The Police Collision Report: Who Can Get It and What to Bring

An adjuster's first question after "is anyone hurt?" is often "was there a police report?" If there was, it is the most neutral account of the collision anyone will have, and you have a legal right to a copy. Here is how that right works and how to use it.

First: was there a report at all?

Officers do not respond to every collision, especially when nobody is hurt. If no officer came, there may be no police report, and your own photos and notes become the record. Either way, the DMV's SR 1 is a separate filing: when it is required, you file it within 10 days, and the DMV says law enforcement will not file it for you.

Who the law says can get it

Vehicle Code section 20012 says the CHP or the agency the collision was reported to "shall disclose the entire contents" to any person with a proper interest, including:

• The drivers involved, or a driver's guardian, conservator or authorized representative.
• The parent of a minor driver.
• Any named person injured in the collision.
• The owners of vehicles or property damaged.
• People who may incur civil liability because of the collision.
• An attorney who declares under penalty of perjury that they represent any of the above.

What you'll be asked for

1. The report number, usually written on the card or paper the officer handed you.
2. The date, time and location, and the names of the drivers.
3. Identification showing you are one of the people above. An AB 60 license is a California driver's license; which other IDs an agency takes is that agency's policy.
4. The fee. The statute allows a fee but caps it at the actual cost of providing the copy.

What varies by agency: the request form, whether you can request by mail or online, and how long the report takes to be ready. Call the agency that responded — the CHP office for that area, or the city police department — and ask.

What is in it

The statute lists what must be disclosed: names and addresses of the people involved, injured, or witnessing; registration numbers and descriptions of the vehicles; the date, time and location; all diagrams; the statements of the drivers and injured occupants; and the statements of all witnesses.

How insurers use it

Adjusters use the report to work out fault. Ask yours whether they have already ordered it before you pay for a copy; that practice varies by insurance company. If you believe the report contains an error, ask the agency how it handles corrections or supplemental statements, and tell your adjuster in writing what you think is wrong and why.

Why get it even when fault seems obvious

Stories change. The driver who apologized at the scene may describe it differently to his own insurer a week later. The report fixes the statements, the diagram and the witnesses' names on paper while memories are fresh, and it is the document the other side's adjuster has the hardest time arguing with. If you were not at fault, it is often the quickest way to show it. If you were partly at fault, it tells you what the other side is working from.

The DMV's separate records

The DMV keeps its own financial responsibility records, including SR 1 reports. It releases a copy of an SR 1 through a Financial Responsibility Information Request (form SR 19C), and it says accident and insurance information is only released to individuals involved in the accident or their attorney.

If the report shows your coverage was not what you needed, start a quote here and we will walk through each line with you.