You can find your Texas collision police report through the agency that investigated your crash or through Texas crash-record systems. If you would rather skip that process, Lowe Law can request the report for you and provide a copy at no cost.
A Houston car accident lawyer can also explain what the report says if something inside it leaves you with questions. Police reports contain codes and details that may not mean much when you first look at them.
Start by sharing some basic information about the collision. We can use those details to locate the correct report and send it to you when it becomes available.
How Can You Request Your Texas Collision Report Through Lowe Law?
Submit your crash information directly to Lowe Law, and with your authorization, our firm can use those details to look for the police report connected to your collision. You do not need to spend time figuring out which website or agency has it.
Once Lowe Law locates the report, we can provide a copy to you free of charge. If the report has not reached the records system yet, you may need to give the investigating agency more time to finish and submit it.
Who Can Get a Texas Police Report After a Collision?
People involved in a crash can generally request a copy of the police report. Texas law also allows certain authorized representatives, insurers, vehicle owners, and others with a qualifying interest to obtain one. Texas Transportation Code § 550.065 controls who can receive collision-report information.
Texas does not treat these reports as fully open public records because they contain personal information about the people involved. The law limits access to people and entities that meet the requirements in the statute.
A Houston personal injury lawyer from Lowe Law can use the information you provide to determine what is needed to request your report. If the state or investigating agency needs something else before releasing it, we can let you know what is missing.
What Information Do You Need to Find a Texas Collision Report?
To look for your report, Lowe Law will usually need basic details about the crash, such as your name, the date it happened, and where it occurred. If you know the investigating agency or report number, that can help narrow the search.
Helpful information can include the following:
- Your name and contact information
- The date of the collision
- Where the crash happened
- The investigating police or sheriff’s agency, if you know it
- The crash or report number, if an officer gave you one
- The names of other drivers, when available
You do not need to remember everything from the scene. Check any paperwork the officer gave you after the crash, since a case number or agency name can give our Houston car accident attorneys a better place to start.
When Should Your Texas Collision Police Report Become Available?
Texas law requires an officer who investigates a crash to prepare a written report when the crash results in injury, death, or damage to a vehicle to the extent that it cannot be safely driven from the scene. Under Texas Transportation Code § 550.062, the officer must file that report electronically with TxDOT within 10 days.
That 10-day filing rule does not necessarily mean you will find the finished report online exactly 10 days after your wreck. The officer still has to complete and submit the report, and the record can take additional time to appear in the system you are searching.
If your search comes up empty shortly after the accident, Lowe Law can check the information you provided and try again once the report has had time to reach the records system. A missing report during the first search does not necessarily mean police never created one.
What Information Appears on a Texas CR-3 Crash Report?
Texas officers use the CR-3 Peace Officer’s Crash Report to record information from an investigated collision. The report puts much of what the officer recorded about the collision into one document.
You may see information about where the crash occurred and the vehicles involved. The report can also contain a diagram of the collision, statements or contributing factors recorded by the investigating officer, insurance information, and coded fields that can take some work to decipher.
Lowe Law can help explain unfamiliar sections if you receive your report and have no idea what some of those boxes or codes mean. You should also check basic identifying information for errors, especially if something in the report does not match what you remember.
Can a Houston Car Accident Attorney Use the Police Report to Prove Fault?
A police report can help a Houston car accident attorney determine fault by showing what the officer documented at the scene. That can include vehicle positions, damage, road conditions, statements from the drivers, and any contributing factors the officer noted.
Lowe Law can use the report to see what the officer noticed first. If the officer wrote down a possible traffic violation or described how the crash happened, we can test that account against the other evidence.
The report still does not decide fault by itself. An officer may not have seen the crash happen, and something in the report could be incomplete or wrong. If you spot an error, point it out so we can compare it with the rest of the evidence.
What if Police Never Created a Report for Your Houston Crash?
Some collisions never produce a CR-3 report. Police might not have investigated the crash, or the collision could have fallen outside the circumstances that require an officer’s written report under Texas law. That can leave you searching for a document that does not exist.
If Lowe Law cannot locate a report, we can help determine whether the investigating agency has another record tied to the incident. The paperwork or case number you received at the scene can also help identify what type of record police created.
A missing police report does not automatically prevent you from making an insurance claim after a collision. You could still have photos, records from your medical care, or other information that helps explain what happened.
Find Your Texas Collision Police Report With Lowe Law
If you are trying to find your Texas collision police report, you should not have to spend hours guessing which agency has it. Give us the information you know about the crash, and we can request a regular copy for you at no cost.
If you were hurt and also want to understand your legal options, a Houston car accident lawyer from our team can talk with you about what happened. Lowe Law has recovered millions for injured clients, and we work on contingency for personal injury cases.
Start with the report if that is all you need today. Submit your collision information directly to our firm, and we will use it to look for the record connected to your crash. If you also want legal help, you can tell us that as well. Call us today.