How to Get a Crash Report in Florida

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is Florida's official repository for crash records. FLHSMV says it is responsible for collecting and distributing crash reports.^1,4

Law enforcement officers use the Florida Traffic Crash Report to report crashes to FLHSMV. Florida law requires their long-form and short-form crash reports to be submitted to FLHSMV. The officer's own agency may also keep them.^2,4,5

If a long-form report is not required for a crash on a public road, the officer must complete a short-form crash report or provide a driver exchange-of-information form.²

Online: Buy the report on FLHSMV's Florida Crash Portal. Once you buy it, the report is available immediately. A download link is emailed to the address you give with your request. You must download the report within 48 hours. It comes as a Zip file containing PDF files. You can buy up to 10 reports per transaction.^1,3

In person: If you need 10 or fewer crash records, you can request them at the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Troop Station nearest to where the crash happened. You must complete a signed statement.¹

By mail: Requests for more than 10 records must be mailed. Include a request letter describing the reports, a signed statement for each report, and payment. Pay by check or money order made out to FLHSMV. Mail your request to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Crash Records, 2900 Apalachee Parkway, MS 28, Tallahassee, FL 32399. FLHSMV says mailed requests take 4 to 6 weeks to process.¹

Other crash data: FLHSMV says public records requests for additional crash data should be sent by email. The address is on FLHSMV's Traffic Crash Reports page.¹

Crash details: FLHSMV's request form, HSMV Form 94010, asks for the date of the crash, the location and county, and the parties involved. It also asks for the crash report number and the law enforcement agency case number, if you know them.⁶

ID: Florida law requires you to show a valid driver license or other photo ID, proof of status, or identification that shows you qualify to get the report.²

Buying online in the first 60 days: During the 60-day confidential period, the portal sells reports only to people who meet a statutory exception. You must state which exemption applies to you, give your driver license number and make an attestation.⁵

Signed statement: For mail and in-person requests, you must complete a signed statement. Florida law requires a separate written sworn statement for each crash report you request. In it, you state that the report's confidential information will not be used for commercial solicitation of accident victims.^1,2

HSMV Form 94010: Section One is a sworn statement for getting a report within 60 days after it is filed. Section Two is a DPPA certification for requests made 60 days or more after filing. The form asks for your name, address and contact details. You swear, under penalty of perjury, that your answers are true and complete. You also swear that the report will not be used for commercial solicitation of crash victims, or knowingly disclosed to a third party for that purpose.⁶

Notary: Form 94010 includes a notary section. It allows the statement to be sworn before a notary in person or by online notarization.⁶

FLHSMV charges $10.00 per crash report. Section 321.23, Florida Statutes, sets this fee.^1,7

On the Florida Crash Portal, a $2.00 convenience fee is added to each transaction. The convenience fee is non-refundable. You can buy up to 10 reports per transaction.^1,3

For a mailed request, pay by check or money order made out to FLHSMV. Include the payment with your request.¹

FLHSMV says crash reports may take up to 10 days to become available. Law enforcement agencies have 10 days to submit reports, so a portal search may not show crashes from the last 10 days.^1,3

Florida law requires a long-form crash report to be submitted to FLHSMV within 10 days after the investigating officer completes the investigation.²

Once you buy a report online, it is available immediately. You must download it within 48 hours.¹

FLHSMV says mailed requests take 4 to 6 weeks to process.¹

You may not need to wait for the investigation to finish. FLHSMV says a report that has been submitted to it can be provided to a requester who meets an exemption in section 316.066, even if the investigation is not complete.⁵

Florida crash reports are confidential for 60 days. The 60 days run from the date the report is filed.^2,5

During those 60 days, only the people and entities listed in section 316.066(2), Florida Statutes, can get a copy. They include the parties involved in the crash, their legal representatives, their licensed insurance agents and their insurers. The law also names other specific parties.^1,2,5

If you are eligible during the 60 days, you remain eligible after they end.⁶

After 60 days, a report may be released to any person or entity eligible under section 316.066(2)(b). It may also be released for a permissible use listed in the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), 18 U.S.C. s. 2721(b).^2,3,6

A third party can get a report on behalf of an authorized person or entity. The third party may share the report only with that person or entity.²

Knowingly getting, or trying to get, confidential crash report information you are not entitled to is a third-degree felony.²

The confidentiality and access rules in section 316.066(2) are scheduled for repeal on October 2, 2027, unless the Legislature reenacts them.²

The law enforcement agency whose officer wrote the report may also keep it. Florida law still requires the report to be submitted to FLHSMV.^2,5

If you request the report from a local agency that holds it, Florida law requires you to file your written sworn statement with that agency.²

FLHSMV's request form asks for the law enforcement agency case number from FHP or another agency, if you know it.⁶

When to notify law enforcement: FLHSMV says you must notify law enforcement and stay at the scene after certain crashes. These are crashes with an injury, a death, a hit and run, DUI, a vehicle that needs a wrecker, a commercial motor vehicle, or apparent damage of $500.00 or more. FLHSMV cites section 316.065, Florida Statutes.¹

When you report it yourself: FLHSMV says drivers in crashes with vehicle or property damage that do not meet those criteria can self-report instead of having an officer complete the report. Florida law says that if a crash damages a vehicle or other property and does not require a law enforcement report, the driver must submit a written report to FLHSMV within 10 days after the crash.^1,2

The form: The self-report form is HSMV 90011S, Driver Report of Traffic Crash (Self Report). Complete all applicable areas and sign it. If you send it by email, FLHSMV says to include your signature and the date. Instructions are on page 2 of the form.^1,8

How to send it: You can email the completed form or mail it to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Crash Records, 2900 Apalachee Parkway, MS 28, Tallahassee, FL 32399. The email address is on the form and on FLHSMV's Traffic Crash Reports page. The form's own instructions address mail to the Self Report Crash Team at the same street address.^1,8

Keep a copy: FLHSMV advises keeping a copy of your self-report for your records and for insurance purposes.¹

If you do not file: A driver who fails to file the required written report commits a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation.²