How to Get a State-Level Car Accident Report in Missouri

Short answer

For a Missouri traffic car accident, the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) Patrol Records Division is the state-level repository for statewide motor-vehicle car accident information. It says report-copy availability depends on the finalized Missouri Uniform Accident Report reaching the division and entering the Statewide Traffic Accident Records System (STARS). MSHP’s traffic-report request instructions specifically describe how to obtain a report investigated by the Highway Patrol.

For an MSHP-investigated basic car accident report, wait at least 10 days after the investigation, use the Highway Patrol’s designated records-request portal, or send the completed records-request form to the appropriate troop headquarters or the Patrol Records Division. MSHP states a $6 fee for each basic motor-vehicle car accident report. It also warns that its car accident-report backlog can make delivery take longer. Do not rely on the free online car accident listing as a report copy: it is preliminary and unofficial.

Immediate checklist

• Identify which agency investigated the car accident. An exchange card, incident number, officer name, or dispatch record can help.
• Write down the car accident date, county, location, and any incident or report number you have.
• If MSHP investigated, wait the stated minimum time and submit a request through the MSHP Public Records Center or use the troop/Patrol Records route below.
• If another agency investigated, keep its name and use its records procedure if MSHP cannot supply the final report.
• Save the request confirmation and the report number when it arrives. A report-copy request is not the same thing as notifying an insurer or making any separate report.

For a broader after-car accident task list, see what to do after a car accident and the car accident evidence checklist.

Who reports what in Missouri

The official sources distinguish several different actions. They should not be treated as one filing requirement.

Calling or notifying police. For a car accident within a city, Missouri law says a driver involved in a car accident resulting in injury or death, or apparent property damage of $500 or more to one person, must give—or cause to be given—notice to the police department as soon as reasonably possible. That is the scope of RSMo § 300.110; it does not say that every car accident anywhere in Missouri has the same city-notice rule.

The investigating officer’s report. RSMo § 43.250 says an officer who investigates a vehicle car accident involving injury, death, or apparent property damage of $500 or more to one person—or who otherwise prepares a report from an investigation—must forward it to the MSHP superintendent within 10 days, unless the superintendent approves a different time or form. This is not a report the driver files with MSHP.

A driver’s separate written report. RSMo § 300.115 provides that a driver involved in a car accident meeting its injury, death, or $500-to-one-person property-damage threshold must forward a written report to the police department within five days. The provision says this does not apply when a police officer investigated the car accident at the scene while the driver was present. That exception matters: do not assume a copy request replaces a report that may otherwise be required.

DMV/motor-vehicle report. The official sources used here describe police-department reporting, officer submission to MSHP, and the Highway Patrol repository. They do not identify a Missouri DMV report that a reader files in order to obtain a car accident-report copy. This guide therefore does not present the MSHP request as a DMV filing.

Insurer notice, public-entity notice, and lawsuit deadlines. The official car accident-report and statute sources below do not state an insurer-notice deadline, a public-entity notice requirement, or a lawsuit deadline. None is supplied here. A request for a report copy does not establish or extend any of those timelines.

Find the state record and request a copy

1. Check whether the Highway Patrol is the right source

MSHP’s Patrol Records Division describes itself as a data repository for statewide motor-vehicle accident reports. It says law-enforcement agencies authorized to investigate traffic car accidents submit information through the Missouri Uniform Accident Report, and that report-copy availability depends on the finalized report reaching the division and being entered into STARS. RSMo § 43.251 also requires written or computer-generated accident reports to use the form or computer format approved by the MSHP superintendent.

That statewide function does not make the public online car accident-search page a complete statewide database. MSHP says its online car accident reports are preliminary, unofficial information for car accidents investigated by the Highway Patrol; reports from outside agencies are not included. It can help locate an MSHP incident number, but is not an official copy.

2. Use the published MSHP request options

For a basic motor-vehicle car accident report investigated by MSHP, the Highway Patrol’s instructions say to wait 10 days from the investigation date and complete the linked records-request form. The page provides these routes:

• Online: submit through the Highway Patrol’s designated Public Records Center. The portal also lets requesters track status and download records through “My Records Center.”
• By mail or through a troop headquarters: for car accident reports from 1997 or later, MSHP says the request may go to the troop headquarters where the car accident occurred or the troop headquarters nearest you. Requests sent to the Patrol Records Division may be mailed to: Missouri State Highway Patrol, Patrol Records Division, P.O. Box 568, Jefferson City, MO 65102, Attention: Traffic Car accident Reports.
• Patrol Records Division: MSHP directs requests for car accidents from 1996 or earlier, certified car accident reports, photographs, and reconstruction reports to the Patrol Records Division.

The posted request instructions do not state that a basic MSHP car accident-report request is limited to a particular class of requester. For certain closed incident records, RSMo § 610.100 gives written-request access to a person involved or whose property was involved, and listed representatives including an attorney or insurer. That is a separate access rule; describe the record and connection when it applies.

3. Know the fee and timing MSHP actually states

MSHP states that a basic motor-vehicle car accident report costs $6.00. For mailed requests, cash is not accepted; use a check or money order payable to “DPS – Missouri State Highway Patrol.” The car accident-report FAQ says to allow at least 10 working days from the car accident date before requesting an official copy. The request page also warns that a backlog may extend receipt. These are not a guaranteed delivery date.

Identifiers and documents to gather

MSHP’s posted instructions do not publish one mandatory list of identifiers for every records request. Gather the details you have so the agency can locate the record:

• car accident date and approximate time;
• county and specific car accident location;
• the investigating agency and, if known, the MSHP troop;
• incident or car accident-report number;
• the names and city/state information associated with people in the car accident.

These items track MSHP’s preliminary online search fields. Keep the exchange information, correspondence, payment record, and request confirmation with the report.

If the report is unavailable or another agency investigated

Start with the agency that investigated the car accident. This is especially important when the car accident was handled by local police or a sheriff, because MSHP says the public online car accident page excludes reports investigated outside the Highway Patrol. The Highway Patrol FAQ adds that city or county officers’ car accident reports are filed with the Patrol but do not appear on that online page.

For the state-level route, contact the Patrol Records Division or the appropriate troop and provide the details you gathered. Availability depends on finalization and entry into STARS. If MSHP cannot provide the final report, request it from the investigating agency’s records or public-records office. Missouri’s Sunshine Law requires state, county, and municipal law-enforcement agencies to maintain incident, investigation, and arrest records; incident reports are open under RSMo § 610.100. That agency may distinguish an incident record from an investigative report.

If you need help organizing the documents you already have, visit AccidentFiling.ai’s guides and resources.

Official resources

• Missouri State Highway Patrol: Request a Traffic Car accident Report
• MSHP Public Records Center
• MSHP Patrol Records Division
• MSHP Online Traffic Car accident Reports
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes

Sources

• Missouri State Highway Patrol, “Request a Traffic Crash Report”
• Missouri State Highway Patrol, “Patrol Records Division”
• Missouri State Highway Patrol, “Crash Reports Frequently Asked Questions”
• Missouri State Highway Patrol, “Online Traffic Crash Reports”
• Revised Statutes of Missouri § 43.250, § 43.251, § 300.110, § 300.115, and § 610.100