How to get a car accident report in West Virginia

Where to get the report

• West Virginia State Police, Traffic Records Section (State Police crashes) $20 by mail or email; $25 certified

  For a crash the State Police worked, use the State Police “Criminal and Crash Report Request Form” (WVSP Form 141, revised 1/2024), which is made “Pursuant to the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act §29B-1 et seq.” Give the date of the crash, location, driver names and the crash report number if you have it. The form’s fee schedule: $20.00 for a crime or vehicle crash report, with boxes to choose mail or email delivery for crash reports; $25.00 for a certified vehicle crash report; $25.00 for a crash report by fax; $50.00 for video or audio tapes; $25.00 for each set of up to 12 photographs; and, for reconstructed crash reports only, $500.00 ($505.00 certified or by fax). The fees cover reports of 50 pages or less, with $1.00 per sheet after 50 pages, and the fee is non-refundable. Pay by certified check, business check or money order to “Superintendent, West Virginia State Police,” or by credit card (not American Express); the form says not to send cash, personal checks or business starter checks, and to include a self-addressed envelope. Send to: West Virginia State Police, Traffic Records Section, 701 Jefferson Road, South Charleston, WV 25309; phone (304) 746-2128; fax (304) 746-2206; email wvsp.crashreports@wvsp.gov. The Traffic Safety Section page gives (304) 746-2128 for information or to obtain a crash report. By statute, fees the Superintendent collects for traffic accident reports and photographs are paid into the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund (W. Va. Code §15-2-26(b)); the statute sets no amount.

  Official page

• City police department or county sheriff that worked the crash Ask the agency; Charleston lists $20

  Most crashes are worked by city police or sheriffs, and the notice statute routes them by place: the local police department inside a municipality, otherwise the county sheriff or the nearest State Police office (W. Va. Code §17C-4-6). The Division of Motor Vehicles says that if a crash “was investigated by any other law enforcement agency, that agency must be contacted to obtain a copy of the report.” No statute sets a statewide fee or channel for local reports. A crash report is a public record under the Freedom of Information Act, so a request “made directly to the custodian” of the record works for any agency (§29B-1-3(b)); the agency may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse its actual cost of reproduction, but no search or retrieval fee (§29B-1-3(e)). Example, Charleston Police Department, from the City of Charleston’s CWV311 article (last updated January 10, 2020, per the page): request through CWV311 online, by calling 304-348-6400, or in person at the Records Division at City Hall, 501 Virginia St. East (Court Street side), with photo ID; “There is a $20 Charge,” cash or check only; “The person who picks up the copy must be named in the report”; and it “can take up to 10 days for a report to be ready for distribution.” Other agencies set their own fees and rules, so ask the agency that worked your crash.

  Official page

• The investigating officer (owner, driver and insurance information) Free insurance info on request in 24h

  You do not have to wait for the report to get the other driver’s details. “Within 24 hours of a motor vehicle crash, the investigating law-enforcement officer shall provide the owner, operator, and insurance information upon request for all the involved parties to each of the other involved parties, and to each party’s respective insurance agents. This information shall be made available, at no cost, whether or not the accident report has been completed” (W. Va. Code §17C-4-7(b)). Ask the officer at the scene, or call the agency and ask for the officer.

  Official page

When you must report a crash in West Virginia

Injury/death/$1,000+: notify police now

The reporting duty is W. Va. Code §17C-4-6: “The driver of a vehicle involved in a crash resulting in injury to or death of any person or total property damage to an apparent extent of $1,000 or more shall immediately by the quickest means of communication, give notice of such crash to the local police department if such crash occurs within a municipality, otherwise to the office of the county sheriff or the nearest office of the West Virginia State Police.” The $1,000 figure dates from the 2010 rewrite of the article (SB 354). If the driver is physically incapable of giving the notice and another occupant is capable, that occupant must make it (§17C-4-8). Penalty: the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may suspend the license or driving privilege of a person who fails to notify, and a person convicted is punished under the general misdemeanor section (§17C-4-10), which provides, for a first conviction, a fine of not more than $100 or up to ten days in jail, rising to not more than $200 or 20 days for a second within one year and not more than $500 or six months for a third (§17C-18-1). At the scene: in a crash that injures or kills anyone, you must stop immediately at or as close as possible to the scene and remain until you have met §17C-4-3, though you may leave as reasonably necessary to help an injured person (§17C-4-1(a)). Intentionally leaving when you know or have reason to believe someone was hurt is a misdemeanor (a fine of not more than $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both), a felony when someone suffers serious bodily injury (a fine of not more than $2,500, one to three years in a state correctional facility, or both) and a felony when the crash proximately causes a death within one year (a fine of not more than $5,000, one to five years, or both), and a conviction brings license revocation for one year from the conviction or the release from incarceration, whichever is later (§17C-4-1(b) to (f), Erin’s Law). A crash that damages only a vehicle driven or attended by a person carries the same duty to stop and remain, and failing to do so is a misdemeanor (§17C-4-2). The information you must give, if physically able, to the person struck or the driver, occupant or attendant of the other vehicle: your name, a valid telephone number, the year, make, model and last four digits of the VIN of the vehicle you are driving, and proof of insurance including the insured’s name, the insurer’s name and contact information and the policy number; you may meet this by giving the information to an investigating officer at the scene. If anyone is hurt, give reasonable assistance, including carrying or arranging to carry them to a physician or hospital if treatment is apparently necessary or they ask (§17C-4-3). Unattended vehicle: stop and either find and notify the operator or owner of your name and address and the owner’s, or leave a written notice in a conspicuous place in the struck vehicle with those names and addresses and a statement of the circumstances (§17C-4-4). Fixtures or other property on or next to a highway: take reasonable steps to notify the owner with your name, address and registration number, and show your license on request if available; failing to make that notification is a misdemeanor with a fine of not more than $150 (§17C-4-5). Article 4 applies on streets and highways (§17C-2-1); we found no official guidance on crashes in private parking lots. A city may, by ordinance, require drivers to file a crash report with a city department (§17C-4-15); we did not survey city ordinances.

