Adams County, North Dakota local guide: This county or county-equivalent page applies the state and national guidance and official resources below to people looking for accident information in Adams County, North Dakota. 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.
Short answer
For a state-reportable North Dakota traffic motorcycle accident, start with the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s (NDDOT) Purchase Motorcycle accident Report page. It links to the state’s online request portal. NDDOT says the route covers motorcycle accidents involving injury, death, or at least $4,000 in total property damage. The stated charge is $7. Bring at least two search details: the motorcycle accident date, a last name, and the county where it happened.
The state system is not confirmed as a catalogue for every agency record. A report can be unavailable because it is less than 10 days old, was not state-reportable, or has not yet been submitted and accepted into the North Dakota Motorcycle accident Record Database. In those situations, contact the agency that investigated the motorcycle accident for the facts needed to search or for its own record-access instructions.
Immediate checklist
- Open NDDOT’s official motorcycle accident-report purchase page, then use its linked online request portal.
- Gather two or more of these NDDOT search fields: motorcycle accident date, a person’s last name, and the county of the motorcycle accident.
- If the system does not find the report, first check whether the motorcycle accident happened fewer than 10 days ago or fell below the state-reportable threshold.
- If you do not have the search details, ask the investigating law-enforcement agency for the date, county, or other details; this is the direction NDDOT gives when those fields are missing.
- Keep the confirmation or downloaded copy with your other motorcycle accident records.
Who reports what in North Dakota
North Dakota’s official rules distinguish notifying law enforcement from the officer’s report and from obtaining a copy later.
| Task | What the official source says | Practical takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Driver’s immediate notice to law enforcement | A driver involved in a motorcycle accident causing injury, death, or apparent property damage of at least $4,000 must immediately give notice. Inside a municipality, the notice goes to local police; outside one, it goes to the county sheriff or State Highway Patrol. A property-damage-only motorcycle accident with an undomesticated animal is exempt from this notice requirement. N.D.C.C. § 39-08-09 | This is the state notice rule. Buying a copy later does not make that notice. |
| Information at the scene | For a motorcycle accident involving injury, death, or damage to an attended vehicle, drivers must provide name, address, vehicle registration number, and the driver and owner’s insurance carrier; the statute also describes reasonable assistance for an injured person. N.D.C.C. § 39-08-06 | Save the information you received, but do not rely on it as a substitute for the officer’s report. |
| Investigating officer’s report | An officer who investigates a motorcycle accident required to be reported under § 39-08-09 must make and promptly forward a report to the director electronically. Officers must forward required motorcycle accident reports to the department within 10 days after the motorcycle accident. N.D.C.C. §§ 39-08-10, 39-08-13 | This is the report that can enter the state motorcycle accident-record process. |
| Driver License Division insurance-information follow-up | If a driver cannot provide the required insurance information to the investigating officer, the driver must provide it to the Driver License Division in the required form within five days. N.D.C.C. § 39-08-09 | This is a narrowly described insurance-information follow-up, not the online report-copy request. |
The official materials reviewed for this page describe immediate notice and the officer’s report. They do not provide a general statewide driver self-report form for requesting a copy.
Find and request the state record
Use the NDDOT online route
NDDOT says reports for motorcycle accidents reportable to the department are available for purchase online and that customers receive a report immediately if it is available for purchase. NDDOT’s Purchase Motorcycle accident Report page is the official starting point.
The official request path verified here is online. The sources reviewed do not establish a mail, phone, or walk-in purchase method.
