How to Get a State-Level Car Accident Report in the District of.

Short answer

For a traffic car accident investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the report to request is the PD-10 Traffic Car accident Report. An involved person—or that person’s attorney, attorney staff, or investigator—may ask MPD’s Public Documents Section for it. MPD says a first-party PD-10 request can be made by email, mail, or in person by appointment. For email or mail, send the completed PD Form 10B and a copy of valid government-issued photo ID, plus the available car accident details, to MPD. Keep the six-digit Central Complaint Number (CCN) if given; it identifies the report. 1

A PD-10 is an MPD record, not a DC DMV car accident-report product. DC DMV expressly says do not report any car accident to DC DMV. It directs people involved in a non-injury car accident to its non-injury checklist and to notify their insurer; for a car accident involving injury, it says to call 911. 2 If MPD did not make a PD-10, there may not be an MPD car accident report to obtain. The official sources reviewed for this guide do not identify a substitute DMV driver self-report form or a guaranteed report-creation process for every car accident.

Immediate checklist

If someone is injured, call 911. A District driver who knows or has reason to believe the vehicle was in a car accident must immediately stop; when another person is injured, the driver must call or cause someone to call 911 or necessary emergency help, remain until law enforcement arrives, and provide identifying information. 3
For property damage, do not leave without addressing the statutory information duty. The current Code requires identification to the owner or operator, or, when that person is absent, identification and the car accident location to law enforcement or 911. A condition that poses a risk to others must be reported to 911 with identifying information, location, and a description of the risk. 3
Preserve the exact date, time, location, names, plate numbers, insurer information, photographs, and any CCN. See the car accident evidence checklist for a practical list of items to retain.
Notify your insurer under the requirements of your own policy. DC DMV says to notify the insurer for a non-injury car accident, but the agency page does not provide an insurer-notice deadline. Do not treat the MPD copy-request timeframe as an insurance deadline. 2
If the car accident was reportable to MPD, ask for the CCN or make a note of it. MPD says an officer who arrives may write a PD-10 and that the report is assigned a six-digit CCN. 1

Who reports what—and what does not replace another step

Police notification and officer report. The driver’s immediate duties after a car accident are set by D.C. Code § 50-2201.05c. They include stopping and, depending on injury, property damage, or a danger to others, calling 911 or providing the specified identification information. 3 MPD states that, when an officer arrives for an automobile accident, the officer may write a PD-10. That wording does not say that every car accident generates a PD-10, so the presence of a car accident does not by itself establish that a report exists. 1

Driver/DMV self-report. DC DMV’s vehicle-insurance page says, “Do not report any car accident to DC DMV.” 2 On the official pages reviewed, no separate DC DMV driver car accident-report filing route was identified. This is different from an MPD PD-10 request and different from a DMV insurance-record search.

Insurer notice. DC DMV tells a person in a non-injury car accident to notify the insurance company. 2 It does not state a deadline, and the pages reviewed do not say that notifying an insurer requests an MPD report or supplies one to the insurer. Keep your claim number and follow the policy’s notice instructions separately.

Public-entity notice. A car accident report request is not the same as written notice for a possible unliquidated-damages action against the District. D.C. Code § 12-309 states that, except for stated exceptions, written notice to the Mayor of the approximate time, place, cause, and circumstances must be given within six months after the injury or damage; it also says an MPD report made in the regular course of duty is sufficient notice under that section. 4 Whether the provision applies to a particular claim, whether a report qualifies, and any exception require legal review; do not use a copy request as a substitute for determining that issue.

Lawsuit time limits. For damages for injury to real or personal property, D.C. Code § 12-301 lists three years from accrual, unless another law specifically provides otherwise. 5 This general provision is separate from the six-month § 12-309 District notice rule and does not state a report-copy, police-notification, DMV, or insurer deadline. The facts, claim type, parties, and other laws can matter, so the article record flags this scope for jurisdiction-licensed legal review.

Request the MPD PD-10: official path

MPD identifies the Public Documents Section as providing PD-10 copies. The online procedure below follows MPD’s PD-10-specific page rather than the broader reports overview, because it gives requester categories and application requirements. 1

1. Confirm that you are eligible for the direct PD-10 route

MPD states that PD-10/Traffic Car accident Report requests may be made by a first party only: an involved party, or the attorney, attorney staff, or investigator of an involved party. It directs third-party requests to MPD’s FOIA Office. 1

The attached PD Form 10B gives more detail on supporting documents. An applicant provides government photo identification. An attorney or investigator for the applicant supplies identification plus either a signed retainer agreement or a notarized authorization describing pending or anticipated litigation and authorizing the request. A non-attorney agent provides identification plus a notarized authorization from the applicant. 6 These are document requirements in MPD’s form; eligibility and disclosure can also be constrained by the privacy rules below.

