Wisconsin
Wisconsin Police Report: How to Get a Crash Report from crashreports.wi.gov, an Incident Report, or Body Camera Video
Wisconsin runs crash reports through a dedicated statewide download portal, crashreports.wi.gov, with an unusual restriction: reports are only available for four years after the crash, and the system will not email, fax, or mail a copy under any circumstances.
Wisconsin's body camera statute goes the other direction. It is one of the more thorough, dedicated bodycam laws in the country, setting policy, retention, and disclosure rules in a single comprehensive section rather than leaving bodycam footage to a general records exemption.
Information last verified on 2026-08-10. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
Getting a Copy of a Wisconsin Crash Report
Wisconsin crash reports are purchased through crashreports.wi.gov, run by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The system requires either the DOT Document Number assigned to the crash, or the crash date (month and year) together with a Wisconsin driver's license number. Processing typically takes about 10 business days or more, depending on how complex the underlying investigation is.
Two restrictions are worth knowing before relying on this system. First, reports are only available for purchase for four years from the date of the crash; after that window closes, this portal no longer has it. Second, delivery is download-only. Wisconsin's own system notice states that "online purchases will not result in a report being emailed, faxed, or postal mailed to the purchaser," and there is no option to pick one up in person at a DMV office either. The current fee is not posted on the crashreports.wi.gov pages reached for this guide; confirm the current amount directly on the portal before purchasing.
Wisconsin Statute 346.73 adds a separate, important limit on how a crash report can be used once obtained: accident reports required to be filed with the department or a county or municipal authority "shall not be used as evidence in any judicial trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident," with an exception allowing use in administrative proceedings. As in most states, a Wisconsin crash report is a fact-gathering tool for an insurance claim, not a document a court will accept as direct proof of fault.
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Getting a Copy of a Wisconsin 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 responded. Wisconsin's public-records law, unlike many states in this batch, relies more heavily on a common-law balancing test weighing the public interest in disclosure against the harm release could cause, rather than a long enumerated list of specific exemptions. Wisconsin Statute 19.36(2) is the closest codified law-enforcement provision, exempting records that federal law or regulation requires be withheld from public access for law-enforcement purposes. Beyond that, a records custodian generally applies the state's balancing test to a specific incident report on a case-by-case basis.
Wisconsin Body Camera Footage
Wisconsin Statute 165.87 is a comprehensive, dedicated body camera law, not a general exemption stretched to cover bodycam footage. It requires a written agency policy governing body camera use, maintenance, and storage, along with officer and staff training, and the statute requires that policy be posted publicly online. It sets a minimum 120-day data retention period, extended when the footage relates to an ongoing investigation or pending case.
On disclosure, the statute states that data from a body camera used on a law enforcement officer is "subject to the right of inspection and copying" under Wisconsin's general public-records law, with a specific privacy-protecting exception. The statute declares it Wisconsin public policy to protect the privacy of sensitive-crime victims and minors, and access to footage depicting them is granted "only if the public interest in allowing access is so great as to outweigh" that privacy policy, a balancing standard layered on top of the general right to inspect. The statute was enacted by 2019 Act 108 and amended by 2021 Act 240.
For a broader comparison across states, see How to Request Body Cam Footage and Wisconsin 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?, Wisconsin Body Camera Laws, Wisconsin Car Accident Laws, Wisconsin Public Records Laws, and Wisconsin Court Records.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about how to request police crash reports, incident reports, and body camera video in Wisconsin. It is not legal advice. Fees, portals, and statutes change; confirm current details with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the responding agency, or a Wisconsin 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
How do I get a copy of a Wisconsin crash report?
Order it through crashreports.wi.gov, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s online system. You will need the DOT Document Number, or the crash date and a Wisconsin driver’s license number.
How long can I get a Wisconsin crash report after the crash?
Reports are available for purchase for four years from the date of the crash through crashreports.wi.gov. After that window, the online system will not have it.
