How to get a car accident report in New Jersey

Where to get the report

• New Jersey State Police (and Turnpike Authority) $13 online; Turnpike or Parkway $5

  For a crash a trooper investigated, and for New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway crashes, order the NJTR-1 on the State Police and Turnpike Authority Crash Report Requests portal (njportal.com/njsp/crashreports). No account is needed. Non-toll road crash reports cost $13.00 and toll road crash reports cost $5.00, by Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express credit or debit card. When the report is ready you get an email with download instructions and can download it for up to 14 days. The portal says the basic crash investigation report is a public record, but a report will not be searchable until it is completed and approved; if it is not yet available, search again in a couple of days. For a fatal crash on the Turnpike or Parkway, the NJTR-1 can only be requested with the OPRA form on the Turnpike Authority’s website. For Atlantic City Expressway crashes, write to the Atlantic City Expressway Authority, P.O. Box 389, Hammonton, NJ 08037, (609) 965-7200 ext. 108. Questions: State Police 609-882-2000 ext. 2234 or njsprecords@njsp.gov; Turnpike and Parkway 732-442-8600 ext. 2431.

  Official page

• Town, city or county police department $0.05 a page; up to $5 more by mail

  If local or county police investigated, request the report from that department’s records bureau. N.J.S.A. 39:4-131 says officers’ crash reports are not privileged or confidential, that the public may inspect and copy them during business hours, and that you may buy copies in person at the Open Public Records Act copy fee (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(b): $0.05 per letter-size page, $0.07 per legal-size page). If you ask other than in person, the department may add up to $5 to cover administrative costs, must mail or fax the report on request, may first require a completed request form and the fee, and must let you send them in person, by mail or by fax. Example, Borough of Rutherford only: its police records bureau charges $.05 per page for reports requested in person and $5.00 per crash report requested by mail, payable by check or money order to “Borough Of Rutherford”, and suggests calling first to confirm the report has reached the bureau. Some departments also sell reports online through a vendor (Oakland, for example, points to one); that price is set by the department and vendor. The officer’s card or the case number tells you which department has the report.

  Official page

• Serious or fatal crash investigation file (State Police) Subpoena or court order; $20

  The NJTR-1 does not include the investigation file. For a serious or fatal crash the State Police investigated, the associated investigation report, digital media, photographs and statements are not public records, according to the State Police portal, and require a subpoena signed by an officer of the court or an order issued by a judge, uploaded through the portal’s “Records Request for a Serious/Fatal Crash” option. The portal lists $20.00 for serious or fatal investigation reports, digital media, photographs and statements, and $5.00 each for photographic prints up to 10 prints and $3.00 for each print after that; these requests may take up to one month, and the State Police ask you to call 609-882-2000 ext. 2234 only after a month has passed. NJDOT’s NJTR-1 crash report manual says investigation reports in fatal crashes are not usually released until the lead agency (the prosecutor’s office) releases them at the end of the investigation.

  Official page

When you must report a crash in New Jersey

Injury or over $500: call police now

Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-130, the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash resulting in injury to or death of any person, or damage to property of any one person in excess of $500.00, must by the quickest means of communication notify the local police department, or the nearest office of the county police or the State Police. If the driver is physically unable to give the notice, another occupant who is able must give it. A person who knowingly violates §39:4-130 shall be fined $30 to $100, except where the section sets another penalty, and the Motor Vehicle Commission’s chief administrator may revoke or suspend the person’s driving and registration privileges. Separate scene duties in N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 apply whatever the damage. A driver knowingly involved in a crash that injures or kills anyone must immediately stop at or as close as possible to the scene, without obstructing traffic more than necessary, and remain until the §39:4-129(c) duties are done; a violation carries a fine of $2,500 to $5,000, imprisonment for 180 days (imposed only if someone other than that driver was hurt or killed), or both, plus loss of driving privileges for one year on a first offense and permanently on a later one (§39:4-129(a)). Knowingly leaving the scene is a second-degree crime if the crash kills another person (N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5.1) and a third-degree crime if it causes serious bodily injury to another person (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.1). A driver in a crash that damages only an attended vehicle or property (including the driver’s own vehicle) must also stop and remain; a first offense carries a fine of $200 to $400, up to 30 days in jail, or both, and a six-month loss of driving privileges (§39:4-129(b)). Every driver must give their name and address and show their license and registration to the injured person or the owner of damaged property, to any police officer or witness, and to the driver or occupants of the other vehicle, and must give reasonable help to anyone injured, including taking them to a hospital or doctor if treatment is apparently needed or requested; if no one is able to receive the information and no officer is present, the driver must report the crash to the nearest local, county or State Police office (§39:4-129(c)). If you hit an unattended vehicle and cannot find its driver or owner, you must securely attach a written notice in a conspicuous place in or on it giving the name and address of the driver and owner of the vehicle that struck it; if you damage other unattended property and cannot find its owner, you must notify the nearest local, county or State Police office and then the owner once the owner can be found (§39:4-129(d)); the §39:4-129(b) penalties apply. A court may infer that a driver knew of a crash causing injury, death or $250.00 or more in damage (a “permissive inference”), and not knowing the extent of injury or damage is no defense if you knew you were in a crash (§39:4-129(e)). Separately, a driver whose vehicle is disabled on the roadway must immediately notify the nearest police authority (N.J.S.A. 39:4-136). We found no New Jersey statute requiring drivers to move vehicles out of the travel lanes after a crash.

