How to get a car accident report in Arizona

Where to get the report

• Arizona Department of Public Safety (state troopers, interstates and state highways) $9.00 electronic, online or by mail

  DPS’s Public Records Unit releases collision reports for crashes investigated by state troopers on an interstate or state highway, and minor collisions reported through its Citizen’s Report of a Collision tool. Request online by creating an account on the Public Services Portal (psp.azdps.gov) and selecting “Request a Report or Records,” or in writing in person at the DPS Public Services Center, 2222 W. Encanto Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85009, or by mail to Arizona Department of Public Safety, Attn: Public Records, PO Box 6638, Mail Drop 3240, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6638. DPS does not take requests by phone; questions about pending requests go to (602) 223-2000, option 2. Fees: $9.00 for electronic delivery by email or the portal (5 MB limit); paper copies $9.00 for the first nine pages and $0.10 for each additional page. Online requests are paid on the portal; others in person (credit or debit card accepted in person only) or by cashier’s check, money order or business check payable to Arizona Department of Public Safety; DPS does not accept personal checks. Since November 2024, DPS automatically processes online requests from people entitled to an unredacted report, generally within 48 hours after submission, if the request carries the full incident number (a capital “I” followed by 8 digits, no hyphens); reports with supplements or attachments, and fatal crash reports, are not eligible for automation.

  Official page

• City police, county sheriff or town marshal that responded Request from that agency; fee varies

  DPS does not keep records of incidents handled by county sheriffs, city or local police departments or town marshal’s offices, including collisions on town, city or county roads; request those from the investigating agency. Each agency is a public body under the public records law and sets its own process and fee (A.R.S. § 39-121.01). Example, Phoenix Police Department only: requests go through its online Police Public Records portal (phxpublicsafety.phoenix.gov), which offers a Traffic Crash option, or to its Public Records and Services Bureau (602-534-1127, policepublicrecords@phoenix.gov). Phoenix is changing its fees, and its own pages disagree on the start date: its public records page says the new schedule is effective November 2, 2026, and the City’s September 23, 2026 news release says November 1, 2026. Until then, its portal FAQ lists a Traffic Crash Report at $.24 per page, with an upfront $5.00 portal convenience fee on some online requests, refunded if the charge comes to less. Under the new schedule, a non-commercial traffic crash report is free for digital release and $0.25 per page printed, and a commercial request costs a $10.00 flat fee plus $0.25 per page; neither page says whether the $5.00 portal fee continues. Confirm the fee with Phoenix before you pay. Phoenix said in that release that crash reports can take as much as 6 weeks.

  Official page

• ADOT (where the copy goes, not where you get it) ADOT does not sell individual reports

  Every investigating agency must immediately forward a copy of its report to ADOT for ADOT’s use (A.R.S. § 28-667(C)(5)); ADOT tabulates the reports and publishes crash statistics (A.R.S. § 28-670). We found no ADOT page offering individual crash reports to the public. ADOT itself says that for specific information about a crash on a highway you need to contact DPS, which responds to and investigates crashes on the state highway system, and that for issues on a city street you contact the local law enforcement agency. ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division asks you to supply a law enforcement crash report when you request another driver’s insurance information, and says a crash report and a police report are the same document.

