How to Get a Crash Report in Louisiana

In Louisiana, the law enforcement agency that wrote your crash report owns it. The State Police, local police departments and sheriff's offices must each provide copies of crash reports.¹

Which agency worked your crash depends on where it happened. Under state law, a city or town police department investigates reportable crashes inside its limits. Outside city or town limits, the State Police or the sheriff's office investigates them.¹

The State Police Traffic Records Unit is the central processing location for all crashes handled by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and State Police. Copies of those reports are available online and at each Troop.³

Buy it online. If State Police worked your crash, you can buy the report on the State Police crash report portal, which is linked from the State Police Traffic Records Unit page. The portal says it only takes orders for crashes on non-toll roads on or after August 31, 2018, and it does not sell fatal crash reports. After checkout, you can print a PDF copy, and you get an email with download instructions. You can also download crash photos when you buy the report, except for fatal crashes.^2,3,4

Buy it at a Troop office. You can buy a report in person at any local State Police Troop office. You must submit the Crash Report Request Form (DPSSP 3125). Fatal crash reports can only be bought this way.^3,5

Request photos from the Photo Lab. Fill out Sections I and III of the Crash Report Request Form. Send it to the State Police Traffic Records-Photo Lab by mail, fax or email. The fax number and email address are on the form. The mailing address is Louisiana State Police, Traffic Records-Photo Lab, P.O. Box 66614 (Box A-27), Baton Rouge, LA 70896. You get a price quote and payment instructions, and the photos ship once your payment is received. Prints are 8 x 10 and ship only by U.S. Postal Service. Certified photographs can't be bought online. They are sold only through Traffic Records/Photo Lab.^3,4,5,6

Order a certified copy by mail. The portal's FAQ says certified copies of a crash report can only be bought by mail.⁶

To find a report online, you need either the crash report number, or the driver's first and last name, the parish where the crash happened and the crash date. The portal also says it can search by case number, driver license number, license plate number or the last name of a person involved.²

To buy online, use a desktop or laptop computer. The portal's FAQ says you can't buy reports or photos on a cell phone.⁶

At a Troop office, you need to submit the Crash Report Request Form, DPSSP 3125 (01/23). Section I asks for the crash date, the location or highway number, the parish, the Troop, the driver's name and the crash report number.^3,5

You don't have to give the vehicle and insurance details in Section II of the form to get a copy of the report.⁵

Online, the State Police Traffic Records Unit page lists a report at $11.50 plus $2.50 + 2.5%, payable only by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. The portal's FAQ says a report costs $11.50 plus a small convenience fee. The portal's home page lists $11.50 per report, payable by Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit or debit card.^2,3,6

At a State Police Troop office, a report costs $16.50 if you pay by certified check, company check or money order. By credit card, it costs $16.50 plus $2.50 + 2.5%. Troops do not accept cash or personal checks.^3,5

Crash photos bought online cost $10.00 each plus a small convenience fee.⁶

At the Photo Lab, printed photos cost $10.00 each when you buy all the photos from a crash, and you also get a CD of all the photos. You can instead buy a proof sheet of thumbnails for $10.00 per page, with 40 thumbnails per page. Photos you pick from the proof sheet cost $15.00 each.⁴

State law caps the fee for a crash report at $5 for a report of two pages or less. For a longer report, the cap is $20, including all service fees and other charges.¹

State Police ask you to wait 15 working days after the crash before you request a report or photos.³

The request form says to allow about 10 to 15 business days after the crash before you request a copy.⁵

The online portal says reports are available 10 to 15 business days after the crash, or once they are approved. It also says to allow about 15 or more business days for the report and photos to be ready.²

Once you find your report through the portal's search, delivery can take from the same day to a week, depending on its processing stage.²

State law says that when an eligible person asks for a crash report, it must be made available within seven working days after the crash investigation is completed.¹

For a fatal crash, you can request photos only after a 60-day wait.³

Under the State Police retention schedule, reports and photos for State Police crashes stay on the website for up to five years.⁶

If your State Police report still isn't online after some time, the portal says to contact the Troop that responded to your crash.²

Louisiana crash reports are confidential and exempt from the public records law. Only the people the law lists can get one.¹

You can get a report if you were a party to the crash, or if you are the parent or guardian of a minor who was a party.¹

The insurer of a party who is the subject of the report can also get it. So can that party's insurance support organization, if it is under contract to provide claims and underwriting.¹

A healthcare provider that treated a party who is the subject of the report, or the provider's agent, can also get it.¹

Succession representatives of the parties, attorneys for the parties or their succession representatives, and news organizations asking about a specific crash can also get it.¹

State law says copies of crash photographs, video recordings and audio recordings must be provided to any interested person who asks. A reasonable fee may be charged.¹

The State Police online portal has only crashes worked by Louisiana State Police. It does not have crashes worked by city police or a local sheriff's office.²

If city police or a sheriff's office worked your crash, ask that agency for the report. State law requires every local police department and sheriff's office to provide copies of crash reports.¹

When a crash happens inside a city or town, the agency that investigates it must forward a copy of the report to that city or town's police department.¹

State law allows a state or local agency to contract with a third-party vendor to sell individual crash reports on its behalf.¹

If State Police set a lower charge for electronic copies, local police departments and sheriff's offices must charge that same amount for electronic copies.¹

Louisiana's crash reporting duties apply if you are a driver in a crash that causes injury, death or property damage over $500.¹

In that case, state law says you must immediately notify the local police department if the crash is inside an incorporated city or town. If it is outside one, you must notify the nearest sheriff's office or State Police station.¹

In an area under an evacuation order or a declared state of emergency, you have 72 hours after the crash to give the required notice and information.¹

You must also give your name, address and vehicle registration number to anyone injured, and to the driver, occupant or attendant of any damaged vehicle or property. If asked, you must show your driver's license if you have it.¹

Under R.S. 32:871, if you were a driver in a crash with death, injury or property damage, you may report a damages claim to the commissioner in writing. You must submit the written report when the damage is to state-owned property and is over $50.⁷

The Department of Public Safety and Corrections gives the insurance or security information on record from R.S. 32:871 reports to any interested person who sends a written request and pays a $15 fee.⁷