How to get security camera footage from a business after a car accident

Go to the business in person today, ask for the manager, and ask them to save the part of the recording that shows your crash. Then hand them a short written request (there is one below to copy) so the date, time and camera are on paper. Do this before anything else on this page, because many security systems delete old video on their own.

Why you need to ask today

There is no standard retention period for business cameras. Each system keeps video for as long as its storage and its settings allow, and those differ from one building to the next. A few manufacturers’ own documentation shows how much it varies:

• Lorex says its LHB Series recorders are set by default to overwrite automatically, and that the system deletes the oldest footage when the hard drive is full. The owner can instead pick a number of days or hours to keep.
• Reolink says its overwrite setting automatically deletes the oldest recordings when the card or drive reaches capacity, and that on many models owners can also set how many days recordings are kept before they are deleted.
• Verkada says its standard cameras have storage for 30 days of continuous recording, that higher-retention options hold 60, 90, 120 or 365 days, and that the camera progressively deletes the oldest footage when storage is full.
• Ring says its US default is 30 days for 4K devices and 60 days for 1080p and 2K devices, that the owner can set it as short as one day, and that videos are permanently lost when the storage time expires or the subscription lapses.

Lorex’s own setup steps show an overwrite menu that starts at one day, and Reolink’s example of a 7-day setting keeps only the most recent week. You cannot know from the street which kind of system a business has, so treat every camera as if it records over tonight. Guidance for investigators from the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) puts it plainly: evidence from video recorders “is perishable and should be acquired as soon as possible.”

Before you walk in: write down four things

A manager can only search for what you can describe. Have this ready, on paper or in your phone:

1. The exact date and a time window. Keep it as tight as you honestly can, for example 5:40 to 5:55 pm. Note whether you are sure of the time or estimating.
2. Where the crash happened relative to the building: “the intersection in front of your pumps,” “the second row of your lot, by the cart return.”
3. The camera you saw. Point to it if you can: “the one above the side door, facing the street.” Photograph it from where your car was.
4. The vehicles involved: colors, makes, which direction each was going.

Bring your police report number if you have one. If you do not yet, say you are filing one.

Who to ask

The person at the register may not have access to the recordings. Ask, in this order:

• The store, station or office manager on duty. They may be able to view the system or know who can.
• The owner, for an independent business.
• Corporate loss prevention or security, for a chain. Ask the manager for the contact or the incident email they use.
• The property manager or landlord, for a strip mall, office building, apartment complex or parking garage. The cameras on a shared lot may belong to the property, not the tenant.
• The security or alarm company, if the system is monitored or cloud-hosted. Ask the manager who installed it or who manages the account, since the owner may need that company’s help to find and export the clip.

Get a name and a direct phone number or email for whoever controls the recordings, and write down who you spoke to and when.

What to say in person, word for word

Hi, could I speak to the manager? My name is [name]. I was in a car accident [right in front of your store / in your parking lot] on [date] between about [time] and [time]. I think your camera [above the door / on the pole] faces where it happened. Could you check that window, and if it shows the crash, save a copy so it does not record over? I am filing a police report, number [number, if you have it]. I have a written request with the details here. If you can share the clip, I can take it on a USB drive or by download link. If you can only give it to police, I understand. Could you still save it for them? Thank you.

What to say on the phone

If you cannot get there today, call first and follow with the email below.

Hi, I am calling about your security camera footage. I was in a car accident [at / in front of] your [location] on [date] between [time] and [time], and your camera may have recorded it. Who handles your security recordings? [When you reach them:] Could you save the video from that window before your system records over it? I will email you a written request with the details right now. What email should I send it to? And may I have your name?

A footage-preservation request to hand over today

Print it, write it out by hand, or paste it into an email. Keep a copy, and photograph the paper copy in the manager’s hand or keep the sent email.

Request to save security camera video

Date of this request: [today’s date]

To: [business name], [address] Attention: [manager or person’s name, if known]

I was involved in a vehicle crash on [date] between approximately [start time] and [end time] at [location, for example “the intersection of Main St and 3rd Ave, in front of your entrance”]. Your security camera located at [camera location] may have recorded it.

