How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in California

The public records law that gets you the video

California Public Records Act (CPRA), Cal. Government Code §7920.000 and following

10 days to decide, up to 14 more

The CPRA covers state and local agencies, police departments included, and an agency may not limit access to a public record based on the purpose for which you request it (§7921.300). Within 10 days from receipt of a request, the agency must determine whether it seeks disclosable records in its possession and promptly notify you of the determination and the reasons; if it will release records, it must also state the estimated date and time when they will be made available (§7922.535). In unusual circumstances, such as collecting records from field facilities, reviewing a large volume of records, consulting another agency, compiling data or writing programs to extract it, or (since January 1, 2026) a cyberattack or a declared state of emergency that keeps the agency from searching its records, the agency head or a designee may extend the 10 days by written notice, but not for more than 14 days. The 10 days is a deadline to decide, not to produce: the CHP’s own records page says so, and that records must be made promptly available. Any denial, in whole or in part, must be in writing and must name each person responsible for it (§7922.540), and the agency must help you make a focused and effective request by identifying records and suggesting ways around practical barriers (§7922.600). Fees: copies cost the direct costs of duplication or a statutory fee where one applies (§7922.530); for an electronic record such as video, the charge is limited to the direct cost of producing a copy in electronic format, unless producing it requires data compilation, extraction or programming, in which case you bear that cost too (§7922.575). The California Supreme Court held that editing exempt material out of police body camera footage is not data extraction, so the agency must bear its own redaction costs (National Lawyers Guild v. City of Hayward, S252445, May 28, 2020, where the city had billed $2,938.58 for about 40 hours of redaction). Example, California Highway Patrol only: it takes requests through its online Public Records Center or by phone or in person at any CHP Area office, preferably the one where the incident occurred.

Police body camera and dashcam video

No special crash-video law; CPRA rules

We found no California statute that requires a court order for police video of an ordinary crash or that sets a special release rule for it; the CPRA and its exemptions govern. The one video-specific release rule, Government Code §7923.625, covers only a critical incident, meaning an officer’s discharge of a firearm at a person or a use of force that resulted in death or great bodily injury; for those, release may be delayed during an active investigation for no longer than 45 calendar days, then up to one year on a showing that disclosure would substantially interfere, and beyond one year only on clear and convincing evidence of that interference, with privacy redactions allowed (§7923.625(a), (b)). Penal Code §832.18 lists best practices that agencies using body-worn cameras shall consider, including that nonevidentiary recordings should be kept for a minimum of 60 days and recordings involving a use of force, a detention or arrest, or a complaint for a minimum of two years; it expressly does not limit public access under the CPRA. Each agency sets its own camera policy. Example, California Highway Patrol only: its General Order 100.61 (revised November 2025) requires in-car camera recording during enforcement contacts, pursuits and Code 3 emergency responses, among others, but makes recording optional when conducting traffic crash investigations (mandatory if an arrest is anticipated, such as an impaired driver); it says all recorded evidence is kept for not less than one year; and it says the recordings may constitute a nonpublic investigative record under the CPRA, so every CPRA request for that footage goes to the CHP’s Public Records Section for a fact-specific decision. Besides the investigation exemption, an agency may cite the privacy exemption for personnel, medical or similar files (§7927.700) or argue that on the facts the public interest in withholding clearly outweighs disclosure (§7922.000).

When police can hold video back

Exempt, even after the case closes

Government Code §7923.600 says the CPRA does not require disclosure of records of complaints to, or investigations conducted by, state or local police agencies, or of investigatory or security files they compile. Unlike some states, California’s exemption does not end when the investigation does: the California Supreme Court held that the exemption for law enforcement investigatory files does not end when the investigation ends (Williams v. Superior Court, 5 Cal.4th 337 (1993)). So crash video kept in an investigation file can stay withheld after charges are resolved. Two rules cut the other way. First, §7923.605 requires the agency to give the victims of an incident caused by a listed crime or by any misdemeanor or felony, their authorized representatives, an insurer against which a claim has been or might be made, and any person suffering bodily injury or property damage or loss as a result, the names and addresses of the people involved and of witnesses (other than confidential informants), a description of the property involved, the date, time and location, all diagrams, and the statements of the parties and of the witnesses, unless disclosure would endanger the safety of a witness or other person involved or the successful completion of the investigation or a related investigation; the agency need not disclose the investigating officer’s analysis or conclusions. Second, §7923.615 requires police to make public the time, substance and location of complaints and calls for assistance, the time and nature of the response, and, where recorded, the factual circumstances of the incident and a general description of any injuries or property involved, with the same safety and investigation exceptions. The agency carries the burden of showing that a withheld record is exempt (§7922.000).

Do traffic cameras in California record?

