Virginia Police Report: How to Get a Crash Report from DMV, an Incident Report, or Body Camera Footage

Virginia centralizes crash-report requests at DMV, unlike states that route requests to whichever agency investigated. A general incident report, by contrast, still comes from the local department, under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act's dedicated law-enforcement records section.

Virginia's body-worn camera law focuses on the front end of the process, requiring a written policy before an agency can deploy cameras at all, rather than setting its own separate rule for who can later obtain the footage.

Information last verified on 2026-08-10. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Getting a Copy of a Virginia Crash Report

Virginia crash reports are requested from the DMV Customer Records Work Center rather than from the investigating police department directly. The fee is $8 per report, and DMV refunds it automatically if no matching report is found. Requests can go by mail (Room 514, PO Box 27412, Richmond, VA 23269), by fax (804-367-0390, with a DMS 004 payment-authorization form), or in person by appointment or walk-in. Payment options vary by channel: mail requires a check or money order, fax requires the authorization form, and in-person requests accept cash, check, money order, or credit card, with billing arrangements available for high-volume requesters.

Eligibility to request a Virginia crash report is broader than in many states. Code of Virginia 46.2-380 opens the report to a driver, passenger, or other person involved or injured in the crash; a vehicle or property owner at the time of the crash; personal representatives such as a conservator, executor, or next of kin; attorneys representing an involved party; authorized insurance-company representatives; and a parent or legal guardian of a minor who was injured or killed. Virginia's Traffic Records Electronic Data System retains reports for at least 36 months, the same minimum period the statute itself specifies.

Getting a Copy of a Virginia Police Incident Report

A general incident report, such as an arrest record or a burglary report, is requested directly from the police department or sheriff's office that responded, not from DMV. Virginia's baseline access framework is the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and its law-enforcement records provision, 2.2-3706, is more structured than a single yes-or-no exemption.

The statute separates records into tiers: some information must be released, some release is left to the agency's discretion, and some release is prohibited outright, depending on the type of record and whether it relates to an active criminal investigation or prosecution. A companion section, 2.2-3706.1, sets additional rules specifically for criminal incident information, criminal investigative files, and victim access. Virginia also has a separate juvenile-records provision, Code of Virginia 16.1-301, that restricts release of records involving a minor.

Virginia Body Camera Footage

Virginia's dedicated body-worn camera statute, Code of Virginia 15.2-1723.1, focuses on deployment rather than disclosure. It states that "no law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction over criminal law enforcement or regulatory violations shall purchase or deploy a body-worn camera system unless such agency has adopted and established a written policy for the operation of a body-worn camera system." That written policy has to be publicly vetted before deployment, which is the statute's main protection for transparency.

Virginia has no separate statute setting a distinct access rule for the footage once recorded. A public request for bodycam video runs through the same VFOIA law-enforcement records framework covering other law-enforcement recordings, submitted to the deploying agency's records unit. Which section applies depends on the recording. Section 2.2-3706 sets the general law-enforcement records tiers, but its criminal-investigative-files category reaches only files "not required to be disclosed in accordance with" 2.2-3706.1, so footage that forms part of a criminal investigative file is handled under 2.2-3706.1 instead. That section is also where the victim protections sit. Subsection G bars release of any photographic, audio, video, or other record depicting a victim, or allowing a victim to be readily identified, to anyone other than the victim, a designated family representative, a parent or guardian, or the victim's insurance company or attorney. Subsection F requires the agency to make reasonable efforts to notify the victim or the victim's family before disclosing a criminal investigative file, and gives them 14 days to petition a court for an injunction preventing release. For a broader comparison across states, see How to Request Body Cam Footage and Virginia Body Camera Laws.

Related Resources

Police Reports by State covers the full 50-state picture. See also How to File a Police Report, How to Read a Police Report, Are Police Reports Public?, Virginia Body Camera Laws, Virginia Car Accident Laws, Virginia Public Records Laws, and Virginia Court Records.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about how to request police crash reports, incident reports, and body camera footage in Virginia. It is not legal advice. Fees, portals, and statutes change; confirm current details with Virginia DMV, the responding agency, or a Virginia attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-08-10. Fees and portals reflect their published status as of August 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a copy of a Virginia crash report?

Request it from Virginia DMV’s Customer Records Work Center for $8 per report. The fee is refunded if DMV cannot find a matching report. You can submit the request by mail, fax, or in person.

Who is eligible to request a Virginia crash report?

Parties involved in the crash, vehicle or property owners at the time of the crash, personal representatives such as an executor or next of kin, attorneys representing an involved party, authorized insurance representatives, and parents or guardians of an injured or killed minor.

How long does Virginia DMV keep crash reports?

Virginia’s Traffic Records Electronic Data System retains crash reports for at least 36 months, matching the minimum retention period set by Code of Virginia 46.2-380.

Are Virginia police incident reports public record?

They are governed by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act’s law-enforcement records section, 2.2-3706, which separates mandatory releases, discretionary releases, and prohibited releases rather than treating every incident report the same way.

Does Virginia require a body camera policy before an agency can use them?

Yes. Code of Virginia 15.2-1723.1 requires an agency to adopt a written, publicly-vetted operations policy before purchasing or deploying a body-worn camera system.

How do I request Virginia body camera footage?

Virginia has no separate bodycam-specific disclosure statute. Requests run through the VFOIA law-enforcement records framework and go to the deploying agency: 2.2-3706 for general law-enforcement records, and 2.2-3706.1 where the footage forms part of a criminal investigative file. Under 2.2-3706.1, a recording depicting a victim, or allowing a victim to be readily identified, is not released to a general requester, and the agency must first make reasonable efforts to notify the victim and then wait 14 days for a possible injunction petition.