West Virginia
West Virginia Police Report: How to Get a Crash Report, Incident Report, or Body Camera Footage
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 11, 2026). · Law checked current as of August 11, 2026. · 5 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
West Virginia is one of the states in this cluster with no general confidentiality statute governing police crash reports. That is not a recent gap. The provision that once filled that role was repealed in 1998, and nothing of general application has replaced it at the state level since.
That structural fact shapes how both crash reports and incident reports work in West Virginia: both run through the same general public-records exemption in the state's Freedom of Information Act, rather than through separate, dedicated rules.
Information last verified on 2026-08-10. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
Getting a Copy of a West Virginia Crash Report
West Virginia State Police's Traffic Records Section handles crash report requests using a Criminal and Crash Report Request Form (WVSP Form 141) rather than a dedicated online purchase portal. The form lists three separate fee options, each its own line item, not a base fee plus a certification surcharge: $20.00 for a mailed copy, $25.00 for a certified copy, or $25.00 for a fax-only copy. A requester ordering a single certified copy pays only the $25.00 certified-copy line. Payment can be made by certified check, business check, or money order payable to "Superintendent, West Virginia State Police," or by providing credit card information on the form itself. Mail the completed form to WV State Police Traffic Records Section, 701 Jefferson Road, South Charleston, WV 25309-1698, or call 304-746-2128 with questions. Some local agencies in West Virginia route their own crash-report requests through BuyCrash.com, the LexisNexis-hosted platform several states use, though that is agency-specific rather than a statewide system.
The legal backdrop here is unusual. West Virginia's state-level crash-report confidentiality provision, W. Va. Code 17C-4-13, was repealed by the legislature in 1998 (Acts, 1998 Regular Session, Chapter 316), and the statute now reads only "Repealed," with no preserved text. That is not a fresh currency risk. It has been the status quo for more than 25 years. With no general replacement confidentiality clause at the state level, crash-report access runs through the general FOIA law-enforcement exemption covered below, the same framework governing any other law-enforcement record.
One narrow confidentiality provision does remain on the books, and it is worth knowing what it does and does not reach. W. Va. Code 17C-4-15 allows any incorporated city, town, village, or other municipality to require by ordinance that a driver involved in a crash file a report with a designated city department, and it provides that "All such reports shall be for the confidential use of the city department." That rule attaches to the driver-filed municipal report created under such an ordinance, not to the officer-prepared crash report a requester ordinarily seeks from a responding agency, so it does not change the practical access route described here.
A common assumption is worth correcting directly: West Virginia's version of the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, the Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act (W. Va. Code Chapter 17A, Article 2A, enacted in 1996), does not cover crash reports. Its definitions section, 17A-2A-3(f), states plainly that "personal information does not include information on vehicle accidents, driving or equipment related violations and driver's license or registration status." Accident information is affirmatively carved out of that statute's protection, so it cannot be relied on as the source of any crash-report confidentiality in West Virginia.
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Getting a Copy of a West Virginia Police Incident Report
A general incident report, covering an arrest or another non-crash police response, is requested directly from the department or sheriff's office that handled it, under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act. W. Va. Code 29B-1-4 lists the Act's 23 numbered exemptions, and subsection (a)(4)(A) is the operative one for police records: it exempts "records of law-enforcement agencies that deal with the detection and investigation of crime and the internal records and notations of such law-enforcement agencies which are maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement." As with West Virginia crash reports, this same exemption is the governing standard, applied case by case depending on whether an investigation is open and how sensitive the record is.
West Virginia Body Camera Footage
West Virginia has no standalone body-worn camera statute. Requests for footage are handled under the same general FOIA law-enforcement exemption, 29B-1-4, that governs crash and incident reports, rather than a dedicated access law with its own fee schedule or retention rule. A related provision, W. Va. Code 62-1A-12, carves law-enforcement dash and body cameras out of the state's private-property surveillance-camera restriction, but that section addresses recording consent, not public access to the footage afterward, so it does not fill the gap either.
For a broader comparison across states, see How to Request Body Cam Footage and West 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?, West Virginia Body Camera Laws, West Virginia Car Accident Laws, West Virginia Public Records Laws, and West Virginia Court Records.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about how to request police crash reports, incident reports, and body camera footage in West Virginia. It is not legal advice. Fees, portals, and statutes change; confirm current details with West Virginia State Police, the responding agency, or a West Virginia attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.
Last updated: 2026-08-10. Fees and portals reflect their published status as of August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a West Virginia crash report confidential?
West Virginia has no general confidentiality statute governing police crash reports. The provision that once addressed them, W. Va. Code 17C-4-13, was repealed in 1998. One narrow rule survives: W. Va. Code 17C-4-15 makes a crash report a driver files with a designated city department confidential to that department where a municipality requires such a filing by ordinance, but it does not reach the officer-prepared crash report. Access to that report runs through the general FOIA law-enforcement exemption at 29B-1-4(a)(4)(A).
How do I get a copy of a West Virginia crash report?
Contact the West Virginia State Police Traffic Records Section using the Criminal and Crash Report Request Form (WVSP Form 141). It lists three separate fee options, not a base fee plus a certification add-on: $20.00 for a mailed copy, $25.00 for a certified copy, or $25.00 for a fax-only copy. Mail it to 701 Jefferson Road, South Charleston, WV 25309-1698, or call 304-746-2128 to confirm.
Does West Virginia’s driver privacy law protect crash reports?
No. West Virginia’s Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act, its version of the federal DPPA, expressly excludes accident information from the personal information it protects under W. Va. Code 17A-2A-3(f).
Does West Virginia have a body camera access law?