Caltrans: video neither kept nor saved

Caltrans states on its live traffic camera list that Caltrans traffic camera video footage and still images are neither retained nor archived. Because the CPRA reaches only records an agency has, expect a request to Caltrans for video of a crash to find nothing. If you still want to ask, Caltrans’s online Public Records Center (linked as "Request for a Public Record" from its Online Services page) has a separate Traffic Camera Footage request option; file it the same day, naming the highway, direction, nearest cross street or postmile, date and time window. Cameras run by cities, counties or transit agencies are separate and each agency sets its own practice; we found no statewide statement on whether they record. If a city or county camera covered the crash, send that agency a CPRA request right away naming the camera location, the date and the time window, and ask whether any recording or still image exists.

Red-light and speed cameras

Owner or named driver may review

Red-light cameras: Vehicle Code §21455.5 lets a governmental agency, in cooperation with a law enforcement agency, operate an automated enforcement system at intersections, with warning signs within 200 feet (§21455.5(a), (c)). Its photographic records are confidential and may be made available only to governmental and law enforcement agencies for the purposes of the article (§21455.5(f)(1)); they may be kept up to six months from when first obtained or until final disposition of the citation, whichever is later, then destroyed (§21455.5(f)(3)); and the registered owner, or the person the owner identifies as the driver, may review the photographic evidence (§21455.5(g)). Section 21455.9, added in 2025 by SB 720 (Stats. 2025, ch. 782, which also amended §21455.5 without changing the subdivisions cited here), lets any city or county instead run a red-light camera program with civil penalties only: its photographic, video and administrative records are confidential notwithstanding the CPRA (§21455.9(g)(4)(A)), may be kept up to 60 days after final disposition of the notice (§21455.9(g)(4)(C)), and may not be disclosed to anyone else except as state or federal law requires, by court order, or in response to a subpoena in an individual case (§21455.9(g)(4)(E)); the registered owner or the identified driver may review and obtain a copy (§21455.9(g)(5)). Speed cameras: §22425 authorizes a pilot in Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Long Beach and the City and County of San Francisco, on streets that meet its criteria (such as safety corridors, school zones and streets with a history of speed contests) but not on any state route (§22425(e)); a 2026 amendment (SB 1279, Stats. 2026, ch. 689, effective January 1, 2027) lets Long Beach add two cameras on Pacific Coast Highway, for five years or until January 1, 2032, whichever is sooner (§22426(i)); §22435 allows up to five speed cameras on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu; and §22445 sets up Caltrans speed cameras in state highway work zones. All three make the records confidential notwithstanding the CPRA, let the registered owner or identified driver review and obtain a copy of the photographic evidence (§§22425(m), 22435(k), 22445(j)), keep evidence up to 60 days after final disposition, destroy photos that produce no notice within five business days, and generally bar other disclosure except by court order or a subpoena in an individual case (for example §22425(l)(5)). So unless you are the ticketed owner or the driver the owner named, you generally cannot get these images through a public records request; the statutes leave a court order or a subpoena in an individual case as the other route, and either has to come before the short retention period runs out.

If your request is denied

No admin appeal: go to court

The CPRA does not set up an administrative appeal; we found no appeal step in the Act, so the next step after a written denial is court. Any person may bring a proceeding for injunctive or declaratory relief or a writ of mandate in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the right to inspect or receive a copy of a public record (§7923.000). The agency must justify withholding by showing an express exemption applies or that on the facts the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs disclosure (§7922.000). If you prevail, the court shall award court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees against the agency; if the case is clearly frivolous, the court shall award them to the agency (§7923.115). The trial court’s order is not appealed in the ordinary way: a party seeking review must petition the appellate court for an extraordinary writ within 20 days after service of written notice of entry of the order, or up to 20 more days if the trial court allows for good cause, plus five days if notice was served by mail (§7923.500). You may want to ask a lawyer before filing.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send CPRA requests today

   Write to the police agency that worked the crash and to any city or county agency with a camera nearby. Name the date, time window, location and report number, and ask for dashcam, body camera and any other video.

2. 2

   Ask for the facts you are owed

   If a crime (a misdemeanor or felony) caused the crash, ask the police agency in writing for the names, addresses, witness statements and diagrams that victims and injured people are entitled to under Government Code §7923.605.

3. 3

   Ask for preservation in writing

   Body camera best practice is only a 60-day minimum for routine recordings, and camera programs keep evidence briefly, so ask each agency in the same letter to preserve the recordings while your request is pending.

4. 4

   Look beyond public cameras

   Caltrans says it keeps no traffic camera video, so private video matters most: nearby businesses, buses, and other drivers’ dashcams. Post the crash on the bounty board to reach dashcam owners who passed by.

Frequently asked questions