How to Get a Crash Report in Mississippi

State law says who investigates a reportable crash. Inside city limits, it is that city's police department. Outside city limits, it is the Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) or the sheriff's office. The investigating officer writes the report.¹

Where the written report goes also depends on where the crash happened. For a crash inside city limits, the officer sends it to that city's police department. For a crash outside city limits, it goes to the department named in state law. City police departments also forward their crash reports to that department.¹

The Driver Service Bureau of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) says MHP crash reports are available at each district Highway Patrol station and online. For reports MHP did not write, it says to contact the local law enforcement agency or buy the report online.²

Online through ReportBeam. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) says eligible people can buy a crash report at www.reportbeam.com. Choose "Purchase a Report" under the "Public Access" tab. Then pick the agency that wrote your report from the Mississippi list. ReportBeam lists 68 Mississippi agencies, including MHP and some city police departments and sheriff's offices. DPS puts the price at $20.00. ReportBeam emails the report to you as a PDF file.^3,4,5,6

Online through the state's ms.gov crash report portal. The portal asks you to agree to its eligibility disclaimer. Once your purchased report has been emailed to you, it stays available for only 24 hours. Save a copy when you download it.⁷

In person at a Highway Patrol district station. If MHP wrote your report, you can pick it up at any district Highway Patrol station for $15.00. DPS lists troop stations in Pearl (Troop C), Greenwood (Troop D), Batesville (Troop E), New Albany (Troop F), Starkville (Troop G), Meridian (Troop H), Hattiesburg (Troop J), Biloxi (Troop K) and Brookhaven (Troop M). Its district office pages give each station's street address.^2,8,9,10

From the agency that wrote the report. If MHP did not write your report, the Driver Service Bureau says to contact the local law enforcement agency that did, or buy the report online for $20.00. ReportBeam says you can also buy a report directly from the agency if you do not have a credit card.^2,6

By mail. The Driver Service Bureau's fee table lists a mail-in price of $15.00 for MHP crash reports. Below that table, the page gives a regular-mail address labeled Driver Record's Division/Reinstatement, P.O. Box 1459, Canton, MS 39046.²

Your report number, if you have it. On ReportBeam, you can find an MHP report by entering the report number the officer gave you. ReportBeam's FAQ suggests checking that the number is correct and includes any dashes or other characters.^6,11

If you do not have the report number, ReportBeam's advanced search for MHP reports needs the date of the crash and the name of someone involved. For advanced searches in general, ReportBeam's FAQ suggests entering only the date and a partial address.^6,11

A credit card or an account with ReportBeam, plus an email address. ReportBeam emails the report to the address you give. If you do not have a credit card, ReportBeam says you can buy the report directly from the agency.⁶

On the ms.gov portal, you must check a box agreeing to its eligibility disclaimer. You must also declare that you are a party involved in the crash or another person the portal allows, such as that party's next of kin, legal representative or insurer.⁷

The Driver Service Bureau lists $15.00 for an MHP report in person or by mail, and $20.00 online. It gives the same $20.00 online price for reports that other agencies wrote.²

The DPS Accident Investigation page says the fee for a copy of a Mississippi Uniform Crash Report was raised from $10 to $15 per copy. The same page puts the price for buying online through ReportBeam at $20.00.³

The Driver Service Bureau's crash report page also says a $5.00 handling fee is charged.²

State law gives the investigating officer six days after finishing the investigation to forward the written report. City police departments must forward crash reports to the department within six days of the crash.¹

If you buy a report through the state's ms.gov portal, the emailed report stays available for only 24 hours. Save a copy when you download it.⁷

Mississippi limits who can get a crash report. State law (Section 63-3-417) makes required crash reports and supplemental reports confidential to the department, except as that section allows.^7,12

On the state's ms.gov portal, you must declare that you are a party involved in the crash, a representative of that party's estate, that party's next of kin, that party's legal representative, or that party's insurer or the insurer's representative. The portal says Section 63-3-417 bars anyone else from getting a Mississippi Uniform Crash Report.⁷

Under Section 63-3-417, the department may release report information on written request from a person involved in the crash, that person's spouse or next of kin, a person facing a claim because of the crash, or the representative of their estate. It may give the requester, their lawyer or their insurer's representative anything in the report except the parties' own account of the crash from a written report they filed.¹²

The ms.gov portal warns that getting a crash report by fraud, without authorization, is a misdemeanor. The penalty can be a fine of up to $2,500.00, up to six months in county jail, or both.⁷

If a city police department or sheriff's office wrote your report, the Driver Service Bureau says to contact that agency, or buy the report online for $20.00.^1,2

ReportBeam sells reports from 68 Mississippi agencies. Its list includes city police departments and county sheriff's offices, such as the Meridian Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.^4,5

If you cannot find your report on ReportBeam, it says to contact the agency that issued the report, or the officer who wrote it.⁶

State law says that if you are the driver in a crash that causes injury, death or apparent total property damage of $500.00 or more, you must give notice right away by the quickest means of communication. The notice goes to the local police department if the crash is inside a city or town. Otherwise, it goes to the nearest sheriff's office or Highway Patrol station.¹

If you were a driver in a reportable crash, the department may require you to file supplemental reports. It can do this if it finds the original report insufficient.¹

The Driver Service Bureau says your driver's license may be suspended if no vehicle insurance is listed on the accident report. If you owned a vehicle in the crash and had insurance but could not show proof, you must send proof of insurance to the bureau within 60 days to avoid a suspension. The same applies if you got insurance only after the crash. If you were cited for not showing proof of insurance, the bureau says you must also resolve the citation with the appropriate court.²