How to Get a Crash Report in New Mexico

The Law Enforcement Records Bureau (LERB) of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety (DPS) keeps all New Mexico State Police (NMSP) and MTPD crash reports from across the state.¹

The Traffic Records Section of the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) processes crash reports from New Mexico law enforcement agencies for crashes on public roads. It keeps a statewide database of reportable crashes. It enters data on crashes that cause injury, death or property damage of $500 or more.²

For some crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle, state law requires the investigating officer to send the written report to the DPS Motor Transportation Division as well as to NMDOT. This must happen within 24 hours after the investigation is completed.⁴

DPS says it keeps reports of crashes involving deaths for 25 years. It keeps other crash reports, such as hit-and-runs and property damage crashes, for 10 years. The state records retention schedule sets the same periods for law enforcement crash records, counted from when the file is closed.^1,5

Request online from DPS. For a New Mexico State Police or MTPD crash report, go to the DPS Law Enforcement Records Bureau page. Click the Request button to search for your report or request a copy. DPS also takes records requests through its GovQA portal. You can ask for photos, dashcam footage and diagrams too, if they are available.¹

Request online from NMDOT. Use NMDOT's Crash Data / Crash Report Request Form and choose the 'Copy of Uniform Crash/Accident Report' request type.^3,6

Send a written request to DPS. If you can't request online, fill in the DPS IPRA Written Request Form (IPRA is New Mexico's public records law) and send it by mail, email or fax. Mail it to DPS at P.O. Box 1628, Santa Fe, NM 87504. The fax number is on the DPS Law Enforcement Records Bureau page. DPS counts emailed and faxed requests as written requests.^1,7,8,9

Send NMDOT a public records (IPRA) request through its online IPRA request form or by email. The email address is on NMDOT's public records page.⁸

Mail a public records (IPRA) request to NMDOT Records Custodian SB-5, P.O. Box 1149, Santa Fe, NM 87504-1149.⁸

Make a public records (IPRA) request in person at NMDOT, 1350 Alta Vista, South Building 5, Santa Fe, NM 87501.⁸

For a copy of a crash report, NMDOT's request form asks for the people involved, the crash date, the roadway name and the city or county. It also asks for the case number, the Uniform Crash Report number, the VIN and the law enforcement agency that handled the crash, plus a driver license number and a date of birth.³

The NMDOT form also requires your name, phone number, email, company or agency, and address.³

For a Uniform Crash Report (UCR) from 2008 to 2013, NMDOT says you need the UCR number, because it is the only searchable field in its system.³

Give all the information the form requires. NMDOT warns that a request with too little information may not be processed.³

A written public records (IPRA) request to NMDOT must include your name, address and phone number. It must also describe the records in enough detail to find them.⁸

DPS does not charge for records it provides electronically through its GovQA request portal.¹

For physical copies provided in person, by mail or by fax, DPS charges $1.00 for the first page and $0.25 for each additional page. Discs cost $6.75.^1,10

You must pay before DPS releases a report, unless billing arrangements have been made.^1,10

If you send DPS the wrong fee, its policy says your request will be returned to you with a letter explaining the problem.¹⁰

NMDOT says it may charge if your request requires retrieving or manipulating information in its database, or copying a database for private or nonpublic use. It says it will tell you about any charges before it processes your request.³

For copies of NMDOT public records requested under IPRA, NMDOT may charge $0.25 per page for documents 11 by 17 inches or smaller. It charges $1.00 per page for copies of larger documents.⁸

Albuquerque Police Department crash reports bought online through Carfax for Police cost $7.50 each.¹¹

NMDOT asks you to allow 15 business days for requests made through its crash data and crash report request form. It says it will tell you if it needs more time.³

DPS policy says it will not turn down a request for an accident report because the report is 'not yet completed.' It will provide the report in whatever form it exists, within the 15-day limit set by state law.⁷

For a written public records (IPRA) request, NMDOT says its Records Custodian will let you inspect the records right away or as soon as practicable. That will be no later than 15 calendar days after it gets your request, as long as the request is not excessively burdensome or broad.⁸

If NMDOT does not let you inspect the records within three business days of getting your written request, it will send you a written response. The response will say when the records will be available or when NMDOT will respond.⁸

State law requires the written crash report to be sent to NMDOT within 24 hours after the investigation is completed.⁴

DPS releases State Police and MTPD crash reports to any member of the public, any law enforcement agency or officer, and any other agency. You can ask in writing or orally, but DPS prefers written requests.¹

Under IPRA, every person has the right to inspect NMDOT's public records, with certain exceptions.⁸

State law makes crash reports filed by the people involved, or by garages, confidential for the use of the state highway and transportation department. Attorney General opinions from 1953 and 1959, cited in the notes to the official statutes, say that crash reports police officers write as part of their duties are not confidential. They are public records, open to inspection by interested persons.⁴

The same notes cite the 1959 opinion as saying that an insurance adjuster getting crash reports is a lawful purpose. They also cite it as saying access to the reports cannot be limited to the people involved or their attorneys.⁴

DPS policy treats accident and traffic offense reports as 'original records of entry.' It says DPS must make these records available for inspection and copying with no redaction, omission or claim of exemption.⁷

In an arbitration or lawsuit over an insurer's liability under uninsured motorist coverage, state law says the investigating agency must give a certified copy of the officer's crash report to either party, or to the court, on request.⁴

Which agency gets notice of a crash depends on where it happened. State law says notice goes to the city police department if the crash is inside a municipality. Otherwise, it goes to the county sheriff's office or the nearest New Mexico State Police office.⁴

If the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) handled your crash, you can buy the report online through Carfax for Police for $7.50. You can also pick it up in person at the Law Enforcement Center, 400 Roma NW, Albuquerque, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.¹¹

The New Mexico Department of Justice says state law requires every New Mexico government body, from the smallest municipality to the largest state agency, to post a public records (IPRA) notice on its website. If a city police department or county sheriff's office handled your crash, look for that agency's IPRA notice on its website.⁹

If a crash causes injury, death or apparent property damage of $500 or more, state law requires that police be notified right away, by the quickest means of communication. The notice goes to the city police inside a municipality, or otherwise to the county sheriff's office or the nearest New Mexico State Police office.⁴

If you were a driver in a crash that caused injury, death or apparent total property damage of $500 or more, state law says you must send a written report of the crash within five days. The report goes to the Department of Transportation (NMDOT).⁴

If the driver is physically unable to make the report and is not the vehicle's owner, the owner must make it within five days after learning of the crash.⁴

A city, town, village or other municipality may also pass an ordinance requiring drivers in a crash to file a report, or a copy of the state report, with a designated city department.⁴