No. West Virginia has no dedicated body-worn camera statute. Requests for footage are handled under the general FOIA law-enforcement exemption, the same framework that governs other law-enforcement records.
Are West Virginia police incident reports public record?
They are subject to the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, but W. Va. Code 29B-1-4(a)(4)(A) exempts law-enforcement records dealing with detection and investigation of crime, applied case by case.
Can local West Virginia agencies use BuyCrash for crash reports?
Some local agencies route crash-report requests through BuyCrash.com, the LexisNexis-hosted crash-report platform used by agencies in multiple states, though West Virginia State Police itself uses its own paper request form rather than a dedicated online storefront.
Updates
Corrected an overstated claim that West Virginia has no crash-report confidentiality statute at all: the page now notes the surviving narrow rule at W. Va. Code 17C-4-15, which covers driver-filed reports under a municipal ordinance rather than officer-prepared crash reports.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
West Virginia Code
§ 29B-1-4Exemptions.In forcecited in 3 of our articles
(a) There is a presumption of public accessibility to all public records, subject only to the following categories of information which are specifically exempt from disclosure under this article: (1) Trade secrets, as used in this section, which may include, but are not limited to, any formula, plan, pattern, process, tool, mechanism, compound, procedure, production data, or compilation of information which is not patented which is known only to certain individuals within a commercial concern who are using it to fabricate, produce, or compound an article or trade or a service or to locate minerals or other substances, having commercial value, and which gives its users an opportunity to obtain business advantage over competitors; (2) Information of a personal nature such as that kept in a personal, medical, or similar file, if the public disclosure of the information would constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy, unless the public interest by clear and convincing evidence requires disclosure in this particular instance: Provided, That this article does not preclude an individual from inspecting or copying his or her own personal, medical, or similar file; (3) Test…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-02 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at code.wvlegislature.gov
Cited in 2 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2022
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Stoneman v. Bear (District Court, S.D. West Virginia 2022)“…l to obtain the videotape under FOIA. The court held under W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4(a)(19), the applicable West Virginia F…”
- Elswick v. Johnson (District Court, S.D. West Virginia 2020)“…the request for information was denied under W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4(a)(4) because the inv…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: West Virginia Police Body Camera Laws: FOIA & Public Access, West Virginia Freedom of Information Act: Requests and Fees (2026)
§ 17C-4-9Crash report forms.In force
(a) The Division of Highways shall prepare and upon request supply to the State Police, municipal police departments, sheriffs, Division of Natural Resources, and other suitable agencies or individuals, electronic or paper forms for crash reports required hereunder. (b) The format of the crash reports shall provide sufficiently detailed information to disclose with reference to a traffic crash the cause, conditions then existing, and the persons and vehicles involved. (c) Every crash report required to be made shall be made in the appropriate form provided by the Division of Highways and shall contain all of the information required therein unless not available. (d) Every such report shall also contain information sufficient to enable the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to determine whether the requirements for security upon motor vehicles is in effect in accordance with chapter seventeen-d of this code.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-30 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at code.wvlegislature.gov
§ 17C-4-13§17C-4-13.Repealed
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-30 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at code.wvlegislature.gov
§ 17A-2A-3Definitions.In force
As used in this article: (a) "Division" means the Division of Motor Vehicles; (b) "Disclose" means to make available or make known information contained in a motor vehicle record to any person, organization or entity; (c) "Individual record" is a motor vehicle record which contains personal information about a designated person who is the subject of the record as identified in a request; (d) "Motor vehicle record" means any record that pertains to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit, a motor vehicle registration, a motor vehicle title or an identification document issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles or other state or local agency authorized to issue any such form of credential; (e) "Person" means an individual, organization or entity, but does not include the state or an agency thereof; (f) "Personal information" means information that identifies a person, including his or her photograph or computerized image, social security number, driver identification number, name, address excluding the five-digit zip code, telephone number and medical or disability information.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-30 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at code.wvlegislature.gov
§ 62-1A-12Prohibitions on surveillance cameras on private property.In force
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, a law-enforcement officer may not install any surveillance camera on private land for purposes of gathering information or evidence of criminal activity of the owner or occupant of the private land without first obtaining either consent of an owner of the private land or a valid search warrant. (b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section do not prohibit a law-enforcement officer from: (1) Installing a surveillance camera in any area not specified in subsection (a) of this section where the law-enforcement officer has a lawful right to be and facing a location on any private land that is open to public view; or (2) Installing a surveillance camera on private property where exigent circumstances exist and there is insufficient time to obtain a valid search warrant. (c) For purposes of this section: “Law-enforcement officer” has the same meaning as that term is defined in §30-29-1 of this code.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-30 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at code.wvlegislature.gov
§ 17C-4-15Any incorporated city, town, etc., may require crash reports.In force
Any incorporated city, town, village or other municipality may by ordinance require that the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash shall file with a designated city department a report of such crash. All such reports shall be for the confidential use of the city department.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-30 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at code.wvlegislature.gov
Sources and References
- W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4, Exemptions (West Virginia Freedom of Information Act)(code.wvlegislature.gov).gov
- W. Va. Code § 17C-4-13, Repealed (Acts, 1998 Reg. Sess., Ch. 316)(code.wvlegislature.gov).gov
- W. Va. Code § 17A-2A-3, Definitions (Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act)(code.wvlegislature.gov).gov
- West Virginia State Police(wvsp.gov).gov
- West Virginia State Police, Criminal and Crash Report Request Form (WVSP Form 141)(wvsp.gov).gov
- W. Va. Code § 17C-4-15, Any incorporated city, town, etc., may require crash reports(code.wvlegislature.gov)