Can Wisconsin mail or email me my crash report?
No. crashreports.wi.gov is a download-only system. Online purchases are not emailed, faxed, or mailed, and reports are not available for pickup at a DMV office.
Can a Wisconsin crash report be used as evidence in court?
No. Wisconsin Statute 346.73 bars accident reports from being used as evidence in a civil or criminal trial arising from the accident, though the reports can be used in administrative proceedings.
How do I request Wisconsin body camera footage?
Submit a request to the deploying agency. Wisconsin Statute 165.87 governs disclosure, applying a public-interest balancing test that protects the privacy of sensitive-crime victims and minors while otherwise treating bodycam data as subject to the state’s general right of inspection.
How long must Wisconsin agencies retain body camera footage?
Wisconsin Statute 165.87 sets a minimum 120-day retention period for body camera data, extended when the footage relates to an ongoing investigation or case.
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.
Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 165: Department Of Justice
§ 165.87Body cameras and law enforcement.In forcecited in 6 of our articles
(1) If a law enforcement agency uses a body camera on a law enforcement officer, the law enforcement agency shall do all of the following: (a) Administer a written policy regarding all of the following: 1. The use, maintenance, and storage of body cameras and data recorded by the body cameras. 2. Any limitations the law enforcement agency imposes on which law enforcement officers may wear a body camera. 3. Any limitations the law enforcement agency imposes on situations, persons, or encounters that may be recorded by a body camera. (b) Train all law enforcement officers wearing a body camera on the policy under par. (a) and on the requirements under sub. (2). (c) Train all employees that use, maintain, store, or release data from a body camera on the policy under par. (a) and on the requirements under subs. (2) and (3). (d) Periodically review practices regarding the body cameras and data from body cameras to ensure compliance with the policy under par. (a) and the requirements under subs. (2) and (3). (e) If the law enforcement agency maintains an Internet site or has an Internet site maintained on its behalf, make the policy under par.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov
Also relied on in: Wisconsin Police Body Camera Laws: Wis. Stat. 165.87, Wisconsin Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules, Wisconsin Laws on Recording Police: Your Rights and Limitations (2026)
Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 19: General Duties Of Public Officials
§ 19.36Limitations upon access and withholding.In force
(1) Application of other laws. Any record which is specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal law or authorized to be exempted from disclosure by state law is exempt from disclosure under s. 19.35 (1), except that any portion of that record which contains public information is open to public inspection as provided in sub. (6). (2) Law enforcement records. Except as otherwise provided by law, whenever federal law or regulations require or as a condition to receipt of aids by this state require that any record relating to investigative information obtained for law enforcement purposes be withheld from public access, then that information is exempt from disclosure under s. 19.35 (1). (3) Contractors’ records. Each authority shall make available for inspection and copying under s. 19.35 (1) any record produced or collected under a contract entered into by the authority with a person other than an authority to the same extent as if the record were maintained by the authority. This subsection does not apply to the inspection or copying of a record under s. 19.35 (1) (am). (4) Computer programs and data. A computer program, as defined in s.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov
Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 346: Rules Of The Road
§ 346.73Accident reports not to be used in trial.In force
Notwithstanding s. 346.70 (4) (f), accident reports required to be filed with or transmitted to the department or a county or municipal authority shall not be used as evidence in any judicial trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident, except that such reports may be used as evidence in any administrative proceeding conducted by the department. The department 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 solely to prove a compliance or a failure to comply with the requirement that such a report be made to the department.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-29 · Read the full section at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov
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Sources and References
- Wis. Stat. § 346.73, Accident reports not to be used in trial(docs.legis.wisconsin.gov).gov
- Wis. Stat. § 19.36, Limitations upon access and withholding(docs.legis.wisconsin.gov).gov
- Wis. Stat. § 165.87, Body cameras and law enforcement(docs.legis.wisconsin.gov).gov
- Wisconsin Department of Transportation, crashreports.wi.gov(crashreports.wi.gov).gov