2. Gather the identifiers and documents

Complete PD Form 10B—Application for PD Form 10 Accident Report. MPD’s web page asks for as much of the following as you have: full name, car accident date, car accident location, six-digit CCN, and car accident time. It also requires a copy of valid government-issued photo ID and the completed application for an email or mail request. 1

The form asks for applicant contact information and address, the driver’s name, the applicant’s position in the vehicle and/or ownership status, date, time, location, and CCN. 6 Use the information you actually have. Do not guess a CCN. MPD says that if you need the report number, call the police district station that responded to the incident. 1

3. Choose email, mail, or an in-person appointment

For an email request, MPD lists mpd.public-docs@dc.gov. For mail, MPD directs the completed materials and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Public Documents Section, ATTN: Accident/Incident Reports, 441 4th Street, NW, Room 550 South, Washington, DC 20001. Its PD-10 page says this option is for people outside the District or otherwise unable to come in person, and tells mail requesters to allow six weeks from the request date for processing. 1

For an in-person request, MPD says appointments are required and gives (202) 671-6705 to schedule. At MPD Headquarters, it says to provide either the name plus date, location, and time, or the six-digit CCN, as well as valid government-issued photo ID. 1 Before traveling, use MPD’s live page to recheck appointments and hours.

4. Check the fee wording before you submit

MPD’s PD-10-specific request page says there is no fee for first-party requests and separately says insurance companies seeking PD-10s for claim purposes are charged $3 each. 1 However, MPD’s broader Police Clearances and Reports overview says there is a $3 fee for all Accident Reports (PD-10s). 7 These official pages conflict. This guide does not resolve the conflict or promise a fee outcome. Ask the Public Documents Section what fee, if any, applies to your exact requester category and submission method, and preserve the answer with your request records.

If the report is unavailable or you are not a first party

First, check the basics: a report may not exist if no officer created a PD-10, and a missing CCN can be sought from the responding police district as MPD directs. 1 The source reviewed does not promise that the district can locate every report or provide a report copy; it only identifies it as the place to ask for the report number.

A third party should use MPD’s FOIA Office, as MPD’s PD-10 page directs. 1 MPD provides the DC Government FOIA Public Access website and explains that a request can also be mailed to the FOIA Officer. For a request about yourself, it asks for the date, time, place, CCN if available, and proof of identity; an attorney should add proof of representation. MPD lists date, time, location, and CCN if available for self, attorney, and third-party request tables. 8

Under D.C. Code § 2-532, a public body generally must make a reasonably described public record accessible or give its determination within 15 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays after receipt; the provision permits a written extension of up to 10 additional such days in unusual circumstances. 9 That is a response/determination rule, not a promise that an MPD record will be released or that a requested PD-10 exists. FOIA fees may be charged within the Code’s cost limits, and MPD says it will provide fee instructions if fees are assessed. 8 9

Privacy is another practical limit. D.C. Code § 50-1401.01b defines an accident report as a PD-10 and generally bars MPD, DMV, and affiliated persons from disclosing personal information from an accident report unless a listed exception applies. The law identifies several permitted uses, including a person involved and listed on the report in connection with an actual or contemplated proceeding, an attorney’s investigation in anticipation of litigation, and insurer claim-related uses; MPD and DMV may require supporting documentation and decide whether it is sufficient. 10 This supports following MPD’s first-party/form route rather than assuming a report is publicly available.

A DC DMV insurance record search is not a replacement car accident report. DMV says a person who has been in a car accident may request the insurance of record for a DC vehicle tag online, by mail, or in person for a fee; it says the record does not include vehicle-owner personal information and provides only insurance information reported to DMV to assist with a claim. 11

What changes for a car accident

Use this version when a private passenger car is involved. The official reporting or record-request procedure still depends on the event location, investigating agency, and facts.
For insurance, start with the applicable personal auto policy and the crash-state rules. Keep the declarations page, insurance cards, claim number, estimates, and insurer communications.

Keep these additional records

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 separate.

Browse the Car Accident Guides collection for related pages.

Accident-type official sources

Auto Insurance — National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Official resources

Sources

[1] MPD, “Request an Accident Report (PD-10) or an Incident/Offense Report (PD-251)”
[2] DC DMV, “Vehicle Insurance”
[3] D.C. Code § 50-2201.05c, “Leaving after colliding”
[4] D.C. Code § 12-309, “Actions against District of Columbia for unliquidated damages; time for notice”
[5] D.C. Code § 12-301, “Limitation of time for bringing actions”
[6] MPD, “PD Form 10B—Application for PD Form 10 Accident Report” (PDF)
[7] MPD, “Police Clearances and Reports”
[8] MPD, “Submit a FOIA Request to MPD”
[9] D.C. Code § 2-532, “Right of access to public records; allowable costs; time limits”
[10] D.C. Code § 50-1401.01b, “Prohibition on release and use of certain personal information from motor vehicle records and accident reports”
[11] DC DMV, “Insurance Records for Crashes”

How to Get a State-Level Car Accident Report in the District of Columbia