How to get a car accident report in Utah

Where to get the report

• Utah Highway Patrol (via DPS Public Records Center) Online GovQA request; account required

  UHP says it uses the GovQA portal for all record requests. From UHP’s Get Crash or Police Report page, open the Department of Public Safety’s Public Records Center, create an account (UHP says this is required, because to view police records you must verify your identity), and choose the Public Safety, Utah Highway Patrol request type. Fill in the date, location and case number if known; UHP says you will get an email when your report is ready to download. DPS’s records FAQ says crash reports investigated by UHP come from this portal and that reports by any other agency must be requested from that agency. DPS says it charges for records based on the time it takes to complete them, that requests must be made through the portal (not by email), and that you can pay by credit card online, with a service charge for card payments. DPS’s FAQ also says a vehicle owner listed on the report may get it even if not driving, and that a private investigator must provide a copy of the investigator’s license and a signed release from the client, pays a fee, and may get only the report for the client the investigator represents. Statewide reports filed by other agencies also go to DPS (§ 41-6a-402(6)), but DPS directs you to the investigating agency for those.

  Official page

• City police or county sheriff (examples: Salt Lake City, Utah County) Ask the responding agency; fees vary

  If city police or a county sheriff worked the crash, ask that agency: the statute makes the agency employing the investigating officer responsible for disclosing its report (Utah Code § 41-6a-404(3)). Each agency sets its own fee: political subdivisions set records fees by ordinance or written policy (§ 63G-2-203(3)(c)). Examples from the agencies’ own pages: Salt Lake City Police’s records request form (posted July 2025) asks for the date, location and SLCPD case number, the involved people and your involvement, says requests may take up to 10 business days, and says you agree to pay $15.00 per report or request and other fees under Salt Lake City Code § 2.64.040; the form is addressed to the SLC Police Department Service Desk, 475 South 300 East, P.O. Box 145497, Salt Lake City, UT 84111-5497, 801-799-3101. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office says its reports start at $15 each, a photo ID is required, a notarized release is needed to request records for someone else, processing takes up to 10 business days except in extraordinary circumstances, and its accident reports can be bought online through crashdocs.org (it states no price for that channel). Its records office is at 3075 North Main, Spanish Fork, UT 84660, 801-851-4500.

  Official page

When you must report a crash in Utah

Injury, death or $2,500+: call police

Property damage (Utah Code § 41-6a-401, as amended by 2026 H.B. 423, effective July 1, 2026): a driver who knows, or has reason to believe, that they were in a crash that damaged only another vehicle or other property may move the vehicle as soon as possible out of the travel lanes to the shoulder, the nearest suitable cross street or another location that does not obstruct traffic (or, on a freeway, off the main lines to an exit ramp shoulder, frontage road or similar place), and must remain there until meeting the section’s duties; moving does not affect fault. If anyone is with the other vehicle or property, give your name, address and registration number and the name of your insurance provider, including the agent’s or provider’s phone number, and show your license on request to any investigating officer, the other driver, occupant or attendant, and the property owner if present. If the damaged vehicle or property is unattended, find and tell the owner your name, address and registration number, or securely attach a written note with that information in a conspicuous place. Giving the information to an investigating officer at the scene satisfies the duty to others. Notice to police: you must immediately, by the quickest means available, notify the nearest office of a law enforcement agency if the crash caused property damage to an apparent extent of $2,500 or more (§ 41-6a-401(4)). A violation is a class B misdemeanor, a class A misdemeanor with one listed prior conviction within 10 years (including leaving an injury crash or DUI), and a third degree felony with two such priors or a listed felony or class A prior (§ 41-6a-401(8)); prior-conviction enhancements do not apply if you voluntarily report the crash to the agency with jurisdiction within six hours (§ 41-6a-401(9)). Injury or death (§§ 41-6a-401.3, 41-6a-401.7): a driver who has reason to believe they were in a crash that injured someone must immediately stop at or as close to the scene as possible without obstructing traffic more than necessary and remain until meeting the § 41-6a-401.7 duties: give the same name, address, registration and insurance information, show your license on request (including to the person struck), give reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including transport or arranging transport to a doctor or hospital if treatment is apparently necessary or the person asks, and immediately, by the quickest means available, notify the nearest office of a law enforcement agency. If the driver cannot give that notice, an occupant who can must give it (§ 41-6a-401.7(3)). Leaving is a class A misdemeanor if someone was injured, a third degree felony if the crash caused serious bodily injury or the driver has listed prior convictions, and a second degree felony if someone died, for serious bodily injury with a prior conviction under the section, or with two or more DUI convictions within 10 years (§ 41-6a-401.3(4)), with mandatory minimum sentences in § 41-6a-401.8 (for example a fine of not less than $700 for the class A misdemeanor). The 2026 bill repealed the separate fatal-crash section, 41-6a-401.5. Other rules: an officer investigating a crash may ask the driver for evidence of insurance (§ 41-6a-403(1)); a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction may, without the owner’s consent, remove a vehicle, cargo or other property damaged or spilled on a state highway, blocking the roadway or otherwise endangering public safety (§ 41-6a-401.9); and no government entity may charge you a flat fee for responding to a crash, only actual or estimated costs for medical transport or treatment, damaged public property and cleanup if you are legally liable, and towing (§ 41-6a-409).

