How to Get Your Accident Report in Georgia

If you were in a car accident and a police officer responded to the scene, a report was filed. Getting a copy of that report is one of the first things you need to do. It contains the officer's account of what happened, the information for everyone involved, insurance details, and in many cases a diagram of the scene.

The process for getting your report depends on which agency responded to your accident. City police, county police, a county sheriff's office, and the Georgia State Patrol all have different records processes. Most agencies in Georgia make accident reports available through an online vendor called LexisNexis BuyCrash. Some have their own portals. Some still require in-person pickup or a written request.

Below is a directory of official sources for requesting accident reports across metro Atlanta and surrounding areas. Every link goes to an actual government agency or authorized records vendor.

You will need a few pieces of information to locate your report. Most portals ask for the date of the accident, the agency that responded, and either a driver's last name, the accident report number, or a vehicle VIN. The responding officer usually provides a card or slip at the scene with the report number. If you do not have that number, call the agency's non-emergency line and provide the date and location. They can look it up.

Reports are typically available three to five business days after the accident. Complex accidents, multi-vehicle collisions, or cases involving serious injuries may take longer.

Most accident reports cost between $5 and $11 depending on the agency and method. Parties directly involved in the accident can sometimes obtain their report at no charge through certain agencies. BuyCrash charges a fee regardless.

If there is no police report because law enforcement was not called to the scene, there is nothing to request. In that situation, the Georgia SR-13 form exists for you to create your own record. It is a personal accident report form issued by the Department of Driver Services.

Most police agencies in Georgia contract with LexisNexis to distribute accident reports online through a platform called BuyCrash. If you know which agency responded to your accident, this is the fastest way to get your report.

BuyCrash search portal ↗

Select Georgia, then select the responding agency from the dropdown. You can search by driver last name, report number, or VIN. Reports are available for download immediately after payment. Cost is typically $5 to $11.

If your accident happened on a state highway or interstate (during daytime hours on weekdays), the Georgia State Patrol likely responded. GSP reports can be obtained through their online EPORTS system or by submitting an open records request.

EPORTS (online portal) ↗
Search for crash reports, incident reports, and citations prepared by GSP, Capitol Police, or Motor Carrier Compliance. You can search as a guest or create a registered account. Payment by Visa or MasterCard. Reports are available for download immediately after payment.

Open records request by email: openrecords@gsp.net
Open records request form ↗

By mail:
Georgia Department of Public Safety
Attn: Open Records Unit
P.O. Box 1456
Atlanta, GA 30371

Mail requests take up to two weeks. The DPS open records request form is helpful but not required. Include the date of the accident, the county or city where it occurred, and the names of the people involved. Allow 7 to 10 business days after the accident before submitting your request.

If the report is not available through BuyCrash or the agency's online portal, you can request it directly from the responding agency using Georgia's Open Records Act. Every law enforcement agency in Georgia is required to respond to a written open records request within three business days.

The request does not need to follow a specific format. A short letter or email identifying the date of the accident, the location, and the names of the parties involved is enough. Some agencies have their own request forms. Others accept a plain written request. Include your contact information and specify that you are requesting the accident or incident report.

The same open records process can be used to request other documents related to your accident, including dispatch logs, officer notes, and supplemental reports that may not appear in the standard report.

911 call recordings are public records in Georgia. If someone called 911 to report your accident, a recording of that call exists and you have the right to request a copy. These recordings are maintained by the county's 911 communications center or emergency dispatch office, not by the police department that responded.

The recordings can contain details that do not appear in the police report. What the caller described seeing. How many vehicles were involved. Whether anyone reported injuries at the scene. Whether the caller mentioned that a driver appeared impaired or was trying to leave. Officers write their reports after the fact. The 911 call captures what was happening in real time.

To request a 911 recording, submit an open records request to the county communications office or 911 center for the county where the accident occurred. Include the date, approximate time, and location of the accident. Most agencies provide recordings within a few business days. Some charge a small fee for the media. The same open records request template above can be adapted for 911 recordings by directing it to the county communications office instead of the police records division.

Below are the official records request sources for counties and cities in the metro Atlanta area. Each entry includes the direct link to the agency's records portal or open records process, along with notes on in-person pickup and costs where available.

If the agency that responded to your accident is not listed here, check BuyCrash first. If the report is not available there, contact the agency's non-emergency line and ask how to obtain a copy.

If you search Google for something like "get accident report Marietta GA" or "Gwinnett County police report," not everything on the first page is what it appears to be.

Some of the top results look like official records portals. They use the visual branding of vendors like LexisNexis or BuyCrash. They have form fields asking for your name, the date of your accident, and your contact information. They look like the place where you request your report.

They are not. They are lead generation pages. Some are operated by law firms. Some are operated by legal marketing companies that sell your contact information to law firms. When you fill in the form, you are not requesting a report. You are entering your personal details into a lead funnel. Your phone will ring within the hour, and it will not be the records office calling.

There is nothing illegal about this. But there is a difference between a service that gives you your accident report and a service that gives your phone number to a personal injury firm. The directory on this page links to the actual sources. If you are using a site that is not on this list and it asks for your phone number before showing you a report, consider why.