Case guide
Buy the Texas police crash report, called a CR-3, online from TxDOT. See the cost, who can get the full copy, and how long it takes.
Updated Oct 6, 202628 sources
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Updated Oct 6, 202628 sources
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Texas Department of Transportation · Publisher of the CRIS Purchase User Guide
Finding: The guide says a crash report can take up to 14 days from the crash date to appear in search results, and that a purchased report can be downloaded for 10 days.
TxDOT CRIS Purchase User Guide (2025) (opens in a new tab) · Jun 23, 2025 · Checked Oct 5, 2026
Not covered by this case
The process
You answer a few questions
About two minutes. Nothing is sent until you agree on the last step and press submit.
A lawyer looks at it
A lawyer at the firm reads your answers and checks them against the current case criteria.
The firm decides and gets in touch
If the firm takes your case, you get the terms in writing to read before you sign. You can always say no.
If a police officer wrote a report, you can buy a copy from the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT. It sells the officer’s report, called a CR-3, on its website. The report is sent to you by email after you pay.
TxDOT calls its website the Crash Report Online Purchase System. Crash reports are not posted online for the public to read, because they hold private details.
An officer who looks into a crash must write a report if someone was hurt or killed. The officer must also write one if any one person’s property appears to have $1,000 or more in damage. The officer has 10 days after the crash to file it with the state.
Source: Texas Transportation Code § 550.062 · as of Oct 5, 2026
Texas law sets the price. A certified copy costs a little more than a regular copy. If you pay by card, a small Texas.gov fee is added.
A regular copy is $6 and a certified copy is $8.
Source: TxDOT: Crash reports and records · as of Oct 5, 2026
The law sets a $6 fee for a copy and lets the state charge $2 more to certify it.
Source: Texas Transportation Code § 550.065 · as of Oct 5, 2026
TxDOT says a certified copy is for when you need an official paper, such as for a court case. A regular copy is for your own records.
If you pay by electronic check, there is no added payment fee. But TxDOT holds the report for 10 days before it is released.
People in the crash can get the full report. So can drivers, owners of a damaged car or property, and their insurers. Texas law lists some other people too, such as a driver’s parent. People not on the list get a copy with private details hidden. This is called a redacted copy.
A redacted copy hides details such as phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth. Anyone can buy one.
To get the full copy online, you fill out an affidavit, a signed statement that says how you are involved in the crash.
Texas law also lets a person who may sue because of a death in the crash get the full report.
You can search by the name of a person in the crash. The first and last name are required. You can also search by a driver license or ID card number.
The name can belong to anyone involved, such as a driver, passenger, person on foot or owner of damaged property. You can add more details to narrow the results.
It can take up to 14 days after the crash for the report to show up. Has it been more than two weeks? TxDOT suggests you ask the police agency that handled the crash if it sent the report.
After you buy a report, you can download it for 10 days. Extra copies are free during that time.
If you pay by card and are on the list, a full report is ready right away. A redacted report can take up to 10 business days.
Many boxes on a CR-3 hold number codes. TxDOT’s code sheet for the 2023 form lists what each code means.
TxDOT keeps crash reports for 10 years plus the current year.
TxDOT does not keep reports that drivers fill out. Since September 1, 2017, it no longer keeps the driver’s crash report, form CR-2. If you filled out a CR-2 or a similar local form, keep your own copy.
Officers use the CR-3 form, which is for police use only. The 2023 version is used for crashes on or after April 1, 2023.
TxDOT does not have photos, dash camera video or an officer’s notes. It says a subpoena, a legal demand for records, for those items goes to the police agency that handled the crash.
You do not need a lawyer to buy your crash report. You can use the steps above on your own.
Some people also want to talk with a law firm about an injury claim. People’s Justice is not a law firm. We do not review your crash or recommend a lawyer. If you want, you can use the form on this page to ask to be connected with a law firm that pays us to advertise.
The review is free and private. Asking for it doesn’t commit you to anything.
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