How to get a car accident report in New York

Where to get the report

• New York DMV (police and motorist reports, statewide) $7 or $10 search plus $15 a report

  The DMV sells certified copies of crash reports filed with it, three ways. Online, through its crash report sales portal (NY.gov ID required), a $7.00 search fee plus a $15.00 report fee for each report, downloaded immediately; you must certify that you are legally authorized to obtain the report, and you have 7 calendar days to download what you bought. Crashes in which no one was hurt and no property damage was over $1,000, and crashes involving an e-bike or e-scooter, are not sold online. Through the DMV’s Records Request Navigator, where a DMV agent searches for you, a $10 search fee plus a $15 report fee for each report; the MV-198C says to allow up to 5 business days, and the DMV notifies you by certified letter if it cannot find the crash. By mail, on form MV-198C (rev. 2/26), with a copy of your government-issued ID and a check or money order payable to Commissioner of Motor Vehicles: $15 for each report plus the $10 non-refundable search fee, mailed to NYSDMV, MV-198C Processing, 6 Empire State Plaza, Albany NY 12228. A crash can have several reports (the police report and one from each driver), and each one is a separate $15. These amounts are set by statute: VTL §202(3) sets $15 for a copy of an accident report, and §202(2) sets the search fee at $10 for a manual search and $7 for an electronic one until April 1, 2028, when they drop to $5 and $4.

  Official page

• New York State Police Through DMV, or Thruway Authority

  The State Police do not sell trooper crash reports themselves. For a crash a trooper investigated anywhere off the Thruway, the State Police say to request the report from the DMV on form MV-198C (the DMV fees above apply). For a trooper-investigated crash on the Thruway (I-87 south of Albany, I-90 west of Albany, the Berkshire Spur east of Albany, and its arterials I-190 and the Westchester County portions of I-287 and I-95), request it from the New York State Thruway Authority on its form TA-W4310. State Police crash reports are filed electronically and, the State Police say, are generally available within thirty days, some within three weeks and others taking as long as six weeks. Deeper records go through the State Police’s own records request process: its investigative records page lists $15.00 per accident reconstruction report, an additional $15.00 for a certified copy, and $25.00 for photographs, the fees Public Officers Law §66-a(2) sets for the State Police ($25 per photograph or contact sheet).

  Official page

• City, county, town or village police From the agency that responded

  Most crashes are worked by local police, and each department sets its own process and fee within the limits of state law. You can request the report from the DMV as above, or contact the investigating department directly, which the State Police also suggest. Example, Nassau County Police Department only: its Records Bureau page says the report can be obtained online at pdcn.org approximately 48 hours after the accident, and that the fee for each report is $25.00, payable by card or U.S. Postal money order (cash is no longer accepted). The department’s FAQ lists $27.00 online and $25.00 in person at Police Headquarters, 1490 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, Monday through Thursday, 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Reports of crashes before April 1, 2012 are obtained in person at Police Headquarters. Nassau releases the report only to a person involved, a parent or guardian, a spouse, an executor or administrator of an estate, or next of kin. Note that Public Officers Law §66-a(3), a subdivision set to be repealed December 31, 2027, authorizes Nassau County, by local law, to have its police charge a $10 search fee per report; we could not find the local law that reconciles that figure with the department’s posted $25, so confirm the amount with the Records Bureau before you pay. A crash on a state parkway or highway may have been worked by the State Police instead of the county; the exchange of information form or the officer’s card tells you which agency has the report.

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When you must report a crash in New York

Injury or over $1,000: DMV in 10 days

Two separate duties. At the scene, N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law §600 applies: a driver who knows or has cause to know that their vehicle damaged someone else’s property must stop and show their license and insurance information to the other party, and if that person is not present must report the crash as soon as physically able to the nearest police station or judicial officer (§600(1)(a)); leaving the scene of a property-damage crash this way is a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of up to $250, up to 15 days in jail, or both (also §600(1)(a)). If anyone is injured, the driver must stop, give the same information to the injured person if practical and to a police officer, and if no police officer is in the vicinity, report the incident as soon as physically able to the nearest police station or judicial officer (§600(2)(a)); leaving the scene of an injury crash is a misdemeanor and, with serious physical injury or death, a felony (§600(2)(c)). Separately, §605(a)(1) requires the operator of every motor vehicle involved in a crash in which anyone is killed or injured, or in which damage to the property of any one person, including the driver, is in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), to report the matter in writing to the DMV commissioner within ten days after the crash. That written report is the MV-104 described below, and it is required even when police came to the scene: the DMV says reporting an injury or death to the police is in addition to filing a crash report. Section 605(b) also requires the operator of an electric scooter or e-bike involved in a crash causing death or serious physical injury on a public highway to report in writing within ten days after learning of it.

