-prepared collision report, more detailed than what the driver received at the scene. This is the document Form FR-50 requests. If you are trying to get the full picture of what happened in a crash, including the officer's narrative and diagram, you want TR-310, not FR-10.
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How to Get a South Carolina Incident Report
General incident reports fall under South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act. The law enforcement exemption, S.C. Code section 30-4-40(a)(3), is conditional:
Records, video or audio recordings, or other information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information: (A) would interfere with a prospective law enforcement proceeding...
That framing means an agency has to connect the withholding to a specific listed harm, such as interference with a pending proceeding, rather than withholding an entire file because it touches a criminal matter. Requests go to the records division of the police department or sheriff's office that investigated.
Body Camera Footage in South Carolina
South Carolina has one of the more fully built-out dedicated body camera statutes in this batch of states. S.C. Code section 23-1-240(G)(1) sets the default:
Data recorded by a body-worn camera is not a public record subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
That default has several defined exceptions. SLED, the Attorney General, and a circuit solicitor must receive body camera data on request for any legitimate criminal justice purpose. A law enforcement agency, SLED, the Attorney General, or a solicitor can also release data at their own discretion, and an agency must provide footage that is relevant to an internal misconduct or disciplinary investigation of one of its own officers.
Beyond those official channels, a specific list of private parties can request and receive footage through the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Rules of Civil Procedure, or a court order: the person shown in the recording, a criminal defendant if the footage is relevant to a pending criminal case, a civil litigant if it is relevant to a pending civil case, someone whose property was seized or damaged in connection with the recorded event, a parent or guardian of a minor or incapacitated person in one of those categories, and an attorney representing any of those people.
For the broader statewide legal landscape, see our South Carolina body camera laws page and our general guide to requesting body camera footage.
Related Resources
- Police Reports by State covers the full 50-state picture.
- How to file a police report
- How to read a police report
- How to request body camera footage
- Are police reports public records?
- South Carolina body camera laws
- South Carolina car accident laws
- South Carolina public records laws
- South Carolina court records
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about South Carolina's police report and body camera access laws. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, portals, and forms change; confirm current details with the relevant state agency or law enforcement agency before relying on them. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney about your specific situation.
Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and portals reflect their published status as of August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between FR-10 and TR-310 in South Carolina?
FR-10 is the green Financial Responsibility insurance-verification form the officer hands the driver at the scene; it is not the collision report. TR-310 is the actual law enforcement-prepared collision report, requested using Form FR-50.
How much does a South Carolina collision report cost?
$10 per report, whether you request it online, in person at an SCDMV branch, or by mail with Form FR-50.
Can I request an older South Carolina collision report online?
Not through SCDMV's online system for collisions before March 22, 2012. Use the mail or in-person channel instead for older reports.
Are South Carolina police incident reports public record?
Generally, unless the agency can point to a specific harm listed in S.C. Code section 30-4-40, such as interference with a prospective law enforcement proceeding.
Is South Carolina body camera footage public record?
No, not by default. Section 23-1-240 exempts body camera data from the Freedom of Information Act, though specific parties, including the person shown in the footage, relevant criminal defendants and civil litigants, and their attorneys, can request it through court rules or a court order.
What happens if I miss the 15-day deadline to return South Carolina's FR-10?
You risk having your driver's license or vehicle registration suspended, since FR-10 is the financial-responsibility verification SCDMV uses to confirm insurance coverage after a crash.
Who can get South Carolina body camera footage without a court order?
SLED, the Attorney General, and a circuit solicitor must receive it for any legitimate criminal justice purpose, and a law enforcement agency must receive it for an internal misconduct or disciplinary investigation of its own officer.
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.
South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 23: LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY
§ 23-1-240Body-worn cameras; definition; guidelines; policies and procedures; fund; data releaseIn forcecited in 5 of our articles
(A) For purposes of this section, "body-worn camera" means an electronic device worn on a person's body that records both audio and video data. (B) State and local law enforcement agencies, under the direction of the Law Enforcement Training Council, shall implement the use of body-worn cameras pursuant to guidelines established by the Law Enforcement Training Council. (C) Within one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this section, the Law Enforcement Training Council shall conduct a thorough study of the use, implementation procedures, costs, and other related aspects associated with body-worn cameras in jurisdictions with body-worn cameras currently in use or which begin their use during this period. The Law Enforcement Training Council shall develop guidelines for the use of body-worn cameras by state and local law enforcement agencies within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this act.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at scstatehouse.gov
Also relied on in: South Carolina Audio Recording Laws: One-Party Consent Rules and Penalties (2026), South Carolina Video Recording Laws: Where You Can and Cannot Record (2026), South Carolina Police Body Camera Laws: Mandate & FOIA Exemption
South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 30: PUBLIC RECORDS
§ 30-4-40Matters exempt from disclosureIn force
(a) A public body may but is not required to exempt from disclosure the following information: (1) Trade secrets, which are defined as unpatented, secret, commercially valuable plans, appliances, formulas, or processes, which are used for the making, preparing, compounding, treating, or processing of articles or materials which are trade commodities obtained from a person and which are generally recognized as confidential and work products, in whole or in part collected or produced for sale or resale, and paid subscriber information. Trade secrets also include, for those public bodies who market services or products in competition with others, feasibility, planning, and marketing studies, marine terminal service and nontariff agreements, and evaluations and other materials which contain references to potential customers, competitive information, or evaluation. (2) Information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute unreasonable invasion of personal privacy.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at scstatehouse.gov
South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 56: MOTOR VEHICLES
§ 56-5-1340Accident reports without prejudice and confidential; use; permissible disclosuresIn force
All accident reports made by persons involved in accidents shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting and shall be for the confidential use of the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety, or other State agencies having use for the records for accident prevention purposes. The Department of Motor Vehicles may disclose the identity of a person involved in an accident when such identity is not otherwise known or when such person denies his presence at such accident and may upon request disclose to any person who has suffered injury to his person or property any information contained on any report regarding the existence of insurance. No such report shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident, except that the Department of Motor Vehicles shall furnish, upon demand of any person who has, or claims to have, made such a report or upon demand of any court, a certificate showing that a specified accident report has or has not been made to the Department of Motor Vehicles solely to prove a compliance or a failure to comply with the requirement that such a report be made to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at scstatehouse.gov
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Sources and References
- S.C. Code § 56-5-1340 (accident report confidentiality)(scstatehouse.gov).gov
- SCDMV, Collision Reports (Form FR-50, fee, online/mail/in-person channels)(dmv.sc.gov).gov
- S.C. Code § 30-4-40 (Freedom of Information Act; law enforcement records exemption)(scstatehouse.gov).gov
- S.C. Code § 23-1-240 (body-worn cameras; data release framework)(scstatehouse.gov).gov