How to Get a Crash Report in South Carolina

The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) stores reports of crashes in the state. By law, it must file every accident report it receives. Its Driver Services program maintains collision reports.^1,2,3,6

Officers must send their reports to the DMV. This duty covers any crash they investigate that causes injury, death, or apparent total property damage of $1,000 or more.⁷

A 2016 state Department of Insurance alert told drivers to request a copy of their accident report from the DMV.⁵

A 2016 state Department of Insurance alert said you could request a copy by mail. It said to use the Request for Copy of Officer's Report form (Form FR-50) from the DMV website. You'd send two completed copies and the fee to the address on the form.⁵

The same alert said you could also ask in person. It named only two DMV offices for this: 10311 Wilson Blvd. in Blythewood and 1630 Shop Road in Columbia.⁵

State law also sets rules for asking a law enforcement agency for a crash report in writing. Each report needs its own written request unless you're named in it.⁷

For a mail request, a 2016 state Department of Insurance alert said you needed two completed copies of Form FR-50 and the fee.⁵

A written request to a law enforcement agency must state your name, your address and how you plan to use the report. It needs enough detail to show the use isn't commercial solicitation. Knowingly making a false statement in the request makes you subject to Section 56-3-2520 of the South Carolina Code.⁷

The DMV charges a fee. A 2016 state Department of Insurance alert put the fee for a mailed Form FR-50 request at $6.00.^4,5

Expedited requests can cost more. The DMV may charge up to $20 per document, on top of its normal fees, to expedite a request for copies of its records.²

The 2026-2027 state budget lets the DMV collect processing fees, plus fees that recover the cost of producing, handling and mailing records.⁸

The investigating officer must send the report to the DMV within 24 hours after finishing the investigation.⁷

A 2016 state Department of Insurance alert said you can request a copy once law enforcement has finished its investigation and sent the report to the DMV.⁵

The DMV has deadlines too. For copies of its records, state law says standard requests must be ready within 30 days. Expedited requests must be ready within 72 hours of receipt, for up to $20 more per document.²

By law, the DMV must give a copy of a vehicle accident report to any person who asks and pays a fee.⁴

Reports made by people involved in a crash are for the confidential use of the DMV, the Department of Public Safety and other state agencies that use them for accident prevention.⁷

If you were injured or your property was damaged, the DMV may tell you what an accident report says about whether there was insurance. You have to ask. It may also disclose the identity of someone involved in a crash if that identity isn't otherwise known or the person denies being there.⁷

You can't ask a law enforcement agency for a crash report for commercial solicitation. Agency staff may not let anyone see or get a copy of a report if they know, or should reasonably know, that's the purpose.⁷

South Carolina's Family Privacy Protection Act also bars people and private entities from knowingly getting or using personal information from a state agency or local government for commercial solicitation aimed at anyone in the state. Knowing violations are misdemeanors. The penalty is a fine of up to $500, up to one year of imprisonment, or both.¹

State law decides who gets the immediate crash notice. Inside a city or town, it's the local police department. Elsewhere, it's the county sheriff's office or the nearest South Carolina Highway Patrol office.⁷

A law enforcement agency must not investigate a crash involving its own vehicle, motorcycle or employee if anyone is hurt or killed, or if a privately owned vehicle or motorcycle is involved. For agency-vehicle crashes covered by Section 56-5-765(A), the State Highway Patrol must investigate and file a report with findings on whether the agency's vehicle was operated properly.⁷

A city or town can require drivers to file crash reports with a city department. They're confidential to that department.⁷

If an officer investigates a crash with property damage of $400 or more, or injury or death, the officer must give the driver or owner a form. It's for verifying liability insurance. The officer must hand it over at the time of the crash or as soon as possible after. The completed, verified form must go back to the DMV within 15 days of the date the officer delivered it. If it doesn't, the law treats that as evidence the vehicle was uninsured.⁴

A 2016 state Department of Insurance alert said officers give drivers a green Form FR-10, which your insurance company must complete no matter who was at fault. It said the form must be returned to the DMV within 15 days of the crash, and your insurer can send it electronically.⁵

If no officer investigated your crash, you may have to report it yourself. This applies to crashes with injury, death, or apparent total property damage of $1,000 or more. The driver or owner must send the DMV a written report and verification of liability insurance within 15 days after the crash.⁷

If the driver is physically unable to report and doesn't own the vehicle, the owner must report within five days of learning about the crash.⁷

Section 56-9-350 also requires the driver or owner to give the DMV a written report after a crash no officer investigated. It covers crashes with property damage of $400 or more, or injury or death.⁴

The same 2016 alert said that without a law enforcement investigation, you may have to complete and submit a Traffic Collision Report (Form FR-309).⁵

A city or town can pass an ordinance requiring drivers in a crash to file a report, or a copy of their DMV report, with a city department.⁷