Who may ask for a copy and what may be removed
The state portal asks requesters to identify themselves as a party to the motorcycle accident (including a driver, passenger, vehicle owner, property owner, pedestrian, or bicyclist), a party’s legal representative, an insurer of a party, or not a party. Portal acknowledgment
North Dakota law provides the access distinction behind those choices. A party, that party’s legal representative, a party’s insurer or agent, and certain representatives or insurers investigating or defending a related claim can request a completed report from the director on the prescribed form for a fee of up to $7. Any person may be furnished an investigating officer’s report for up to $7 when the report is one for which the driver had to give notice, but information exempt from disclosure may be removed. The statute limits certain identifying, telephone, insurance, birth-date, and minor-party information for requesters outside the listed qualifying groups. N.D.C.C. § 39-08-13(4)–(7)
Details and documents to gather
Have the NDDOT search details ready before starting. You must provide at least two of the following: the date of motorcycle accident, last name, and county of motorcycle accident. If you lack them, NDDOT directs you to contact the law-enforcement agency that investigated to obtain those details. NDDOT purchase instructions
Keep the investigating agency’s name, location, and any incident number you were given nearby. These details may help when speaking with the agency, but NDDOT’s published online minimum is two of the three fields above; it does not state that an incident number is required.
Timing, fee, and unavailable searches
The published fee is $7. NDDOT cautions that a report may not be located if fewer than 10 days have passed, if the motorcycle accident did not involve injury, death, or at least $4,000 in property damage, or if it involved an undomesticated animal with no injury or fatality. NDDOT’s availability notice
That is not a promise that every report will appear on day 10. NDDOT says a report may not be found when fewer than 10 days have passed or when its listed reportability conditions are not met; if the report is available for purchase, it is delivered immediately. NDDOT’s availability notice
If a local agency investigated or the record is not in the state search
Do not assume that a report is missing simply because the Highway Patrol did not investigate. North Dakota law requires an officer who investigates a motorcycle accident subject to § 39-08-09 to electronically forward the report to the state, and NDSU Police specifically directs requests for motorcycle accident reports it took to NDDOT’s motorcycle accident-report website. N.D.C.C. § 39-08-10; NDSU Police report-request page
However, NDDOT limits its purchase page to motorcycle accidents reportable to NDDOT. If a report from local police, a sheriff, campus police, tribal police, or another agency is not found, contact the investigating agency. Ask it to confirm the motorcycle accident date, county, whether it submitted a state motorcycle accident report, and how to request any agency-held record. This does not mean every local or tribal agency keeps the same record or follows the same release process.
For motorcycle accidents that need immediate notice, the state’s public guidance also distinguishes who to contact: local police inside a municipality, or the county sheriff or Highway Patrol outside a municipality. North Dakota Highway Patrol FAQ If you are organizing documents while you wait, the motorcycle accident evidence checklist may help you keep your records together.
Official resources
- NDDOT: Purchase Motorcycle accident Report — official starting page, search fields, fee, availability notes, and state portal link.
- North Dakota Century Code, Chapter 39-08 — notice duties, officer reporting, access, fees, and exemptions.
- North Dakota Highway Patrol FAQ — official guidance on where to notify law enforcement and where to obtain a motorcycle accident report.
- AccidentFiling.ai guides — additional practical accident-document guidance.
What changes when a motorcycle is involved
Use this version when a motorcycle is involved. The police or state report procedure below remains controlled by jurisdiction and crash facts, but the evidence and insurance file should identify the motorcycle, riding equipment, rider and passenger roles, and motorcycle-specific damage.
Motorcycle insurance is written for motorcycle risks. Required and optional coverage, claim handling, and proof-of-insurance rules vary by state and policy.
- Preserve motorcycle VIN, plate, tow or storage location, and photographs from multiple angles.
- Keep damaged helmet and protective-gear information with the event records when relevant.
- Use the state insurance department for current coverage questions or complaints.
Browse the Motorcycle Accident Guides collection for related pages.
Accident-type official sources
- Motorcycles — National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- State Insurance Departments — National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Sources
- North Dakota Department of Transportation, “Purchase Crash Report”.
- North Dakota Legislative Branch, North Dakota Century Code, Chapter 39-08, especially §§ 39-08-06, 39-08-09, 39-08-10, and 39-08-13.
- North Dakota Highway Patrol FAQ.
- North Dakota State University Police and Safety, “Request for Police Report”.