  Official page

When you must report a crash in Arizona

Injury or death: notify police at once

Notify police: the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of a person must give notice of the accident immediately by the quickest means of communication, oral or written, to the local police department if the accident is within a city or town, the office of the county sheriff, or the nearest office of the highway patrol (A.R.S. § 28-666(A)). The statute sets no notice duty for a crash that damages only property, and we found no state dollar threshold that makes a driver report a property-damage crash to police; the dollar figure in the law ($2,000) governs how much of the report an officer must write, not the driver’s duty (A.R.S. § 28-667(A), (B)). Section 28-666 sets no penalty of its own; under A.R.S. § 28-121(B), a violation of chapter 3 of Title 28, which contains the accident sections, is a civil traffic violation unless the statute defining it provides otherwise. Stop and stay: after an accident on public or private property that injures or kills anyone, the driver must immediately stop at the scene or as close to it as possible, returning to the scene immediately, and remain until the section 28-663 duties are done (A.R.S. § 28-661(A)). Failing to stop or comply is a class 3 felony if the accident caused death or serious physical injury, a class 2 felony if that driver caused the accident, and a class 5 felony for any other injury (A.R.S. § 28-661(C), (D)); a conviction under subsection (C) brings license revocation of 5 years for serious physical injury or 10 years for death, and a conviction under subsection (D) brings a 3-year revocation (A.R.S. § 28-661(F), (H)). The same stop-and-remain duty applies to an accident that damages only a vehicle driven or attended by a person, and the driver must stop without obstructing traffic more than necessary; failing to do so is a class 1 misdemeanor, and the court may order a one-year suspension (A.R.S. § 28-662(A), (C), (D)). Exchange and help: give your name and address and the registration number of the vehicle you are driving; on request, show your driver license to the person struck or the driver, occupants or attendant of the other vehicle; and give reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging transport to a physician or hospital if treatment is apparently necessary or the injured person asks (A.R.S. § 28-663(A)). Failing to give the information or show the license is a class 1 misdemeanor; failing to render aid is a class 6 felony (A.R.S. § 28-663(C), (D)). Unattended vehicle: if you hit an unattended vehicle, immediately stop and either locate and notify its operator or owner of the name and address of the driver and owner of your vehicle, or leave a written notice with those names and addresses in a conspicuous place in the vehicle you struck; a violation is a class 1 misdemeanor (A.R.S. § 28-664). Fixtures: if you damage only fixtures or other property legally on or next to a highway, take reasonable steps to locate and notify the owner or person in charge of the fact of the accident, your name and address and your vehicle’s registration number, and show your license on request; a violation is a class 1 misdemeanor (A.R.S. § 28-665). Move the vehicle: on a controlled access highway or any highway divided into two or more marked lanes, if serious physical injury or death is not apparent, the drivers (or any occupant with a valid driver license) must move the vehicles off the main traveled portion to the shoulder, emergency lane, median or another place off the roadway, if that can be done safely and the vehicle can be normally and safely driven under its own power without towing; moving it before police arrive does not by itself make you liable or at fault (A.R.S. § 28-674(B), (C), (E)). That duty does not excuse you from filing any written report a local law enforcement agency requires or from stopping and giving information (A.R.S. § 28-674(F)).

The driver report you may have to file

No state driver report; cities may ask

We found no Arizona statute requiring a driver to file a crash report with ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division or with DPS. The written report in Arizona law is the officer’s: a law enforcement officer or public employee who investigates a crash must complete a written report (a full report for bodily injury, death, property damage over $2,000 or a citation; a shorter portion with minimum information for damage of $2,000 or less with no citation, injury or death) within 24 hours after completing the investigation, and the agency must immediately forward a copy to ADOT (A.R.S. § 28-667(A) to (C)). Reports are made on the form ADOT approves, which ADOT publishes as the Arizona Crash Report (A.R.S. § 28-669). Two local and optional exceptions: an incorporated city or town may by ordinance require the driver to file a report of the accident with a designated city or town department, for that department’s confidential use (A.R.S. § 28-671), so check your city’s rules; and for a minor crash on a state highway, DPS offers an online Citizen’s Report of a Collision that produces a police report number your insurer may require. DPS limits that tool to crashes within its jurisdiction on a state highway with no injuries, total estimated damage under $2,000 and no more than two vehicles, and says the report number takes the place of a collision investigation: there will be no further investigation of fault, insurance or a vehicle that left. If you need the other driver’s insurance information, ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division takes a notarized Insurance Information Request for an Arizona-registered vehicle, with a crash report from a law enforcement agency; ADOT says a mailed request goes with a $3 payment, which does not apply to government agencies. ADOT may also verify the financial responsibility of the owner of any vehicle involved in a crash and, if insurance is denied or not on file, require proof within 30 days of its notice, on pain of license and registration suspension (A.R.S. § 28-4143).

