How to get a car accident report in South Dakota

Where to get the report

• Office of Accident Records, Department of Public Safety (online) $4 plus $6 online fee; card

  For state reportable crashes on public roads, worked by any law enforcement agency in South Dakota. The investigating officer forwards the report to the Department of Public Safety (SDCL 32-34-10), and the Office of Accident Records sells copies through SafeSD.gov (Purchase Crash Reports). The Office says debit and credit card customers using the online system receive their report immediately if it is available for purchase, and that “There is a $4 fee to locate and provide the crash report and a $6 convenience fee to purchase the online crash report.” The purchase system that SafeSD.gov’s Buy Now button opens lists “Crash Reports Selected for Purchase (at $10.00 each),” so $10 in total per report online; it says “All transactions are final. No refunds,” that the report is emailed to the address you give (check your spam folder), and that you may reprint one copy free for up to 48 hours with your confirmation number. You must provide at least two of: the date of the crash, a driver’s last name, and the county of the crash; if you do not have them, the Office says to ask the law enforcement agency that investigated the crash. It warns that you may not be able to locate a report if the crash happened on private property, if it has been less than 10 days since the crash, if Marsy’s Law has been invoked (its knowledge base article says if the “Marsy’s Law three-day information release period has not been met”), or if damage was under $1,000 to any one person’s property or under $2,000 in total. Questions: South Dakota Office of Accident Records, 118 West Capitol Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3868, arinfo@state.sd.us.

  Official page

• Office of Accident Records (by mail) $4 per report; cash, check, money order

  SafeSD.gov says that if you do not want to buy the online report, you can download and fill out the mail-in form, and that mail-in requests can only be paid by cash, check or money order. The form (Accident Report Request, for motor vehicle traffic accidents occurring in South Dakota) says there is a “$4.00 fee per accident report requested that covers the search and is retained whether or not an accident record is on file in this office,” to make checks payable to DPS - Accident Records, to use one form per report, and that the Office recommends waiting until 20 days after the accident date to submit a request. It asks for the drivers’ names and driver license numbers, the date and location of the accident (street or highway, city or county), the investigating officer, and where to mail the report. Mail it to the Office of Accident Records, 118 West Capitol Avenue, Pierre, South Dakota 57501-2000 (the form also lists phone (605) 773-3868 and fax (605) 773-6893). The form’s document properties show it was last edited in 2015; its $4.00 matches the statute and SafeSD.gov, but confirm by phone if you are unsure.

  Official page

• Police department or sheriff that responded Local copy: law allows $4 per copy

  A county or municipal law enforcement office may collect four dollars for each copy of an accident report it furnishes to any person (SDCL 32-34-13.1). Ask the responding agency directly for any crash the state system will not have: a crash on private property or in a parking lot, a crash below the $1,000 / $2,000 damage threshold, or a report not yet accepted into the state database. The Highway Patrol is part of the Department of Public Safety, and its web page links to the Department’s Accident Records page.

  Official page

• Sioux Falls Police Department (example) Example: $6 per accident report

  Example from the city’s own pages, not a statewide rule: the City of Sioux Falls fee table lists “Copy of an Accident report” at $6 (above the $4 per copy that SDCL 32-34-13.1 says local agencies “may collect”; the city cites its Code of Ordinances, chapter 41, for its fees). Requests go through the city’s online records request form (choose “Accident Report”) or to the Records Section, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 320 West 4th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, (605) 367-7226, policerecords@siouxfalls.gov. The form says responses may take up to 10 business days and that all report processing fees must be paid before release. For other cities and counties, ask the agency that responded.

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When you must report a crash in South Dakota

Hurt/killed, $1,000/owner, $2,000 total

Immediate notice (SDCL 32-34-7): the driver of any motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in bodily injuries or death to any person, or property damage “to an apparent extent of one thousand dollars or more to any one person’s property or two thousand dollars per accident,” must immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident to the nearest available law enforcement officer who has jurisdiction. A violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in county jail, a $500 fine, or both (SDCL 22-6-2). If the driver is physically incapable of giving the notice and another occupant of the vehicle can, the occupant must give it (32-34-9). A 2024 bill to raise these thresholds to $2,000 and $4,000 (Senate Bill 62) was deferred to the 41st legislative day and did not pass, so the $1,000 and $2,000 figures still apply. The Office of Accident Records’ mail-in form describes a state reportable accident in the statute’s words and adds that accidents in parking lots or on private property are not reportable to the Office; its 2024 instruction manual words the damage test as “over $1,000.00” to any one person’s property or “over $2,000.00” in total, while the statute says “one thousand dollars or more.” Stop and give information (32-34-3): the driver of any vehicle in an accident resulting in injury or death to any person or damage to property must immediately stop, give his or her name and address and the name and address of the owner and the license number of the vehicle being driven to the person struck or the driver or occupants of any vehicle collided with, and give any injured person reasonable assistance, including carrying the person to a physician or surgeon if treatment is apparently necessary or is requested. If none of those people is in condition to receive the information and no police officer is present, the driver must, after doing the rest of 32-34-3 as far as possible, report the accident forthwith to the nearest office of a duly authorized police authority and give it that information (32-34-3.1, Class 2 misdemeanor). A driver in a crash resulting in injury or death who fails to stop immediately at the scene and comply with 32-34-3 is guilty of a Class 6 felony (up to two years in prison, a $4,000 fine, or both, SDCL 22-6-1), and the Department of Revenue must revoke the convicted person’s “registration receipt” (32-34-5). Property damage (32-34-6): a driver in an accident resulting in damage to property must stop at the scene and immediately give his or her name and address and “the name and address of the owner of the vehicle”; if the damage is to another motor vehicle whose owner is not at the scene, the driver must immediately leave the information on that vehicle, and if the damage is to other property whose owner is not there, the driver must leave it with the owner or with a law enforcement agency as soon as possible (Class 1 misdemeanor, up to one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, or both). Unattended vehicle or property (32-34-4): the driver must immediately stop and either locate and notify the operator or owner, or securely attach a written notice in a conspicuous place on the vehicle or property, giving in either case the driver’s name and address and the name and address of the owner and the license number of the vehicle the driver is driving, and must without unnecessary delay notify the nearest office of a duly authorized police authority (Class 2 misdemeanor). Insurance: a driver involved in a reportable accident must furnish written evidence of financial responsibility (an insurer’s official electronic copy counts) when the investigating officer asks, and the officer writes it on the accident report (32-35-116). Repairs: after notice of a reportable crash, the investigating officer must have a notice affixed to the damaged vehicle saying the accident has been reported and is being investigated (32-34-10), and a garage or repair shop may not begin repairs on a vehicle showing evidence of a reportable accident unless it bears that notice (32-34-23, Class 2 misdemeanor).