The driver report you may have to file

SR-1 in 10 days unless police report it

N.J.S.A. 39:4-130 also requires the driver of a reportable crash (injury, death, or property damage to any one person over $500.00) to send a written report within 10 days, but no driver report is required if a law enforcement officer submits a written report of the crash under N.J.S.A. 39:4-131. If the driver is physically unable, another occupant who is able must file, and if the driver is unable and does not own the vehicle, the owner must file. The form is the New Jersey Self-Reporting Crash form, SR-1; NJDOT says it is used to report a crash that was not investigated by the police and is the only form that can be used for this purpose. You can file it online (NJDOT links an SR-1 Online form and receive an acknowledgment back within minutes, which NJDOT says is equivalent to a paper form stamped by NJDOT and can be given to an insurer) or mail the paper SR-1 (R5/21) to NJ Department of Transportation, 1035 Parkway Avenue, CN 600, Trenton, NJ 08625-0600, Attn: Bureau of Transportation Data and Support. The form asks for insurance details for each vehicle, warns that if you leave them out you will be assumed not to have had liability insurance, tells you to keep a copy and not to send photos or videos, and says NJDOT does not investigate self-reported crashes. The SR-1 states that failure to report will result in suspension of both driving and registration privileges; the statute says the chief administrator “may” revoke or suspend them and sets a fine of $30 to $100 for a knowing violation. Driver reports are not open to public inspection and cannot be used as evidence for anything except proving that you filed (§39:4-130). Note a conflict: the statute says driver reports go to the Motor Vehicle Commission, but the current SR-1 and NJDOT’s page send them to NJDOT, and an older SR-1 (R4/11) still posted on the MVC site uses the same NJDOT address; we followed the current NJDOT form.

What the report costs

NJSP $13; local $0.05 a page plus $5

State Police: $13.00 for a non-toll road crash report and $5.00 for a Turnpike or Garden State Parkway crash report on the online portal; $20.00 for a serious or fatal investigation packet (subpoena or court order required), and $5.00 per photographic print for the first 10 and $3.00 each after that. Local police: N.J.S.A. 39:4-131 sets the price at the Open Public Records Act copy fee for in-person purchases, which N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(b) sets at $0.05 per letter-size page and $0.07 per legal-size page, and allows up to $5 more for requests made other than in person; N.J.S.A. 39:4-131.1 supersedes any rule, regulation, resolution or ordinance that is inconsistent with the crash report law or sets a fee above the fee the public records law permits. Vendor portals that some departments use set their own prices. Note a conflict we could not resolve from official sources: the State Police online price of $13.00 is more than the statutory page fee plus $5 would come to for a report of a few pages, and we found no official explanation of how it was set. Filing your own SR-1 costs nothing that we found.

When the report is ready

Officer files in 5 days; then varies

Every officer who investigates a reportable crash, or who otherwise writes a report of a crash, must electronically transmit it to NJDOT within five days after the investigation (N.J.S.A. 39:4-131, as amended by P.L.2023, c.55); NJDOT says that as of September 2025 departments must submit through its NJ Crash platform. The State Police portal says a report cannot be found until it is completed and approved, and to search again in a couple of days if it is not yet available; once delivered, you can download it for 14 days. Example, Borough of Oakland only: its police say reports are not released until at least five business days after the incident. Retention: the State Police portal says crash investigation reports have a six-year retention period and are available for six years from the year of the crash. We found no statewide statement of how long local departments keep crash reports.

Who can get a copy

Anyone; it is a public record

Police crash reports are not privileged or confidential, and the statute gives every citizen of New Jersey the right to inspect, copy and buy them (N.J.S.A. 39:4-131); the Open Public Records Act separately lets any person inspect and copy government records that are not exempt (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(a)); the State Police portal calls the basic crash investigation report a public record. Before releasing any government record, a custodian must redact Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, personal telephone numbers and driver license numbers, among other items (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(a)). Investigation files from serious or fatal crashes are different: the State Police release them only on a subpoena or court order. Self-reports (SR-1) are not open to public inspection (N.J.S.A. 39:4-130). If you are a party to a lawsuit and the report is the subject of a court order or a pending discovery request, the 2024 OPRA amendments bar you from requesting it under OPRA (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g)); the crash report statute, §39:4-131, is a separate right of access.

What to do now

1. 1

   Call police now if anyone is hurt or damage tops $500

   New Jersey law requires immediate notice to local, county or State Police for any crash with injury, death or property damage to any one person over $500. Get the officer’s name, department and case number.

2. 2

   File an SR-1 within 10 days if no officer reported it

   If police did not investigate a reportable crash, each driver must send NJDOT the SR-1 within 10 days. File online for an instant acknowledgment you can give your insurer, and keep a copy.

3. 3

   Order the NJTR-1 once it is approved

   For a State Police, Turnpike or Parkway crash, use the State Police crash report portal ($13, or $5 on toll roads). For a local crash, ask that department’s records bureau ($0.05 a page in person, up to $5 more by mail).

4. 4

   Ask for NJDOT camera video within 7 days

   NJDOT keeps its highway camera video for only seven days and takes requests through its online Traffic Camera Video Request Form. Ask the police department to keep its body camera video too; the legal minimum is 180 days.

Frequently asked questions