What the report costs

WVSP $20; local fees vary

No statute sets one statewide crash report fee. The State Police fee schedule on its request form (WVSP Form 141, revised 1/2024) charges $20.00 for a crash report delivered by mail or email, $25.00 for a certified copy, $25.00 by fax, $1.00 per sheet after 50 pages, $25.00 for each set of up to 12 photographs and $50.00 for video or audio tapes; the statute directs report and photograph fees the Superintendent collects into the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund without setting amounts (W. Va. Code §15-2-26(b)). City and county agencies set their own fees within the Freedom of Information Act, which lets a public body charge fees “reasonably calculated to reimburse it for its actual cost in making reproductions of records” and bars a search or retrieval fee or any charge “on a man-hour basis” (§29B-1-3(e)). Example from an official city page: Charleston Police lists a $20 charge for a crash report, payable in cash or by check (page last updated January 2020). The other drivers’ owner, operator and insurance information is free from the investigating officer (§17C-4-7(b)).

When the report is ready

Officer files 24h after investigation

An officer who investigates a crash on a public street or highway involving injury, death or apparent total property damage of $1,000 or more must prepare a report, electronically or in writing, within 24 hours after completing the investigation (W. Va. Code §17C-4-7(a)), and submit it to the Division of Highways within 24 hours after completing the investigation (§17C-4-7(c)). If the investigation cannot be completed within 10 days of the crash, the officer must submit a preliminary report to the Division of Highways on the 10th day and the final report within 24 hours of completion (§17C-4-7(d)). No statewide rule says when a copy becomes available to you, and the State Police form gives no turnaround time. Charleston Police says it can take up to 10 days for a report to be ready (page last updated January 2020). If you make a request under the Freedom of Information Act, the custodian must respond “as soon as is practicable but within a maximum of five days not including Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays” by furnishing copies, telling you when and where you may inspect and copy them, or denying the request in writing (§29B-1-3(d)). We found no official statement of how long crash reports are retained. The Division of Highways keeps the statewide crash database; for crash data (not a copy of your report), its Traffic Accident Data page gives a contact at Marsha.K.Mays@wv.gov.

Who can get a copy

FOIA public record; redactions apply

West Virginia has no crash-report statute limiting who may get a copy. Under the Freedom of Information Act, “Every person has a right to inspect or copy any public record of a public body in this state,” except as the exemptions provide (W. Va. Code §29B-1-3(a)), and there is “a presumption of public accessibility to all public records” (§29B-1-4(a)). The State Police request form is made under that Act. The exemption for law-enforcement records that deal with the detection and investigation of crime (§29B-1-4(a)(4)) can reach a report tied to a criminal case: the Attorney General’s FOIA Handbook says police incident reports fall within that exemption but that, under Ogden Newspapers, Inc. v. City of Williamstown, 192 W. Va. 648 (1994), there is a public right of access “To the extent that information in an incident report dealing with the detection and investigation of crime will not compromise an ongoing law enforcement investigation,” with information that could identify juveniles redacted. The State Police Legal Division says it routinely redacts information that could identify juveniles charged with criminal acts, which is why some driver names on a crash report may be blacked out. Some agencies add their own pickup rules: Charleston Police says the person who picks up a copy in person must be named in the report. The other parties and their insurance agents get the owner, operator and insurance information from the investigating officer at no cost (§17C-4-7(b)). We found no waiting period before release.

What to do now

1. 1

   Call police from the scene

   If anyone is hurt or killed, or damage looks like $1,000 or more, notify police immediately: the city police inside a city, otherwise the sheriff or nearest State Police office (§17C-4-6).

2. 2

   Ask the officer for insurance details

   Within 24 hours the officer must give you, on request and free, the other owners’, drivers’ and insurance information, even before the report is done (§17C-4-7(b)).

3. 3

   Get the agency and report number

   Ask which agency is writing the crash report and for its report number. The State Police form asks for the crash date, location, drivers and report number.

4. 4

   Request the report in writing

   For State Police crashes, send Form 141 with the $20 fee to wvsp.crashreports@wvsp.gov or by mail. For city or county crashes, ask that agency’s records office.

Frequently asked questions