What the report costs

State $4 search fee; $10 total online

By statute the Secretary of Public Safety “shall collect four dollars for each request to locate a report on file” and furnishes any report the search finds at no additional cost; the money goes to the state highway fund (SDCL 32-34-13). Online, the Office of Accident Records adds a $6 convenience fee to the $4, for $10 in total, payable by debit or credit card; by mail it is $4.00 per report by cash, check or money order, and the mail-in form says the $4.00 search fee is kept whether or not a report is on file. Local agencies: a county or municipal law enforcement office may collect four dollars per copy (32-34-13.1). In practice local fees can differ: for example, the City of Sioux Falls lists $6 for a copy of an accident report. Ask the responding agency for its current fee.

When the report is ready

Officer: 3 days after investigation

The investigating officer must forward the report to the Department of Public Safety within three days after completing the investigation of the accident, and an agency that submitted more than sixty reports in the prior calendar year must file them electronically (SDCL 32-34-10). The Office of Accident Records’ 2024 instruction manual tells officers to hold a report up to 5 working days for chemical or drug test results to come back, and says a report may be held up to five working days where charges are pending. The Office says a report becomes available for purchase after the investigating agency submits it and it is accepted into the South Dakota Accident Records database, that you may not be able to locate it if it has been less than 10 days since the crash, and its mail-in form recommends waiting until 20 days after the accident date. SafeSD.gov says online buyers receive an available report immediately; the purchase system says it is downloaded and emailed shortly after payment. Retention: SafeSD.gov says vehicle crash reports “are maintaned in our database for a period of 15 years.” Local agencies set their own timelines; Sioux Falls, for example, says responses may take up to 10 business days.

Who can get a copy

Anyone; report removed if victim asks

Reports made under SDCL 32-34-7 to 32-34-12, and the information in them, “is not privileged and may not be held confidential” (SDCL 32-34-13), and the Secretary furnishes a located report to “any person requesting a search.” SafeSD.gov says vehicle crash reports are covered by South Dakota’s open records statute, and the Office of Accident Records says it provides crash records and reports to individuals, insurance agents, law enforcement and others in compliance with Marsy’s Law. Marsy’s Law (South Dakota Constitution, Article VI, Section 29) gives a crime victim the right, upon request, to prevent public disclosure of information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim’s family. Citing Attorney General Official Opinion No. 16-02 (December 5, 2016), which concluded that state and local government entities may release crash reports without violating Article VI, Section 29 under the conditions it sets out, the Office says a report becomes available for purchase once accepted into its database, but that if victims choose to exercise their Marsy’s Law rights after the report is submitted, it will promptly remove the report from all records. You must be able to give at least two of the crash date, a driver’s last name and the county. Local agencies may ask your relationship to the people involved (Sioux Falls’ form asks whether you are the person, an attorney, a legal guardian or an insurance representative).

What to do now

1. 1

   Call police if the law requires it

   If anyone is hurt or killed, or damage appears to be $1,000 or more to one person’s property or $2,000 in total, notify the nearest law enforcement officer right away by the quickest means.

2. 2

   Get the date, county and a driver’s name

   The state search needs two of the three. Ask the officer which agency is writing the report and for its case number.

3. 3

   Wait about 10 days, then search SafeSD.gov

   SafeSD.gov warns a report may not be findable sooner. Online costs $4 plus a $6 convenience fee; by mail it is $4 by cash, check or money order.

4. 4

   Ask the local agency for anything else

   Crashes on private property or in parking lots are not reportable to the state Office of Accident Records, and crashes below the damage threshold may not be in its database. Ask the city police or sheriff that responded.

5. 5

   Show the repair shop the crash notice

   A shop may not start repairs on a vehicle with reportable crash damage unless it bears the officer’s notice (SDCL 32-34-23).

Frequently asked questions