Car accidents · California law
How to Get Your CHP Crash Report in California
If the California Highway Patrol handled your crash, you can request the report online at crashes.chp.ca.gov, in person at any CHP office, or by mail with form CHP 190. Reports are typically ready within eight business days, and only the people involved, their insurers and their attorneys can get a copy.
Reviewed by Steven D. Green, Esq. · Updated
Key Takeaways
- You can request a CHP crash report online at crashes.chp.ca.gov, in person at any CHP Area office, or by mail with form CHP 190.
- The CHP says reports are typically available within eight business days of the crash.
- Crash reports are confidential, so only people with a proper interest, such as drivers, injured people, owners, insurers and attorneys, can get one.
- The CHP only has reports its own officers wrote, so a crash on a city street may be in a police department's files instead.
- The officer's view of fault carries weight with insurers, but California law lets fault be shared and the report does not decide your claim.
- The CHP report does not replace the SR-1, which you must send the DMV within 10 days after an injury crash.
Three ways to get your CHP crash report
The fastest route is the CHP's Online Crash Report System at crashes.chp.ca.gov, where you register, request the report and download it. You can also walk into any CHP Area office in the state, or mail form CHP 190 with a copy of your photo ID to the office that wrote the report.
| Method | What you need | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Online at crashes.chp.ca.gov | An account, the crash date and location, your role in the crash | You sign a declaration under penalty of perjury when you register |
| In person at any CHP Area office | Photo ID and the fee | Any office can get a report written by another CHP office; call ahead |
| By mail with form CHP 190 | The form, a copy of your photo ID, a check or money order | No ID? The form must be notarized |
| Through your insurer | Your claim number | The CHP notes this may save you the report fee |
Sources: the CHP's Request a Crash Report and CHP 190 pages and its Online Crash Report System.
Filling out the CHP 190
The CHP 190 asks for the crash date and location (approximate is fine), the driver or owner of the vehicle, and which kind of interested party you are. Check only one box. Make your check payable to the California Highway Patrol and add the report number if you know it.
What it costs
The CHP's published fee is $10 for 1 to 25 pages and $20 for 26 to 50 pages, and the law caps it at the actual cost of the copy Veh. Code 20012. Confirm the amount with the Area office.
Who can get a copy
CHP crash reports are not public records. California law keeps them confidential and requires the CHP to release the full report to anyone with a proper interest in it: the drivers, injured people, owners of damaged vehicles or property, parents of a minor driver, people who may be liable, and the attorneys and insurers who represent them.
That rule comes from Veh. Code 20012, which also says the released report includes names and addresses, diagrams, and driver and witness statements.
Injured passengers, riders and pedestrians qualify too, and a parent or legal guardian can request the report for an injured child. Our motorcycle accident lawyer page covers crashes where the rider is often blamed first.
Make sure the CHP wrote your report
The CHP can only give you reports its own officers wrote. It usually handles crashes on freeways, state highways and roads in unincorporated county areas. Inside city limits, the city police department usually takes the report, and you request it from that department instead. If you don't know who came, ask the CHP or your local police.
If the officer gave you a card or slip with a report number, keep it. If you don't have one, a CHP office can tell you whether the CHP handled your crash.
Our county pages explain who takes reports in each area, starting with the San Diego personal injury lawyer page. We take cases in all 58 California counties.
What's in the report, and how to read it
A CHP crash report records who was involved, the vehicles and their insurance information, where and when the crash happened, a diagram, statements from drivers and witnesses, and the officer's findings. The key line for an injury claim is the officer's opinion of which party was most at fault and why.
The CHP says its officer decides which party is most at fault and may list another driver who contributed as an "Other Associated Factor." Read those entries closely, then check the rest:
- Check every name, address, plate number and insurance company for errors.
- Read your own statement and compare it with what you remember telling the officer.
- Make sure every witness who spoke to the officer is listed.
- Look at the diagram and the direction and lane of each vehicle.
- Note whether the report lists you as injured and whether an ambulance came.
An injury you didn't notice at the scene still counts, because back and neck pain can show up hours or days later. Our back injury claims page explains how those injuries are proved when the report says little about them.
How the report affects your injury claim
Insurance adjusters often read the CHP report first and use the officer's fault finding as a starting point for their offer. It is not the final word. California uses pure comparative fault, so responsibility can be split between drivers, and the report is one piece of evidence alongside photos, video, witnesses and your medical records.
California is an at-fault state, which means the driver who caused the crash, and that driver's insurer, pays for your injuries. Our guide to whether California is a no-fault state explains how that works. Under pure comparative fault, your recovery is reduced only by your own share of the blame and is never wiped out by it Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. If the report blames you for part of the crash, you can still have a claim.
The report matters less in a courtroom. State law says required accident reports cannot be used as evidence in a trial arising from the crash Veh. Code 20013. How much of an officer's report can be used at trial is a question for your lawyer, but most claims settle first, and there the report carries real weight.
Our car accident settlement calculator shows how fault shares change an illustrative damages calculation. It is not a valuation of any claim.
