Abbotsford, Wisconsin: Crash Reporting Requirements: Police, Driver, and Motor Vehicle Reports

Short answer

In Wisconsin, immediately notify law enforcement when a crash causes an injury or death, at least $1,000 in apparent damage to property owned by any one person or to a government-owned vehicle, or at least $200 in apparent damage to other state or government property. Notice goes by the quickest means to the local police department, sheriff’s office, county or municipal traffic department, or a State Patrol officer. Wis. Stat. § 346.70(1)

A police report and a driver report are not the same thing. If a law-enforcement agency investigates or receives a report of a qualifying crash, it forwards its report to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). If an agency report is not made, the operator generally must send WisDOT a written crash report within 10 days. WisDOT’s online Driver Report Own Crash (DROC) is the official route for that driver report; do not use it if an officer has already completed a crash report. WisDOT crash reporting · DROC

Immediate checklist

1. Check the reporting trigger. Injury or death, the $1,000 damage threshold, or the $200 government-property threshold requires immediate notice to law enforcement under the statute.
2. Find out whether the investigating agency is completing a report. A completed agency report normally takes the place of the driver’s written report to WisDOT. Do not submit a duplicate DROC when an officer has already completed one. DROC entry criteria
3. If no agency report is made, use the official DROC. The statute sets a 10-day period after the crash for the operator’s written report. Wis. Stat. § 346.70(2)
4. Respond separately if WisDOT sends an insurance-information letter. That is a DOT insurance-information process, not a replacement for the crash report.
5. Keep the report number and the investigating agency’s name. They help with the state purchase portal or a request to the agency that holds additional records.

Who reports what in Wisconsin?

Police report versus driver or motor-vehicle-agency report

A police report is the uniform or automated traffic-accident report made by the law-enforcement agency. Wisconsin law requires an agency investigating or receiving a report of a qualifying crash to send its report to WisDOT within 10 days. The agency—not the driver—completes that version. Wis. Stat. § 346.70(4)

The driver report is the separate written report the operator sends to WisDOT when there is no law-enforcement report. WisDOT calls the online filing path Driver Report Own Crash and screens filers for the same reporting conditions, plus whether an officer has already completed a report. The official materials identify this DT4002/DROC process as the motor-vehicle-agency report for that situation; they do not identify an additional general DMV crash-report form for a driver to file after a police report. WisDOT crash reporting · DROC

The insurance-information form is separate again. If WisDOT sends a letter, use its online insurance-reporting service with the requested insurance details. It does not replace the crash narrative/reporting path above. WisDOT insurance reporting

File a Driver Report of Crash when police did not file one

Start at WisDOT’s Crash reporting page and select the official DROC link. The DROC screen says not to report a crash unless at least one entry condition is true and a law-enforcement officer has not already completed a crash report. Its listed entry conditions are injury; $1,000 or more damage to any one person’s vehicle or property; $200 or more in damage to non-vehicle state or other government property; or a WisDOT letter directing the person to complete a crash report. DROC

Have the driver-license number, vehicle identification number (VIN), Social Security number, and vehicle-insurance information ready. The service times out after 30 minutes of inactivity. WisDOT crash reporting

How to find or request the crash record

For a completed report that has reached WisDOT, use the official WisDOT Purchase Crash Reports portal. The portal says reports become available after they are completed and received from the reporting law-enforcement agency; that can take 10 business days or more depending on the crash and investigation. It says reports remain available for four years from the crash date.

Search by document number or by crash date and Wisconsin driver-license number. WisDOT also lists the DOT accident/crash number as search information. After payment, the report is available to download or print; the portal does not state a price on its public landing page. It says reports are not available by email, fax, or DMV-office pickup. Purchase Crash Reports portal · WisDOT enforcement FAQ

The portal is for reports received from a reporting agency. For records it does not provide, Wisconsin law permits examination or copying, subject to the custodian’s rules, of crash reports and listed related material retained by local authorities, State Patrol, or another investigating law-enforcement agency. Wis. Stat. § 346.70(4)(f)

If the report is unavailable or held elsewhere

First, allow time for completion and transmission. If the report is not in the portal, contact the records custodian of the agency that investigated or received it—for example, the local police or sheriff’s office, State Patrol, or another investigating agency.

For a State Patrol record, use its official Open Records Requests form. Fulfillment may take four to six weeks; records may contain redactions, and ongoing-investigation records may not be released. For other WisDOT-held records, email a reasonably described request to dotopenrecords@dot.wi.gov. WisDOT says it responds as soon as practicable, may charge specified actual costs, and will explain a full or partial withholding in writing. WisDOT Open Records

If a campus, tribal, or other agency investigated, ask that agency’s records custodian for its access procedure. The state portal’s availability is tied to a report received from the reporting law-enforcement agency; agencies can hold separate records.

Documents and identifiers to gather

Gather the applicable items identified by WisDOT:

• DROC: driver-license number, VIN, Social Security number, and vehicle-insurance information.
• Crash-report portal: document number, or crash date plus Wisconsin driver-license number; retain any DOT accident/crash number.
• Insurance response after a WisDOT letter: crash number, VIN or plate, and insurer information. WisDOT insurance reporting
• Agency request: the investigating agency and a description of the report or related record. WisDOT Open Records

What this reporting guide does—and does not—cover

The cited materials cover reporting and insurance information. They do not establish a general public-entity notice procedure or lawsuit deadline for every crash, so this guide does not state or calculate one.

For practical next steps after documenting the crash, see What to Do After a Car Accident and the Car Accident Evidence Checklist.

Official resources

• WisDOT: Crash reporting and Driver Report Own Crash
• WisDOT: Purchase Crash Reports
• Wisconsin Legislature: Wis. Stat. § 346.70
• WisDOT: Insurance reporting
• WisDOT: Open Records
• Wisconsin State Patrol: Open Records Requests

Sources

1. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “Crash reporting.”
2. Wisconsin Legislature, Wis. Stat. § 346.70, “Duty to report accident; assistance following accident.”
3. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “Driver Report Own Crash (DROC).”
4. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “Purchase Crash Reports.”
5. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “Insurance reporting.”
6. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “WisDOT Open Records.”
7. Wisconsin State Patrol, “Open Records Requests.”
8. Wisconsin Legislature, Wis. Stat. § 344.15, “Requirements as to policy or bond.”