Common Questions / Crash Reports
How do I get the police crash report for my Texas accident?
Texas crash reports, called CR-3 reports, are purchased online through TxDOT's Crash Records Information System for a small fee, and are usually available about ten days to two weeks after the crash once the investigating officer files it.
Where the report comes from
When police respond to a Texas crash involving injury, death, or meaningful property damage, the investigating officer completes a Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report, form CR-3, and files it with the Texas Department of Transportation, generally within ten days. Under Texas law the report is confidential but available to people directly concerned, which includes the drivers, injured people, and their attorneys and insurers.
How to get your copy
The fastest route is TxDOT's Crash Records Information System, the online purchase portal, where a standard copy costs a few dollars and a certified copy slightly more. Search works best with the driver's name plus the crash date and county. Some local departments, including Houston-area agencies, also sell reports through their own records portals. If the report is not up yet, wait a few days and try again; filing and processing commonly take ten to fourteen days, longer for crashes with fatalities or ongoing investigation. When Silver Key Law takes a case, pulling and analyzing the report is part of the first week's work.
What is in it, and what to check
The CR-3 records the parties, vehicles, and insurance carriers, a diagram and narrative of the officer's understanding, contributing factor codes, weather and road conditions, injury classifications, and witness identities. Read every field. Wrong insurance information, a misplaced vehicle in the diagram, or a contributing factor coded against you are all worth addressing early, because adjusters treat the report as gospel. Officers can file supplements when presented with concrete corrections, and the sooner the request, the more receptive they tend to be.
The report is not the verdict
A crash report is one officer's after-the-fact reconstruction, often built without seeing the collision happen. It is enormously influential in negotiation and nearly useless as a final answer: fault codes are opinions, not adjudications, and significant parts of a crash report are not automatically admissible at trial. Cases are won on the underlying evidence, the physical damage, the witnesses, the video, and the data, and a bad report is an obstacle to work around, not a reason to give up.
Injured in Arizona? Some rules on this page are Texas-specific. Arizona differs on points that change outcomes, including pure comparative fault and government-claim deadlines. See our Arizona answers or call (888) 508-6967.
Related: What To Do After a Crash · Car Accident Lawyer · Submit Your Case · All Common Questions
This page is general information about Texas law, not legal advice about your specific situation. Deadlines and outcomes depend on facts; talk to a lawyer about yours.
Free Consultation
Injured in a crash? Tell us what happened.
Call now or send us a short description of the collision. We will listen, explain your options under the law, and give you a straight answer about whether we can help.
Submit Your Case