Does the report blame you, or leave out your injuries? Talk to a lawyer before you give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement. Call (888) 264-3780, answered 24/7.
What to do if the report is wrong
Contact the CHP Area office that wrote the report, ask for the investigating officer, and explain the error in writing with any proof you have. Simple factual mistakes, like a wrong plate number or a missing witness, are the easiest to fix. An officer is not required to change an opinion about fault.
California law refers to supplemental reports alongside the original Veh. Code 20012. Ask whether the officer will add one with your correction or your witness's statement. Bring photos, video and the names of witnesses the officer missed.
If the officer won't change a fault finding you believe is wrong, the claim can still be built on other evidence. A lawyer can gather video before it is erased, interview witnesses and, in a truck accident claim, request the truck's data and the driver's logs. If the other driver fled, see our guide to hit and run claims in California.
The CHP report is not your SR-1
The CHP report is written by the officer. The SR-1 is a separate report every driver must send the DMV within 10 days when a crash injures or kills anyone, or causes more than $1,000 in damage to any one person's property. That rule applies even when an officer came to the scene.
| Report | Who files it | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHP crash report | The investigating CHP officer | After the investigation | Veh. Code 20012 |
| Written report when no officer took one | Each driver in an injury or fatal crash | Within 24 hours | Veh. Code 20008 |
| SR-1 to the DMV | Each driver, or their insurer, broker or lawyer | Within 10 days | Veh. Code 16000 |
If you don't file the SR-1, the DMV must suspend your license until it receives the report or proof of insurance Veh. Code 16004. If no officer took a report after an injury crash, the driver must make a written report to the CHP, or to city police for a crash inside a city, within 24 hours Veh. Code 20008. The CHP says you can file a collision report at any of its offices, but not online.
Deadlines that keep running while you wait
Waiting for the CHP report does not pause any legal deadline. You generally have two years from the crash to file an injury lawsuit. If a government vehicle or a dangerous public road played a part, a written claim to the agency is due within six months. For a child, the two-year period usually waits until age 18, but the six-month claim does not.
The two-year rule is CCP 335.1. The six-month claim rule for injuries involving a city, county, Caltrans, a transit agency or another public entity is Gov. Code 911.2, and it is not paused for a minor CCP 352. Enter your crash date in our California Claim Clock to see your main dates.
Our California car accident lawyer page walks through the whole claim, from the scene to settlement.
Questions
CHP crash report questions
How do I request a California Highway Patrol accident report?
Request it online through the CHP's Online Crash Report System at crashes.chp.ca.gov, in person at any CHP Area office, or by mailing form CHP 190 with a copy of your photo ID to the office that wrote the report. You must be an involved party or represent one.
How long does it take to get a CHP accident report?
The CHP says crash reports are typically available within eight business days of the crash. Some reports take longer. Call the Area office before you go in person to confirm the report is ready.
Are CHP reports public records?
No. Under Vehicle Code section 20012, crash reports are confidential and go only to people with a proper interest, such as the drivers, injured people, owners, insurers and attorneys.
How much does a CHP crash report cost?
The CHP's published fee is 10 dollars for a report of 1 to 25 pages, with no extra charge for mailing. Confirm the amount with the Area office, or ask your insurer, which may get the report for you.
Can I get my CHP report online?
Yes. Register on the CHP's Online Crash Report System at crashes.chp.ca.gov and request your report there. Registering includes a declaration under penalty of perjury.
Does the CHP report decide who is at fault?
No. The officer gives an opinion on who was most at fault, and insurers lean on it, but it does not settle the claim. Under California's pure comparative fault rule, fault can be shared.
Do I still need to file an SR-1 if the CHP made a report?
Yes. The SR-1 goes to the DMV, not the CHP. Every driver in a crash that injured or killed anyone, or caused more than 1,000 dollars in damage to any one person's property, must file it within 10 days (Vehicle Code section 16000), even if an officer came to the scene.
What if the CHP never came to the scene?
If anyone was hurt or killed, the driver must make a written report to the CHP, or to city police for a crash inside a city, within 24 hours (Vehicle Code section 20008). The CHP says you can file a collision report at any CHP office, though not online.
Sources
- California Highway Patrol, Request a Crash Report (who qualifies; online, in-person and mail requests).
- California Highway Patrol, Collision Report (CHP 190) (form instructions; ID or notary; any office; CHP-investigated reports only; insurer option).
- California Highway Patrol, FAQ (fee schedule; officer's fault determination and "Other Associated Factor"; filing a report at any office).
- CHP Online Crash Report System (availability within eight business days; registration).
- Vehicle Code section 20012 (confidentiality; proper interest; fee) and section 20013 (required reports not evidence at trial).
- Vehicle Code section 20008 (24-hour written report after an injury crash).
- Vehicle Code section 16000 (SR-1 within 10 days) and section 16004 (license suspension).
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 (pure comparative fault).
- Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 and section 352; Government Code section 911.2 (deadlines).
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