The driver report you may have to file

Only if DPS asks: file within 10 days

Utah has no standing driver report. Instead, the Department of Public Safety may require the driver of a vehicle in a crash with injury, death, or total property damage to the apparent extent of $2,500 or more to file a report of the crash, in a manner DPS specifies, within 10 days after DPS’s request, plus a supplemental report if DPS finds the first one insufficient; DPS may also require witnesses to file reports (Utah Code § 41-6a-402(1), (2)). No report is required while a person is physically incapable of making one, and if the driver is incapable and is not the owner, the owner must make the report within 15 days after becoming aware of the crash (§ 41-6a-402(3)). If you are required to file and do not, DPS must suspend your license or permit and any nonresident operating privilege until the report is filed, and may extend the suspension by up to 30 days; a violation of the section is an infraction (§ 41-6a-402(5), (9)). Separately, a local highway authority (such as a city or county) may by ordinance require the driver or owner to file a crash report, or a copy of a report filed with DPS, with the local law enforcement agency (§ 41-6a-402(8)), so check local rules. Giving information in any required report while knowing or having reason to believe it is false is a class A misdemeanor (§ 41-6a-404(6)). DPS’s crash report manual says only law enforcement officers and agencies can submit a crash report to the state’s crash database. We found no DPS form or page for a driver-filed report.

What the report costs

Set by agency; DPS posts no price

The statute lets DPS and the agency employing the investigating officer charge a reasonable fee, determined by DPS under the state fee-setting process (Utah Code § 63J-1-504), for the cost of disclosing an accident report or a report with its accompanying data (Utah Code § 41-6a-404(7)); a person entitled to a report may get a photocopy from DPS by paying a fee set under the same process (§ 41-12a-202(2)). No DPS or UHP page we read states a crash report price; DPS says it charges based on the time it takes to complete a request, with a service charge for credit card payments. The Legislature’s fee schedule for fiscal year 2027 (2026 H.B. 8, Section 3) lists no separate crash report fee; under fees applicable to all divisions of DPS it lists copies at $5.00 for 1 to 10 pages, $25.00 for 11 to 50 pages, $0.50 a page over 50 pages and $1.00 a color page, mailing at actual cost, and, among DPS fees, an “Online traffic reports Utah Interactive convenience fee” of $2.50. We could not confirm which of these UHP applies to a crash report. Local agencies set their own fees: Salt Lake City Police’s form lists $15.00 per report or request, and the Utah County Sheriff says reports start at $15 each (examples only). Under the Government Records Access and Management Act, any agency may waive the fee and is encouraged to when the requester is the subject of the record (§ 63G-2-203(4)(b)), and may require payment in advance when fees are expected to exceed $50 (§ 63G-2-203(8)). No government entity may charge you a flat crash response fee (§ 41-6a-409).