What the report costs

DPS $9.00; local agencies vary

No statute sets a statewide price for a crash report. Arizona’s public records law lets a custodian charge a fee for copies (A.R.S. § 39-121.01(D)(1)); the Attorney General’s Agency Handbook says an agency may charge for the cost of time, equipment and personnel used to produce copies, but not for the cost of searching for the records. DPS charges $9.00 for electronic delivery by email or its portal, and $9.00 for the first nine paper pages plus $0.10 for each additional page. Local agencies set their own fees; for example, the Phoenix Police Department’s portal FAQ lists $.24 per page and a $5.00 upfront portal convenience fee on some online requests until its new schedule takes effect (November 2, 2026 on its records page; November 1, 2026 in its September 23, 2026 news release), which makes a non-commercial digital crash report free, a printed one $0.25 per page, and a commercial request a $10.00 flat fee plus $0.25 per page. Confirm the current fee with Phoenix before you pay. A request for a commercial purpose requires a statement of that purpose and may cost more (A.R.S. § 39-121.03); using a record as evidence or research for evidence in a court action is not a commercial purpose (A.R.S. § 39-121.03(D)). Free copies: a victim of a part I crime under the statewide uniform crime reporting program, the victim’s attorney, or an immediate family member if the victim was killed or incapacitated, has the right to one free copy of the police report from the investigating agency, and so does the victim of a domestic violence or sexual offense (A.R.S. § 39-127); DPS says this right covers its offense and collision reports.

When the report is ready

Varies; DPS auto-release often 48 hours

The officer must complete the written report within 24 hours after completing the investigation (A.R.S. § 28-667(A)(2), (B)(2)), and the agency must immediately forward a copy to ADOT (A.R.S. § 28-667(C)(5)). The statute sets no deadline for releasing it to you; the public records law requires custodians to furnish copies “promptly” (A.R.S. § 39-121.01(D)(1)). DPS says it processes requests in the order received and that archived reports, reports for active investigations and large requests may take longer; its automated process for people entitled to an unredacted report generally fills online requests within 48 hours after submission, excluding reports with supplements or attachments and fatal crash reports. Phoenix police said on September 23, 2026 that traffic crash reports can take as much as 6 weeks. For serious crashes handled by Phoenix’s Vehicular Crimes Unit, the city says a preliminary narrative report may be available approximately 30 days after the collision, the Arizona Crash Report is not completed until the investigation is finalized, and reports in a collision that is not criminal or with no arrest may take several months. Retention: the State Library, Archives and Public Records general schedule for law enforcement records (GS-1031) sets 5 years after the calendar year the report was created for traffic accident reports involving property damage or injury, and 10 years for fatal crash reports that did not result in criminal charges.

Who can get a copy

Parties unredacted; others redacted

Unredacted: except as otherwise provided by law, the agency must on request give an unredacted copy to a person involved in the crash, the owner of a vehicle involved, or a representative of either; an insurer investigating fraudulent claims, or the auto liability insurer of a person or vehicle in the crash, in connection with claims, antifraud, rating or underwriting; an attorney or licensed private investigator representing a person involved, for a civil, administrative or arbitration proceeding, including investigation in anticipation of litigation; and an insurance support organization (A.R.S. § 28-667(C)(6)). If the request comes from a person involved, a vehicle owner, a representative of either, or an attorney or private investigator representing a person involved, and the report shows that a criminal complaint has been issued, any victim’s personal identifying information is redacted first (A.R.S. § 28-667(D)), and an agency may deny an unredacted copy if release would be harmful to a criminal investigation (A.R.S. § 28-667(E)). Everyone else: any person may request public records (A.R.S. § 39-121.01(D)(1)), and Attorney General opinions summarized by the Arizona Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide treat DPS accident reports as public records, so others generally get a copy with protected information removed. No commercial solicitation: the agency must not let anyone examine or copy a crash report for a commercial solicitation purpose, meaning a request with no relationship to any party in the crash and no reason other than soliciting business, and it may require you to state under penalty of perjury that the request is not for that purpose (A.R.S. § 28-667(C)(1), (2), (H)). Someone who receives the report under section 28-667 and is not otherwise subject to distribution limits may not release it or its contents except to the people listed above (A.R.S. § 28-667(G)).

What to do now

1. 1

   Notify police and clear the lanes if you can

   Call police at once if anyone is hurt or killed. If no serious injury is apparent and the car drives safely, move it off the travel lanes of a divided or controlled access highway.

2. 2

   Get the report number and the agency name

   Ask the officer which agency took the report and for the report number. DPS’s fast automated release needs the full incident number, a capital I followed by 8 digits.

3. 3

   Request the Arizona Crash Report

   For a trooper crash, request it on the DPS Public Services Portal ($9.00 electronic). For a city or county crash, use that agency’s records portal or office.

4. 4

   Ask for video separately, right away

   Body camera and dashcam video are separate records requests, and DPS video requests need the date and time, the location and a name. Post the crash on the bounty board too.

Frequently asked questions