Avondale, Arizona: Car accident Reporting Requirements: Police, Driver, and Motor Vehicle Reports

Avondale, Arizona local guide: This city page applies the state and national guidance and official resources below to people looking for accident information in Avondale, Arizona. 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

Arizona separates notifying law enforcement, an investigating officer’s car accident report, a limited DPS citizen car accident report, and an MVD motor-vehicle record. They are not interchangeable.

If a car accident results in injury or death, the driver must give immediate notice to the local police department inside a municipality, the county sheriff, or the nearest highway patrol office. A.R.S. § 28-666 sets that injury-or-death trigger; it is not an all-car accidents notice rule. Arizona DPS also offers a narrow online citizen-report option for certain minor state-highway car accidents.

Immediate checklist

If anyone is injured, call 911. For a car accident involving injury or death, give the required immediate notice to the appropriate police, sheriff, or highway patrol agency. A.R.S. § 28-666
Stop, exchange the required identifying and vehicle information, and provide reasonable assistance in injury/death cases. A.R.S. §§ 28-662 and 28-663
Record the location, date and time, involved vehicles, contact information, insurer information, responding agency, and any case or report number. The AccidentFiling.ai evidence checklist can help organize those items.
For a DPS-trooper investigation on an interstate or state highway, wait at least 14 days before checking availability. For another agency, start with that investigating agency.
Notify your insurer or agent promptly under your policy’s instructions. This insurance step does not replace a police notice or car accident report. Arizona DIFI

Who reports what in Arizona

The driver: immediate notice after injury or death

A driver involved in a car accident resulting in injury or death must immediately notify local police if the car accident is in a municipality, the county sheriff, or the nearest highway patrol office, using the quickest means of communication. That is a notice obligation, not an instruction to complete the Arizona Car accident Report form yourself. A.R.S. § 28-666

For a car accident with a driven or attended vehicle, Arizona also requires the driver to stop, give name, address, and vehicle registration information, show a driver license on request, and—when there is injury or death—render reasonable assistance. A.R.S. §§ 28-662–663 For an unattended vehicle, the driver must stop and either notify the owner/operator or leave the prescribed written notice. A.R.S. § 28-664

The investigating officer or public employee: Arizona Car accident Report

The Arizona Car accident Report form is marked “POLICE ONLY.” Under A.R.S. § 28-667, an officer or public employee who investigates in the regular course of duty must complete a written report when the car accident involves bodily injury, death, property damage to any person exceeding $2,000, or a citation. The statute says the report is completed at the scene or after interviewing participants or witnesses, and within 24 hours after the investigation is completed.

For an investigation with only property damage of $2,000 or less and no citation, injury, or death, the investigator must still complete a report portion within 24 hours. It includes basic time, location, party, vehicle/insurance, narrative, diagram, and investigator information. The agency immediately forwards a copy to ADOT. A.R.S. § 28-667

ADOT publishes the form and officer resources. ADOT Arizona Car accident Report resources

A limited driver self-report: DPS Citizen’s Report of a Car accident

DPS provides an online citizen-report process only when every listed condition is met: the car accident occurred within DPS jurisdiction on a state highway; no one was injured; total estimated damage is under $2,000; and no more than two vehicles were involved. An email account is required. DPS reviews the submission and, if approved, emails a police report number. DPS Citizen’s Report of a Car accident

This process does not create an on-scene investigation. DPS says there will be no further investigation to determine an at-fault driver, obtain insurance information, or locate a vehicle that left. A person can request an on-scene state-trooper investigation instead. Do not use this DPS option outside DPS jurisdiction.

MVD/ADOT motor-vehicle records: a different record

An MVD motor-vehicle record (MVR) is a driving or vehicle record, not the investigating agency’s car accident report. Personal-information access requires a permissible use under federal and Arizona law. ADOT Motor Vehicle Records

How to find or request the report

Start with the agency named on the exchange-of-information card, citation, or report number. ADOT maintains a statewide file of data extracted from law-enforcement reports, but that does not establish a public repository of every individual report. ADOT Car accident Report Forms Instruction Manual Direct individual-report requests to the investigating agency unless it says otherwise.

For car accidents investigated by DPS troopers on an interstate or state highway, use the AZDPS Public Services Portal to request a car accident report. DPS receives completed reports within 14 days and asks requesters to wait at least 14 days before checking availability. Listed fees include $9 by email (up to 5 MB), $9 paper for the first nine pages plus $0.10 each additional page, $9 fax (20-page limit), and $10 compact disc. DPS Request Records

A.R.S. § 28-667 says the employing agency may not allow examination or copies for a commercial-solicitation purpose. Unless another law applies, it requires an unredacted copy on request for an involved person or involved vehicle owner (or representative), specified insurers, and specified attorneys or private investigators. Victim personal identifying information can be redacted when the report indicates a criminal complaint, and an agency may deny an unredacted copy if release would harm a criminal investigation. A.R.S. § 28-667

Documents and identifiers to gather

Keep the report or case number, car accident date/time and exact location, agency name, driver/witness names, available vehicle plate/VIN details, insurance information, and any citation number. Those items correspond to identifiers on the Arizona Car accident Report form and can help locate the record.

If the report is unavailable or held elsewhere

A report may not exist if no agency investigated, or it may be held by the agency that investigated rather than by DPS. DPS expressly says that for a report from a town, city, or county road, the requester should contact the law-enforcement agency in that jurisdiction; it also says county and local-jurisdiction incidents are not retained by DPS. DPS Request Records

Use the same agency-first approach for campus, tribal, or another investigating authority. If you have only a DPS report number, use the DPS portal. Without a number, give the identifiers above and ask the investigating agency whether it created a report and how to request it. For other practical steps, see what to do after a car accident.

Insurance, public-entity notices, and lawsuit time limits are separate

Insurer notice follows the policy and the insurer’s claim process. DIFI advises policyholders to follow the identification card’s instructions and notify the agent promptly; it does not turn an insurer notice into a government car accident-report filing. DIFI consumer guidance

A public-entity claim notice is not a police report. A.R.S. § 12-821.01 sets a 180-day-after-accrual notice rule for claims against an Arizona public entity, public school, or public employee, with required contents and stated exceptions.

Court filing periods are also separate. A.R.S. § 12-821 states a one-year limitation after accrual for actions against a public entity or employee. A.R.S. § 12-542 lists a two-year limitation after accrual for enumerated personal- and property-injury actions. These statutes do not determine when an individual claim accrued or calculate a deadline from a car accident date.

Official resources

What changes for a car accident

Use this version when a private passenger car is involved. The official reporting or record-request procedure below is still controlled by the crash location, investigating agency, and the facts of the event—not by the wording “car accident.”

For insurance, start with the applicable personal auto policy and the insurance rules of the crash state. Save the declarations page, insurance cards, claim number, repair estimates, and insurer communications.

Confirm which agency investigated or holds the report.
Keep the other vehicle and driver information with the report number.
Keep police, motor-vehicle agency, and insurer tasks as separate checklist items.

Browse the Car Accident Guides collection for related pages.

Accident-type official sources

Auto Insurance — National Association of Insurance Commissioners