How to get a car accident report in Florida

Where to get the report

• FLHSMV Florida Crash Portal (statewide) $10 a report plus $2 online fee

  FLHSMV calls itself the state’s official repository for crash records, and police agencies submit their Long Form and Short Form reports to it (Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(f)). Online, the Florida Crash Portal charges the statutory fee of $10.00 per report (§321.23(2)(a)) plus a $2.00 non-refundable convenience fee for each transaction, with up to 10 reports per transaction; the portal begins with an eligibility step, the report downloads as a Zip file of PDFs, and the download link sent to your email must be used within 48 hours. By mail or in person you must complete FLHSMV’s signed statement (HSMV Form 94010, rev. 03/2023), a sworn statement under penalty of perjury with a notary block. Requests for 10 or fewer reports may be filled at the Florida Highway Patrol troop station nearest the crash. Requests for more than 10 reports go by mail with a letter describing each crash, a signed statement for each report, and a check or money order payable to “FLHSMV” to FLHSMV, Crash Records, 2900 Apalachee Parkway, MS 28, Tallahassee, FL 32399; FLHSMV says processing takes 4 to 6 weeks.

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• Florida Highway Patrol Crash Portal or nearest troop station

  A crash a state trooper worked is bought the same way as any other: through the Florida Crash Portal, or in person at the FHP troop station nearest the crash for 10 or fewer reports, with the signed statement. The Highway Patrol’s public records policy (Policy 13.04, revised 06/16/17) lists $10.00 for a copy of a Florida Traffic Crash Report and $25.00 for a copy of a Traffic Homicide Investigation, matching the fees set in Fla. Stat. §321.23(2)(a) and (b) ($10 per crash report, $25 per homicide report). For other FHP records, such as photographs or video, FLHSMV lists the Highway Patrol’s records contact as FHPRecords@flhsmv.gov, 2900 Apalachee Pkwy, MS 44, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0500.

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• City police and county sheriffs Agency that responded, or the portal

  Most crashes are worked by a city police department or a county sheriff. Because those agencies submit their reports to FLHSMV, the Crash Portal is one route; the other is the agency itself, which may keep its own copy (Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(f)). The 60-day confidentiality rule and the sworn statement apply to every agency, not just FLHSMV (§316.066(2)). Each agency sets its own process, and where no statute sets the fee, the general public records fees in §119.07(4) govern copies from a law enforcement agency, the Attorney General’s Sunshine Manual says. Example, Leon County Sheriff’s Office only: it takes crash report requests through its online Public Records Center, by mail, through its app, in person or by phone, and also points to the FLHSMV portal; it requires a completed, notarized affidavit before it responds, or you can sign the affidavit in person at its Records Management Bureau with a picture ID; it says fees may apply under its schedule of charges, and that its card and e-check payment vendor adds a $2 transaction fee.

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When you must report a crash in Florida

Injury or $2,000+ damage: call police

At the scene, every driver in a crash that injures or kills anyone or damages an attended vehicle or property must stop and give their name, address and vehicle registration number, show their license on request, and give reasonable help to anyone injured (Fla. Stat. §316.062(1)). Leaving the scene of a crash with only property damage is a second-degree misdemeanor (§316.061(1)); willfully leaving the scene of an injury crash is a third-degree felony, rising to a second-degree felony for serious bodily injury and a first-degree felony with a 4-year mandatory minimum prison term for a death (§316.027(2)(a) to (c)). Separately, §316.065(1) requires the driver of a vehicle in a crash resulting in injury to or death of any person, or damage to any vehicle or other property in an apparent amount of at least $2,000, to give notice immediately, by the quickest means of communication, to the local police department if the crash is inside a city, and otherwise to the county sheriff or the nearest Florida Highway Patrol station; a violation is a noncriminal traffic infraction. The $2,000 figure took effect October 1, 2026 (Senate Bill 488, Chapter 2026-39); for a crash before that date the threshold was $500. If no one entitled to the information can receive it and no officer is present, you must report the crash to the nearest police authority yourself (§316.062(2)). If you hit an unattended vehicle or other unattended property and cause any damage at all, you must stop, either find and tell the owner or securely leave a written note with your name, address and vehicle registration number, and notify the nearest police authority without unnecessary delay, whatever the dollar amount; failing to do so is a second-degree misdemeanor (§316.063(1)). FLHSMV tells drivers to stay at the scene and call 911 for a crash with an injury, a death, a hit and run, a DUI, a vehicle that needs a wrecker, a commercial motor vehicle, or apparent damage of at least $2000.00. The officer must file a Long Form report within 10 days after finishing the investigation of a crash with any death, injury or complaint of pain, leaving the scene of a property-damage crash (§316.061(1)) or DUI (§316.193), a vehicle so damaged that a wrecker had to remove it, or a commercial motor vehicle (§316.066(1)(a)); other crashes on public roads get a Short Form report or a driver exchange-of-information form (§316.066(1)(c)). Every party must give the officer proof of insurance (§316.066(1)(d)).

