How to Get a State-Level Crash Report in Adams, Tennessee

Adams, Tennessee local guide: This city page applies the state and national guidance and official resources below to people looking for accident information in Adams, Tennessee. The agency responsible for a police report or records request can depend on where the incident occurred and which agency investigated it. Confirm the agency shown on the report or incident information before requesting a record.

Tennessee’s official crash report path

Short answer: Tennessee’s Department of Safety & Homeland Security provides the official state crash-report purchase route through Purchase TN Crash, Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) district offices, and mail. Start by identifying which agency investigated the crash. If THP investigated, the Department gives specific THP office and mail options. If a city police department, county sheriff, campus police department, or another law-enforcement agency investigated, Tennessee’s own instructions say to contact that investigating agency to buy the report from its office. See Tennessee’s crash-report instructions.

Immediate checklist

Find any exchange-of-information sheet, case card, citation, or correspondence that names the reporting/investigating agency and lists an incident, case, or tracking number.
Gather the crash date, county, driver names, a driver license number, and either the vehicle identification number (VIN), license plate, or agency case/tracking number.
If THP investigated, choose the online, THP office, or mail option below. If another agency investigated, ask that agency’s records unit for its report-copy procedure.
Keep the purchased report and receipt with your other records. The car accident evidence checklist can help organize materials.

Who reports what in Tennessee

Several different actions can follow a crash. They are not interchangeable.

Calling or notifying police. Requesting a copy is not a way to notify law enforcement or create a report. Tennessee’s driver license manual says drivers must immediately notify the local police department for a crash within a municipality, or otherwise the county sheriff or nearest THP, when a crash involves death, injury, or property damage over $50. If the driver is physically unable to give notice and a passenger can do so, the manual says the passenger must make or cause notice to be given. That notification instruction is separate from buying an existing report.

The investigating officer’s report. Tennessee describes a crash report as the official copy of a crash investigated by THP or another law-enforcement agency. The location of that record depends on the investigating agency. A THP investigation has the THP options listed below; another agency may maintain its own copy process. Tennessee’s Owner Operator Report page makes this distinction while linking readers to the crash-report request page.

A separate owner/operator report. The Department states that an owner or driver involved in a crash involving death or injury, more than $1,500 in property damage, or more than $400 in damage to state or local government property must file, or have filed on their behalf, an Owner Operator Report. The Department says this applies regardless of fault and is in addition to an investigating officer’s report. It must be submitted to the Department of Safety & Homeland Security within 20 days of the crash. The state provides online submission through e-Services and a mail form.

Department of Safety motor-vehicle reporting. The state source calls this the Owner Operator Report and directs it to the Department of Safety & Homeland Security; it is a separate filing from buying the officer’s crash report. Do not treat receipt of a report copy as confirmation that an Owner Operator Report was filed.

Insurer notice, public-entity notice, and lawsuit deadlines. The Department pages cited here do not state an insurer-notice deadline, a notice process for claims involving a public entity, or a deadline to bring a lawsuit. Those subjects should not be inferred from the 20-day Owner Operator Report deadline.

How to request a Tennessee crash report

1. Purchase online

The Department’s official crash-report page links to the official Purchase TN Crash service. The Department lists an online cost of $10 by credit card—Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover—and says prepaid cards cannot be used.

For the online search, have the last name, date of accident, reporting agency, and driver’s license number, plus one of these: the VIN, license plate, or case/tracking number. The online service says the crash report is an official copy and that its search results do not display the requester’s address. Follow the service’s account and search instructions; an incorrect agency or identifier can prevent a match.

2. Visit a THP district office

This option is for crashes investigated by THP. The Department says a driver, owner, passenger, or their agent or legal representative may purchase a THP crash report for $4. Reports are available at the THP district office about seven days after the crash. The Department’s crash-report page provides the current district-office list and the counties served by each office.

Bring or be ready to provide the crash date, county, involved driver name or names, and the agency tracking number. These details help the office locate the correct record.

3. Request by mail

For the Department’s mail option, use the official Traffic Crash Report Request form (SF-1595). The form directs the requester to complete and sign it, include a $4 check or money order and a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and mail it to the Department’s Financial Responsibility Division at the address shown on the form.

The form asks for as much crash information as available, including driver name, driver license number, crash date, license plate, investigating agency, incident number, county, and roadway. It also contains an eligibility certification. Its listed categories include a driver involved in the crash, an owner or lessee with an interest in involved property, a qualifying insurer or licensed insurance agent, and a legal representative of a driver or property owner. The form warns that obtaining a report under false pretenses is a criminal offense.

The official Purchase TN Crash service says to allow two to three weeks from the mailing date for a mailed request. The agency’s eligibility language is method-specific: the THP office page lists drivers, owners, passengers, agents, and legal representatives for THP reports, while the mail form requires the requester to select and certify one of its listed categories. Follow the eligibility instructions for the method you choose.

If a local agency investigated the crash

Do not assume the state’s THP office is the keeper of every Tennessee crash record. The Department expressly asks whether THP or another agency—such as a county sheriff’s office or city police department—investigated. Where the latter investigated, the Department’s direction is to contact that agency to purchase the report from its office.

That instruction applies to other non-THP investigating agencies, including a campus or specialized agency, if named on the crash paperwork. Start with the exact investigating agency, not simply the police department nearest the crash location. If you do not know the agency, use a case card, exchange sheet, or report number to identify it first.

A request under the Department’s general Open Records process concerns Department of Safety & Homeland Security documents. It does not replace the Department’s instruction to seek a non-THP crash report from the agency that investigated it. That process requires a Department request form and proof of Tennessee citizenship for copies; it differs from the crash-report purchase options above.

Documents and identifiers to gather

Before beginning, collect the following information in one place:

Crash date and the county where it happened.
Name of each involved driver.
Reporting or investigating agency name.
Driver’s license number.
VIN or license plate number.
Case, incident, or agency tracking number.
Roadway name or number, if known.
Your applicable eligibility information for a mail request, along with the completed form, signature, payment, and return envelope.

These are state-listed search or form fields; each method may not require every item. Give the records office the identifiers it requests.

If the report is not yet available or cannot be found

For a THP investigation, wait until the Department’s stated approximate seven-day availability period before attempting an in-person district-office purchase. For a mailed request, the state says to allow two to three weeks from the mailing date. If an online search does not find a record, check the name, reporting agency, license number, and vehicle/case identifier against your crash paperwork.

If the reported agency is local, contact that agency directly instead of repeatedly searching the THP route. If no officer investigated, there may be no investigating-officer report to purchase; that does not change the separate Owner Operator Report rule described above when its stated thresholds apply. Keep your own photographs, contact information, and exchange documents. For practical next steps after a crash, see what to do after a car accident and the site’s guides.