How to get your LAPD traffic collision report in Los Angeles Where to ask, and what to bring.
Your adjuster will ask for the DR number within days. That number comes from the officer's slip or the station desk, the report takes about 45 days, there are three ways to request a copy, the law lists who may have one, and some reports are released by mail only.
On this page
You need two things: the DR number LAPD assigned to your crash, and a request made the way the department accepts it. The report is not ready the day you ask; allow roughly 45 days, then request it through the online vendor the department links from its own page, by mail, or in person at the station. Reports involving an arrest, a juvenile, or a death are released by mail only.
What a DR number is
A DR number is the Division of Records number, the case number LAPD assigns to a reported incident. It is the only reliable way to find your report in the system. Officers at the scene write it on the information exchange slip. If you left before an officer finished, or the slip is gone, call the station that covers the intersection with the date, the time, the location, and the names of the drivers, and ask the desk for the DR number.
The other driver's adjuster will ask for that number in the first week, and so will yours. Give it out freely. The number is not evidence of anything and there is no advantage in withholding it.
The three ways to request a copy
All three routes need the same core information: the DR number if you have it, the date and location of the collision, the names of the people involved, your identification, and proof that you are entitled to a copy. What changes is the speed and the paperwork.
| Route | What it takes | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Online vendor linked from the LAPD page | The DR number, the date, the parties, a card payment | The collision involved no arrest and no fatality |
| By mail to the Records and Identification Division | A written request, a copy of your identification, the fee | The report has to be reviewed before release |
| In person | Photo identification and the DR number | You need the report in your hand today |
Confirm the current fee and the mailing address on the LAPD's own traffic collision report page before you send anything. Fees change, and the amounts repeated on law firm blogs are frequently years out of date. What does not change is the ceiling: under Vehicle Code section 20012, the fee for a copy of an accident report cannot exceed the actual cost of providing it.
Who may have a copy
Collision reports are not public records you can pull like a property deed. Section 20012 makes them confidential and then lists who may have one anyway: any person with a proper interest, including the drivers involved, a guardian or conservator, the parent of a minor driver, an authorized representative of a driver, any person named as injured, the owners of the vehicles or property damaged, people who may face civil liability from the crash, and any attorney who declares under penalty of perjury that they represent one of those people.
Two practical consequences follow. A passenger who was hurt qualifies as a named injured person and can request the report directly. A relative or a friend helping you cannot, unless you make them your authorized representative in writing.
The reports LAPD releases by mail only
Some collision files carry restricted content and get reviewed before anyone hands them across a counter. Three categories are handled by mail rather than online or in person: reports involving an arrest, reports involving a juvenile, and reports of a collision in which someone died. If your crash falls into one of those, expect a longer wait and expect parts of the report to be withheld while the investigation is open.
That delay is not a reason to wait. In a fatal case the six month and two year deadlines run from the crash, not from the day the report arrives. If a public agency vehicle was involved, the deadline is six months to present a written claim, which is covered in our post on Metro bus and train claims.
LAPD or CHP: who wrote the report
Jurisdiction follows the road. A collision on the 101, the 110, the 405, or any other freeway is normally investigated by the California Highway Patrol. A collision on a surface street inside the City of Los Angeles is normally LAPD. A collision in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Glendale, or Pasadena belongs to that city's police department, and each one has its own request process.
For a CHP report, you complete form CHP 190, the Application for Release of Information, and send it with a photocopy of your driver's license or picture identification to the CHP office that filed the report. The CHP's own page sets the fee by length: $10.00 for 1 to 25 pages, $20.00 for 26 to 50 pages, $30.00 for 51 to 75 pages, and $40.00 for 76 to 100 pages, with $10.00 for each additional 25 pages beyond 100. Payment is by personal check or money order made out to the California Highway Patrol, and there is no extra charge for handling or mailing.
Two reports you still have to file
Requesting a copy of the officer's report satisfies nothing. Two separate obligations sit on you as a driver, and both start the day of the crash.
- A written report within 24 hours to the CHP or to the police department of the city where it happened, if anyone was injured or killed, under Vehicle Code section 20008. If you are physically unable to make it, section 20010 puts that duty on an occupant of your vehicle.
- An SR-1 to the DMV within 10 days if anyone was injured or killed or property damage passes $1,000, under Vehicle Code section 16000 and the DMV's accident reporting page. This one runs regardless of fault, and missing it puts your license at risk.
What the report proves
The useful part of a collision report is the part the officer observed and recorded: where the vehicles came to rest, the damage, the lighting and the road surface, the statements each driver gave that day, the witnesses and their phone numbers, the diagram, and any citation issued. Insurers read all of it, and so do we.
The officer's conclusion about who caused the crash is a different thing. It is an opinion formed after the fact by someone who did not see it happen, and it does not bind the insurer, the judge, or the jury. A report that names you as the party at fault raises the cost of proving your case, because the photographs, the video, and the witnesses now have to carry it. A bad report is a problem to solve, not a verdict.
When the report is wrong or missing
Four situations come up constantly, and each has its own answer.
- No officer responded. For damage-only collisions in Los Angeles, that happens. Your evidence is then the photographs, the exchange slip, the 911 call if there was one, and the SR-1 you file with the DMV. Our post on the five steps to take after a crash covers what to collect at the scene.
- A fact in the report is wrong. A misspelled name, the wrong insurer, the wrong direction of travel. Contact the reporting agency in writing with the DR number and the correction, and keep a copy of what you sent.
- The officer's fault conclusion is wrong. That is not corrected by a letter. It is answered with evidence: photographs, a scene inspection, camera footage from a nearby business, and witnesses who are still reachable.
- The adjuster wants the report before it exists. Give them the DR number and the agency, and let them order it. Do not delay medical treatment or a claim decision because a copy has not landed yet.
The last one matters more than people expect. Video from a private camera is frequently overwritten inside a few weeks. If a business, a bus, or a home camera faced the intersection, someone has to ask for it in writing while it still exists. Waiting for the report is the most common reason nobody does.
Questions people ask about LAPD collision reports
How long does it take for an LAPD traffic collision report to be available?
What is a DR number and how do I find mine?
How much does a copy of the report cost?
Can a passenger request the collision report?
The report says the crash was my fault. Is my claim over?
Do I still have to file anything myself if the police wrote a report?
My crash was on the 405. Who has that report?
How to get your LAPD collision report
Find the DR number first, from the slip the officer handed you or from the station desk. Wait about 45 days. Then request the report online, by mail, or in person, unless the crash involved an arrest, a juvenile, or a death, in which case it goes by mail. Check the fee and the address on the LAPD page rather than on anyone's blog, and read the report for what the officer saw, not for the conclusion at the end.
While you wait, do the things that expire. See a doctor, photograph everything, and ask in writing for any private camera footage that faced the scene. Our Los Angeles car accident lawyer page explains how the rest of the claim is built, our guide to filing a car accident claim in Los Angeles covers the paperwork in order, our post on being rear ended covers the deadlines that run alongside it, and there is no fee unless we recover.