The driver report you may have to file

MV-104 to DMV within 10 days

The driver’s own report is form MV-104, Report of Motor Vehicle Crash (rev. 5/25). The form says you must report within 10 days any crash occurring in New York State causing a fatality, personal injury or damage over $1,000 to the property of any one person, that failure to do so within 10 days is a misdemeanor, and that your license and registration may be suspended until a report is filed; §605(a)(2) says the same and lets the commissioner suspend your license or registration until the report is on file. If you were physically unable to report, another participant in the crash who is able must file within ten days, and if the driver cannot report, an owner who was not involved must file within ten days of learning of the crash (§605(a)(1)). File online at the DMV’s motorist crash report site with a NY.gov ID, or mail the signed form to Crash Records Center, 6 Empire State Plaza, PO Box 2925, Albany, NY 12220-0925 (the address printed on the form). The form warns that an unsigned report is not considered filed and may lead to suspension. Do not file an MV-104 for a vandalized vehicle (call local police instead) or for a crash outside New York State, the form says. The State Police note that the exchange of information form the trooper gives you at the scene, plus your own information, is generally all you need to complete it.

What the report costs

$15 a report plus $7 to $10 search

From the DMV, the cost is set by statute statewide: $15 for each report (VTL §202(3)) plus one search fee, $7.00 online or $10 through the Records Request Navigator or by mail on form MV-198C (VTL §202(2)). Each report on a crash is charged separately, so the police report plus two drivers’ MV-104 reports bought by mail come to $45 plus the $10 search fee. The search fees fall to $5 and $4 on April 1, 2028 under §202(2). Fees charged directly by a local police department vary by agency; Nassau County’s police, for example, post $25.00 per report ($27.00 online, per its FAQ). For trooper records beyond the crash report, Public Officers Law §66-a(2) sets a $15 search fee per report, $15 more for a certified copy, and $25 per photograph or contact sheet.

When the report is ready

14 to 30 days for police reports at DMV

The DMV publishes minimum waits before a report can be bought from it: an electronically filed police report from one of the five boroughs of New York City, at least 14 days after the crash; a paper police report, at least 30 days after; a motorist (MV-104) report from anywhere in the state, at least 60 days after. The DMV page gives no separate figure for electronically filed police reports outside New York City. The State Police say their electronically filed reports are generally available within thirty days, with some ready in three weeks and others taking up to six. A local department can be faster: Nassau County police say their reports are online approximately 48 hours after the crash. We found no official statement of how long the DMV keeps crash reports; Nassau’s online system reaches back to April 1, 2012.

Who can get a copy

Anyone with an interest in the crash

Public Officers Law §66-a makes reports and records of a motor vehicle accident kept by the State Police or by any county, city, town or village police open to the inspection of any person having an interest therein, or that person’s attorney or agent, even if the state or a municipality was involved in the crash. The custodian may set reasonable rules on time and manner, and may withhold a record whose disclosure would interfere with the investigation or prosecution of a crime. The DMV adds the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act: online you must certify that you are legally authorized to obtain the report, and the MV-198C requires a copy of your government-issued ID and a signed certification of a permitted use, such as use in a court or agency proceeding or in anticipation of litigation (18 U.S.C. §2721(b)(4)), an insurer’s claims investigation (§2721(b)(6)), or the written consent of the person the record is about (§2721(b)(13)). Individual departments may set their own lists; Nassau County police release reports only to a person involved, a parent or guardian, a spouse, an estate’s executor or administrator, or next of kin.

What to do now

1. 1

   File your MV-104 within 10 days

   If anyone was hurt or killed, or any one person’s property damage was over $1,000 (your own car counts), file the MV-104 with the DMV online or by mail within 10 days, even if police made a report. Late filing is a misdemeanor and can cost you your license until it is filed.

2. 2

   Find out which agency worked the crash

   The officer’s exchange of information form names the agency and the report number. A State Police report off the Thruway comes from the DMV; on the Thruway, from the Thruway Authority; a local police report from the DMV or that department.

3. 3

   Order the police report

   Once the DMV’s waiting period has passed, buy it online ($7 search plus $15 per report) or mail form MV-198C ($10 search plus $15 per report) with a copy of your ID. A local department may have it sooner.

4. 4

   Ask for video and photos now, separately

   The crash report does not include video. Body camera, dashcam and traffic camera recordings are requested under the Freedom of Information Law, and State Police body camera recordings can be purged after 24 weeks, so send those requests right away.

Frequently asked questions