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

The public records law that gets you the video

Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, §§6A, 10 and 10A, and c. 4, §7(26); regulations at 950 CMR 32.00

10 business days; 5 cents a page

“Public records” include photographs, recorded tapes and other documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by a Massachusetts government employee, unless an exemption applies (M.G.L. c. 4, §7(26)); video is covered. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Guide says each person has a right of access, that you need not give a reason, and that you may not be required to identify yourself as a condition of access; a records access officer may ask your purpose only to decide whether a request is commercial or whether to grant a fee waiver (M.G.L. c. 66, §10(d)(viii)). Send the request to the agency’s or town’s records access officer by hand, first class mail or the email address the agency posts (M.G.L. c. 66, §10(a)); oral requests are valid but cannot be appealed (950 CMR 32.08(1)(b)), so write. Deadline: the officer must permit inspection or furnish a copy not later than 10 business days after receiving the request (§10(a)). If the agency will withhold anything or needs more time, it must say so in writing within those 10 business days, cite the specific exemption, give an itemized good faith fee estimate, and set a production date no later than 15 business days after the request for a state agency or 25 business days for a city or town, unless you agree to a later date (§10(b)). For a burdensome request the agency may petition the Supervisor of Records for one more extension of up to 20 business days (agency) or 30 business days (municipality), and must send you a copy of the petition (§10(c)). Fees: no more than the actual cost of reproducing the record; the actual cost of a storage device, such as a disc or drive for video, may be charged; paper copies are capped at 5 cents per page; a state agency may charge for labor only when a request takes more than 4 hours and never for the first 4; a city or town may charge only when a request takes more than 2 hours, and only a municipality of over 20,000 people must leave the first 2 hours free; the rate is no more than $25 per hour unless the Supervisor approves a higher municipal rate; time spent redacting may be charged only if the redaction is required by law or the Supervisor approves it (§10(d)(i) to (iv)). The officer may waive or reduce a fee if you cannot afford it or if disclosure is in the public interest (§10(d)(v)), and may not charge any fee if it did not respond within 10 business days (§10(e)). Records must be provided electronically when they exist in electronic form and you can receive them, in your preferred format where feasible (M.G.L. c. 66, §6A(d)). Example, Massachusetts State Police: requests go through its online portal, by email to the Records Access Officer, or by mail to Primary RAO, Massachusetts State Police, 50 Maple Street, Milford, MA 01757, (774) 462-3770; its page says the first four hours of work are free and it may then charge up to $25 per hour, and that redacting personally identifiable information adds time.

Police body camera and dashcam video

No video statute; records law governs

We found no Massachusetts statute that sets release, viewing or retention rules for police body camera or cruiser (dashboard) camera recordings, and none that requires departments to use them. A search of the General Laws for body camera terms found only M.G.L. c. 271, §51, which bars first responders from photographing crash and crime victims outside their official duties, or sharing such images with third parties without consent, and says those bans do not apply to body-worn cameras or cameras mounted on a first responder’s vehicle; it sets no release or retention rule for that video. The 2020 police reform law (Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020, approved December 31, 2020, §104) created the Law Enforcement Body Camera Task Force to propose regulations and a uniform code for departments that choose to use body cameras. Its final report, Recommended Regulations for the Procurement and Use of Body Worn Cameras by Law Enforcement (August 2, 2022), recommended keeping all recordings at least 180 days but no more than 30 months (suggesting one year and 37 months instead), keeping them while any related investigation or court case is open, and releasing recordings, including those tied to an active investigation, only in compliance with the Public Records Law. These are recommendations; we found no regulation adopting them. So the Public Records Law governs: a recording is a public record unless an exemption applies (M.G.L. c. 4, §7(26)), and the department must cite the specific exemption for anything it withholds (M.G.L. c. 66, §10(b)(iv)). The exemptions most likely to come up are (a), records exempted by another statute; (c), information about a specifically named individual whose disclosure may be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; and (f), investigatory materials (see the next section). The Secretary’s Guide says the privacy exemption calls for case-by-case balancing, and that statutes such as the Criminal Offender Record Information Act (M.G.L. c. 6, §167) require redaction of what they cover. Agencies may redact rather than withhold; the State Police page warns that redacting personal information adds time. Ask each agency how long it keeps video, and ask it in writing to preserve the recording while your request is pending.

When police can hold video back

Exemption (f); case by case, no end date

Exemption (f) covers investigatory materials necessarily compiled out of the public view by law enforcement or other investigatory officials the disclosure of which would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that disclosure would not be in the public interest (M.G.L. c. 4, §7(26)(f)). The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Guide says the exemption is not a blanket exemption for all records investigators create or keep, that a custodian generally must show prejudice to investigative efforts to withhold, that information about an ongoing investigation may be withheld if disclosure could alert suspects, that confidential investigative techniques may be withheld indefinitely, and that redaction may preserve the anonymity of voluntary witnesses; the exemption invites case-by-case consideration (the Guide cites WBZ-TV4 v. District Attorney for the Suffolk District, 408 Mass. 595 (1990), among others, for the point that it is not a blanket exemption, and Reinstein v. Police Commissioner of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, for case-by-case review). Its example: a police incident report that names witnesses generally may be released after the exempt parts, such as medical information and information that may identify a voluntary witness, are redacted. We found no statute or official guidance setting a date when the exemption stops applying; because the test is probable prejudice to effective law enforcement, judged case by case, you can ask again after the investigation or case closes. In court, a presumption exists that each record is public, and the agency must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it may withhold it (M.G.L. c. 66, §10A(d)(1)(iv)).