When the report is ready

Written request: 10 business days

An officer who investigates a crash with injury, death or apparent property damage of $2,500 or more must file an electronic copy of the report with DPS within 10 days after completing the investigation, and may make the report at the scene or later by interviewing participants or witnesses (Utah Code § 41-6a-402(6)). The Highway Safety Office’s Crash Report Instruction Manual (updated February 2026) tells officers to submit reports to the state crash database “within 10 days of the event.” Once the report exists, the agency employing the investigating officer must disclose it to the people the law lists, and on a written request must disclose the report and its accompanying data within 10 business days after receiving the request (§ 41-6a-404(3)(b)(i)); it may withhold the report and its data if disclosure would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution (§ 41-6a-404(3)(b)(ii)). For other records, the Government Records Access and Management Act requires a response as soon as reasonably possible and no later than 10 business days after a written request, with longer periods for listed extraordinary circumstances (§ 63G-2-204(4), (6), (7)). UHP says you get an email when the report is ready. We found no official statement of how long crash reports are kept.

Who can get a copy

Involved people, agents, limited press

Crash reports filed with DPS are protected and for the confidential use of government agencies, except as § 41-6a-404 provides (Utah Code §§ 41-6a-402(7), 41-6a-404(2), 63G-2-305(38)). DPS or the agency employing the investigating officer must disclose an unredacted accident report to: a person involved in the crash (not a witness); a person suffering loss or injury in it; an agent, parent or legal guardian of either; a state, local or federal agency using it for official, investigative or accident prevention purposes; law enforcement acting officially; and a licensed private investigator who represents an involved or injured person (or their agent, parent or guardian) and shows the representation is directly related to the crash (§ 41-6a-404(3)(a)). An “agent” is an attorney formally engaged in anticipation of or in litigation, the person’s insurer, an emergency hospital that treated the person for the crash, or anyone with the person’s signed permission (§ 41-6a-404(1)(c)). News media may get only each person’s name, age, sex and city of residence, the vehicles’ make and model year, whether each person was insured, the location and a description without other identifying details (§ 41-6a-404(3)(d)). The agency must also disclose whether each person or vehicle was insured and the insurer’s name (§ 41-6a-404(3)(c)). An attorney who asks in writing with a letter of representation and pays the fees must get protected parts of the report relevant to the matter unredacted, though the agency may redact video that is not relevant, and an attorney who uses it for another purpose is liable for unlawful disclosure (§ 41-6a-404(5)). An agency may withhold the report while disclosure would jeopardize a criminal investigation or prosecution, and may redact a person’s phone number or address if disclosure may endanger that person (§ 41-6a-404(3)(b)). Knowingly obtaining a report when you are not on the list, or using report information to market services, including legal services, is a class A misdemeanor (§ 41-6a-404(9)). DPS’s records FAQ describes this more narrowly, saying crash reports and photos go to anyone who suffered a loss (vehicle owner, insurer, driver or passengers) and parents of anyone involved. Reports filed under the section may not be used as evidence at trial, but DPS must give a certificate showing whether a report was made (§ 41-6a-404(4)).

What to do now

1. 1

   Call police if the law requires it

   Notify the nearest law enforcement office at once after a crash with injury, death or apparent damage of $2,500 or more, and stay until you have exchanged information.

2. 2

   Get the agency and case number

   Ask the officer which agency took the report and for the case number. UHP’s portal asks for the date, location and case number if known.

3. 3

   Request it in writing

   For UHP, use the DPS Public Records Center; otherwise ask the responding agency. On a written request, the agency must disclose the report and its data within 10 business days, though it may withhold them during a criminal investigation or prosecution.

4. 4

   Ask for the video with the report

   Accompanying data can include photos, body camera and dash camera video and witness statements. Ask for them in the same written request.

Frequently asked questions