If you’re involved in legal proceedings related to a car crash, you will probably need to get a crash report. This is an official report of your accident.
Crash Reports
The Texas Department of Transportation collects crash reports both from law enforcement agencies in Texas and from drivers. Whether you crashed on a tiny back road or a major highway, if your crash resulted in more than $1,000 worth of damage, or anybody was injured or killed, TxDOT wants to know about it.
This means that if a law enforcement officer doesn’t investigate a crash, the operators of the vehicles involved in the crash must file a Driver’s Crash Report. This is also called a CR-2. You must file a CR-2 no more than 10 days after the crash date. If you fail to file, you are breaking the law and can be penalized.
How to Order the Report
In Dallas County, you can order your own police report by:
If the Dallas County Sherriff’s Department investigated the collision:
- Online at https://dcso.dallascounty.org/Ecommerce/
- By mail from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department.
If the Dallas Police Department investigated the collision:
- In person at the Dallas Police Department located at 1400 S. Lamar Street, Dallas, Texas
- By mail from the Dallas Police Department, 1400 S. Lamar Street, Dallas, Texas.
Information Needed
Crash reports contain confidential information, so are not available for the general public to peruse online. To get a report, you’ll need to know as much about the crash as possible. You may be required to provide the name of the drivers involved, the date and location of the crash, and/or the license plates of the vehicles.
Costs
Crash reports are inexpensive. A regular report costs six dollars. A certified copy costs eight. If you’re using the report for a legal proceeding, choose the certified option.
You might also need to prove there’s no official record of a crash. If this is the case, you can request a certified letter of no record for free. The letter states that your search turned up no information.
Retention
Texas retains crash reports for a limited time. So it’s best to order your report as soon as possible. If you wait too long, your crash report might no longer be available.