Do traffic cameras in Massachusetts record?

Live images; no stated recording policy

MassDOT says it shares access to its traffic cameras with developers and third parties through an API providing live JPEG images at the rate of one frame every 120 seconds, through its partner TrafficLand. We found no official MassDOT or Mass511 statement saying whether those cameras record or how long any video is kept. If a state highway camera may have caught your crash, make a written public records request to MassDOT right away through its public records portal, by email to MassDOT.RAO@state.ma.us, or by mail to Public Records Requests, MassDOT Office of the General Counsel, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 3510, Boston, MA 02116 (Records Access Officer (857) 368-8752; Public Records Department (857) 368-8760); MBTA requests go through MBTA.com. Give the road, direction, nearest exit or mile marker, date and a tight time window. Toll gantries are different for toll account holders: MassDOT must keep confidential all information, including photographs and other recorded images, relative to account holders who participate in its electronic toll collection system; that information is not a public record and may be used for enforcement only with respect to toll collection regulations, though an account holder may, on written request, see the information that pertains solely to their own account (M.G.L. c. 6C, §13). The statute’s confidentiality language is written about account holders; it does not address images of vehicles without a toll account. City and town cameras are not MassDOT’s; ask that town’s records access officer in writing at once.

Red-light and speed cameras

No red-light or speed camera law found

Red-light and speed cameras: we found no Massachusetts General Law authorizing camera enforcement of red lights or speed limits, so for a Massachusetts crash we know of no state red-light or speed camera program to request images from. Bills to authorize such cameras were pending in the Legislature, not enacted, when we checked in October 2026. Two narrower camera programs exist, and both limit access. School bus stop-arm cameras: a city or town that accepts the law may put cameras on school buses to catch drivers who pass a stopped school bus (M.G.L. c. 40, §71; c. 90, §§14C to 14E, added by Chapter 399 of the Acts of 2024, approved January 10, 2025, as an emergency law). Other than to enforce the violation or for a vehicle owner defending one, the video and photos may be made available only under a court order; recordings that show no violation must be destroyed within 30 days, and violation recordings within one year after the case ends, unless a court orders otherwise (M.G.L. c. 90, §14C(d)). Bus lane and bus stop cameras: the MBTA, and any regional transit authority that adopts the law, may use bus-mounted cameras to enforce bus-only lanes and bus stops, and the cities and towns they serve enforce bus stop cameras (M.G.L. c. 90K, §§1, 2). Those photographs and recorded data are not public records, are not discoverable in other proceedings without a court order, and a court may order release only if the recording establishes or undermines a violation that is material to a finding of civil or criminal liability (M.G.L. c. 90K, §5). If a crash happened beside one of these cameras, you may want to ask a lawyer about a court order.

If your request is denied

Supervisor in 90 days, or Superior Court

Appeal to the Supervisor of Records, in the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Division of Public Records, within 90 calendar days of the agency’s response, or within 90 calendar days of your request if the agency never responded (950 CMR 32.08(1)(c), (d)). The appeal must be in writing, describe your objections, and include complete copies of your request and every response (for email, with all header information), and you must send a copy of the appeal to the records access officer (950 CMR 32.08(1)(e) to (g)); an oral request cannot be appealed. The Supervisor may deny an appeal if, among other reasons, the records are the subject of active litigation, administrative hearings or mediation (950 CMR 32.08(2)(b)), so tell the Supervisor if you have sued. The Supervisor must issue a written determination within 10 business days of receiving the appeal and may inspect the records in camera (M.G.L. c. 66, §10A(a)); if the agency ignores an order, the Supervisor may refer it to the Attorney General (§10A(b)). If you are unhappy with the Supervisor’s order, or the Supervisor does not decide in time, judicial review is by an action in the nature of certiorari in Superior Court (§10A(a)). You may also skip the Supervisor and sue in Superior Court directly: Suffolk Superior Court for a state agency, or the superior court in the town’s county for a municipality (§10A(c)). There, the court decides de novo, each record is presumed public, and the agency bears the burden of proving an exemption; the court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs, with a presumption in favor of an award when you obtain relief, and may assess punitive damages of $1,000 to $5,000 against an agency that did not act in good faith, paid into the state’s Public Records Assistance Fund rather than to you (§10A(d)). The Division of Public Records: One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, MA 02108; (617) 727-2832; pre@sec.state.ma.us.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send written requests today

   Write to the records access officer of each police department and town that may have video. Give the date, time, location and report number, ask for body camera and cruiser camera video, and ask that it be preserved.

2. 2

   Ask MassDOT about highway cameras at once

   MassDOT publishes only live camera images and we found no statement on whether it records. Request any recording through its public records portal or MassDOT.RAO@state.ma.us right away.

3. 3

   Track the 10-business-day deadline

   The agency must produce the records or explain in writing within 10 business days. If it misses that deadline, it may not charge you a fee for those records.

4. 4

   Appeal within 90 days if refused

   Send the Supervisor of Records your request, the response and a short letter explaining why, and copy the records access officer. You may instead go to Superior Court.

5. 5

   Look for private footage now

   Massachusetts has no red-light or speed camera program we could find. Post the crash on the bounty board: nearby dashcams and business cameras often hold the only footage.

Frequently asked questions