The driver report you may have to file

Self-report to FLHSMV within 10 days

Florida’s driver report covers the crashes police do not write up. Under Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(e), the driver of a vehicle in any manner involved in a crash resulting in damage to a vehicle or other property which does not require a law enforcement report must, within 10 days after the crash, submit a written report to FLHSMV on a form the department approves; failing to file is a noncriminal traffic infraction punishable as a nonmoving violation (§316.066(3)(a)). The form is HSMV 90011S, Driver Report of Traffic Crash (Self Report), rev. 11/2019, which quotes that 10-day rule. Fill in every applicable field, sign and date it (instructions are on page 2), and either email it to SelfReportCrashes@flhsmv.gov or mail it to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Crash Records, 2900 Apalachee Parkway, MS 28, Tallahassee, FL 32399. Keep a copy for your records and your insurer. If the driver is physically unable to report, another occupant who is able must make the report, and if the driver cannot make a written report the vehicle’s owner must make it within 10 days after the crash (§316.064). A statement you make in a crash report is privileged: under §316.066(4) it may not be used as evidence in any civil or criminal trial, with limited exceptions for an officer’s testimony and chemical test results.

What the report costs

$10 per report from FLHSMV

Fla. Stat. §321.23(2)(a) sets the FLHSMV fee for a copy of a crash report at $10, and §321.23(2)(b) sets $25 for a copy of a homicide report. Through the online Florida Crash Portal, FLHSMV adds a $2.00 non-refundable convenience fee to each transaction, so one report bought online costs $12.00 and ten reports in one transaction cost $102.00. Copies from FLHSMV by mail or at an FHP troop station are $10.00 per report. A city or county agency selling its own copy charges under the general public records fee rules where no statute sets a fee (up to 15 cents per one-sided page, under §119.07(4)), so the price varies by agency; Leon County’s sheriff, for example, says fees may apply and its payment vendor adds a $2 transaction fee for card or e-check payments.

When the report is ready

Up to 10 days to reach the portal

The investigating officer must submit a Long Form report to FLHSMV within 10 days after the investigation is completed (Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(a)). FLHSMV says traffic crash reports may take up to 10 days to become available, and the portal warns that its search may not show crashes from the last 10 days. Once bought online, a report is available immediately and must be downloaded within 48 hours. Mail requests for more than 10 reports take 4 to 6 weeks, FLHSMV says. A crash needing a long investigation, such as a traffic homicide, can take longer, because the 10 days run from when the investigation is completed. We found no official statement of how long FLHSMV keeps crash reports; the statute lets it destroy records it considers obsolete (§321.23(4)).

Who can get a copy

Restricted to parties and listed uses

Florida crash reports are not open to the public. Under Fla. Stat. §316.066(2)(a), a crash report that reveals the identity, phone number, address or other personal information of the parties is confidential and exempt from the public records law for 60 days after the report is filed. During those 60 days it may be released only to the parties, their legal representatives, their licensed insurance agents, their insurers or insurers they applied to, people under contract with those insurers for claims or underwriting, law enforcement, victim services programs, government agencies and those acting for them, and a third party acting for one of these (§316.066(2)(b)); licensed radio and TV stations and qualifying newspapers may get a version without the parties’ home or work street addresses, driver license or ID card numbers, birth dates and home or work phone numbers. After 60 days the report is still not public: it may go to the same eligible groups or to anyone with a permissible use under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. §2721(b), such as use in a court proceeding or in anticipation of litigation, an insurer’s claims work, or with the written consent of the person the information is about (§316.066(2)(f)). To get a report you must show a valid photo ID or proof of your status and file a written sworn statement for each report that you will not use it for commercial solicitation of crash victims (§316.066(2)(d)); FLHSMV’s Form 94010 has one section for requests within 60 days and a second for the DPPA certification after 60 days. Knowingly obtaining or trying to obtain a report you are not entitled to is a third-degree felony (§316.066(3)(c)). This confidentiality subsection is scheduled to be repealed on October 2, 2027 unless the Legislature reenacts it (§316.066(2)(h)).

What to do now

1. 1

   Call police, or self-report within 10 days

   If anyone was hurt or killed or damage looks like $2,000 or more, police must be notified at once. For a smaller crash that police did not write up, email or mail form HSMV 90011S to FLHSMV within 10 days.

2. 2

   Get the agency and report number

   The officer’s card or exchange-of-information form names the agency (city police, sheriff or Highway Patrol) and the case number, which makes the portal search much easier.

3. 3

   Buy the report after about 10 days

   Search the Florida Crash Portal for $10 per report plus the $2 transaction fee, or ask the agency that responded. Be ready to show you were in the crash or represent someone who was.

4. 4

   Request video separately, right away

   The crash report does not include video. Police body camera video only has to be kept for 90 days, so send a public records request for body camera, dashcam and other video to the agency now.

Frequently asked questions