Baker County, Oregon: Crash Reporting Requirements: Police, Driver, and Motor Vehicle Reports

Short answer

After a reportable Oregon motor-vehicle collision, there can be two separate state-level reporting tracks. The driver must notify police immediately and file an Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report with DMV within 72 hours when a listed condition applies. That DMV filing is required even when law enforcement makes a police report. A police report is prepared by an officer only when the officer investigates or prepares a crash report. Oregon DMV collision instructions and ORS 810.460 explain the separate processes.

For a commercial-motor-vehicle collision that meets the additional criteria on the DMV form, there may also be a Motor Carrier Collision Report. Insurance notice is separate again and follows the policy. These reports serve different purposes; filing one does not automatically complete the others.

Immediate checklist

1. Determine whether the collision meets DMV’s reporting conditions. If it does, DMV says to notify police immediately, using a non-emergency number. DMV says a driver must submit the collision report within 72 hours; if that is not possible, submit it as soon as possible.
2. Save the information needed for the DMV form. Gather your driver license number; plate number or VIN; vehicle year, make, and model; insurance company name and policy number; and the other driver’s information if available. DMV lists these items before its online filing process.
3. File your own DMV report once, not a duplicate. Eligible drivers with an Oregon license, permit, or ID can use DMV2U’s collision-report service. Otherwise, use the Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report, Form 735-32, and keep a completed copy and proof of submission.
4. Notify your insurer separately. Oregon’s Division of Financial Regulation advises contacting the insurer as soon as possible because most policies require prompt claim notice. That notice does not substitute for the DMV form. Oregon insurance guidance

For a practical list of photographs and records to preserve, see the car accident evidence checklist.

When Oregon requires the driver’s DMV report

A driver must submit the DMV report when any of the following is true:

• The collision caused an injury or death.
• Damage to your vehicle exceeds $2,500.
• Damage to any vehicle exceeds $2,500 and any vehicle is towed from the scene.
• Damage to property other than a vehicle involved in the collision exceeds $2,500.

These are the conditions stated in DMV’s Collision Reporting and Responsibilities page; they do not mean every collision requires every type of report.

The DMV report is the driver’s Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report (Form 735-32). DMV offers online submission to eligible drivers and paper submission by mail, fax, or at a DMV office. The paper form gives the Crash Reporting Unit mailing address and fax number; the DMV instructions are the best starting point. DMV cautions not to submit more than one report for the same collision.

DMV also says it cannot give you a copy of the report you filed. Download or print the online report, or make a copy of the paper form, before submitting it. Form 735-32 likewise instructs filers to keep their own copy and documentation showing submission.

Who reports what

A police notification does not guarantee that an officer will come to the scene or that a police report will exist. Oregon’s insurance regulator notes that, depending on the circumstances, an officer may not come. When an officer does investigate or prepare a report, the officer report goes to ODOT; it does not replace the driver’s Form 735-32 filing.

Do not confuse the DMV deadline with other deadlines

The 72-hour timeframe on this page is specifically the deadline for the DMV collision report. It is not an insurance-claim deadline, a notice requirement for a public entity, or a deadline to start a lawsuit. The insurance notice described above depends on the policy. This article does not calculate a deadline for a claim, government notice, or court case.

How to find or request a police crash record

DMV distinguishes between the driver-filed collision report and a Police Traffic Crash Report. DMV says copies of driver-filed Oregon Traffic Accident and Insurance Reports are not available. For the driver-filed report, DMV may instead provide a certified letter with listed collision information to a person involved, family member, or representative; the stated fee is $12.50. A free Certificate of Filing is available to people who filed an accident report with DMV. DMV’s records-and-fees page has the details.

For an officer report, DMV lists a Police Traffic Crash Report as a copy of the police report on the collision. The listed fee is $8.50, charged even if DMV cannot find the record. Its Form 735-7266 describes this product as a photocopy of a Police Traffic Crash Report filed with DMV. The form asks for the crash date and county for this item and also provides fields for information that can help identify the relevant driver or vehicle. Order Your Own Record, Form 735-7266.

DMV says everyone requesting DMV records must qualify under Oregon’s record-privacy law; otherwise DMV will deny the request and return payment. Its request instructions explain that personal information may be removed from records for requesters who do not qualify to receive it. Use DMV’s Records Home and How to Request a DMV Record for the current method and identity requirements. For a person ordering their own record, the instructions describe mail requests and field-office ordering under stated conditions.

Do not treat the Oregon State Police public-records request process as a statewide crash-report portal. The Oregon State Police records page directs requests for police traffic crash reports or insurance information to DMV.

If the report is unavailable or another agency investigated

First, verify that you are seeking the right record: your own driver-filed Form 735-32, an officer’s Police Traffic Crash Report filed with DMV, or a separate agency file. DMV’s police-report product is expressly limited to a report filed with DMV, and DMV cannot provide a copy of your own submitted Form 735-32.

If DMV cannot locate an officer report, or you need a separate investigative file, make the request to the agency that investigated the collision through that agency’s official records channel. This can matter when the investigator was a local police department, sheriff, campus police agency, tribal agency, or another agency. Give the agency the crash date, location, involved names, and any incident or case number you have.

Official resources

• Oregon DMV collision reporting instructions
• Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report, Form 735-32
• Oregon DMV records and fees
• How to Request a DMV Record, Form 735-7161

Sources

1. Oregon DMV, “Collision Reporting and Responsibilities.”
2. Oregon DMV, “Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report,” Form 735-32.
3. Oregon Legislature, ORS 810.460, “Officer’s accident report; use.”
4. Oregon DMV, “Available DMV Records & Fees.”
5. Oregon DMV, “How to Request a DMV Record,” Form 735-7161.
6. Oregon State Police, “Public Records Requests.”
7. Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, “What to do if you are in an accident.”
8. Oregon Department of Transportation, “Statewide Electronic Data Collection Program.”
9. Oregon Department of Transportation, “Safety Forms.”