I am asking you to please save all video from that camera, and any other camera with a view of [location], from [start time] to [end time] on [date], before your system records over it.

If you are willing to share a copy, I would be grateful for:

• the video exported from the system in its original format, with any player software needed to view it, and
• a standard video file (such as MP4), if your system offers one.

If your policy is to release video only to police or by legal request, I ask that you still save it so it remains available. Police report number: [number, or “being filed”].

Vehicles involved: [colors, makes, directions].

Thank you for your help.

[Your name] [Phone] [Email]

This is a polite request, not a legal demand or legal advice, and it reads that way on purpose. It gives the manager the date, time and camera on paper, so they can search the right stretch of video or pass the request to whoever can.

If they refuse or will not share

A no to sharing is not a no to saving. Work through these:

1. Ask them to preserve the clip anyway, and write down the name of the person who agreed. Some systems let the owner protect or archive a clip; Verkada, for example, says archived clips stay in the cloud for the lifetime of the account.
2. Ask police to request it. Give the officer or the report desk the business name, the camera location, the time window and the manager’s name. Ask whether the department will collect the video.
3. Tell your insurer. Give the adjuster the same details when you report the claim.
4. If a public agency owns the camera (a city building, a transit stop, a traffic camera), send a written public records request to that agency. Rules vary by state. In New York, as one example, Public Officers Law 89 requires an agency to respond within five business days of a written request for a record reasonably described, and agencies with reasonable means must accept requests by email. See how New York accident video requests work, including New York City DOT’s statement that its traffic cameras do not record.
5. A lawyer can advise on a specific case, including whether a formal preservation letter makes sense for yours.

Privacy, and why some businesses release only to police

A security recording shows more than your crash: customers, employees, other cars and plates. Some businesses may have a policy of releasing video only to police or in response to a legal request, and the person on duty may not be allowed to decide alone. A refusal to share is not necessarily a sign they are hiding anything. Respect it, ask them to save the clip, and route the request through police or your insurer.

How to get the file without it being altered

If the business agrees to share, ask for the best copy the system can produce. SWGDE’s guidance for investigators says a native or proprietary file format “is likely to provide best evidence for legal authenticity purposes,” because it is closest to how the video was recorded, and that the matching player or codec should be obtained from the device or the manufacturer. It also notes that on some network-connected systems, the streamed view of the video may be downgraded, with higher compression, lower resolution or a lower frame rate, so an export from the recorder is the better copy.

In practice:

1. Ask for an export from the recorder onto your USB drive, plus a standard MP4 if offered. Bring a new, empty drive.
2. Ask for the player software if the file will not open on a normal computer.
3. Ask whether the system clock is right. SWGDE tells investigators to calculate any offset between real time and the recorder’s clock. Photograph the recorder’s on-screen clock next to your phone’s clock.
4. Filming the screen with a phone is a last resort. SWGDE lists recording the screen with a camera as a fallback for when video can be viewed but not exported, and notes that this captures none of the recorder’s metadata. If it is the only option, hold the phone steady and capture the whole screen, including the on-screen time.
5. Do not edit, trim or convert the original. Copy it, work from the copy, and keep the original drive or download untouched. Ask for the exported file itself rather than a copy re-sent through a messaging app, because the export is the version closest to the original recording.

Give police and your insurer copies, never your only original.

Post a footage request for dashcams that drove past

The business camera may not show the moment of impact, or it may be gone. Drivers who passed with a dashcam running may still have it. Post a free footage request with the place, date, time window, and what a camera would have seen. Requests are reviewed by hand, published without your contact details, and sent to registered dashcam owners near you. You can offer a reward if you want to; it is an agreement between you and the responder, and the site never holds or pays it.

Browse open footage requests to see how others describe their crash. For other places to look, see crash evidence by state, and if you are in New York, what the state requires for a New York accident report.