How to Get a State-Level Crash Report in Adams County, Pennsylvania

Adams County, Pennsylvania 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, Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) investigation, request the crash report from PSP—not from a general statewide public portal. PSP says its crash-report service is for an incident investigated by PSP. A person involved in that crash, their attorney or insurer, or a government agency may request it online or by mail. PSP lists a $22 fee and says reports are available 15 days after the crash date. PSP’s official crash-report service

Pennsylvania law directs PennDOT to maintain a central accident-records agency for reportable traffic accidents, and police agencies submit reports to PennDOT. That does not make the PSP request website a copy service for every local police report. If a city, borough, township, county, campus, tribal, or other police agency investigated the crash, request the report from that investigating agency. The Vehicle Code directs the police department that investigated the crash to furnish a certified copy to eligible requesters. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3751

Immediate checklist

Identify the investigating agency. Check the information given at the scene, a signed statement from the officer, or any paperwork for the police department name and case/CAD number.
If PSP investigated, wait at least 15 days from the crash date before searching or mailing the PSP request. PSP crash-report service
Gather the search details. The PSP online system requires either the CAD/case number, or a last name and incident date. PSP Online Crash Report Requests
Use the agency that investigated. Do not assume a report from local police will appear in the PSP system.
Keep a copy of your submission and payment record. If the crash was not investigated but required police notice, determine whether an AA-600 driver report is required below.

Who reports what in Pennsylvania

Calling or notifying police

Pennsylvania’s immediate-notice rule applies when a crash involves injury or death, or vehicle damage that leaves a vehicle unable to be driven in its customary manner without further damage or hazard and therefore requires towing. The driver must immediately notify the nearest duly authorized police department by the quickest means of communication. If the driver is physically unable to do so, a capable occupant must give or cause the notice. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3746

This is a rule about notifying police after the specified kinds of crashes. It is different from asking later for a copy of a police report.

The investigating officer’s report

For a crash reported under that immediate-notice section, a police officer must investigate and provide each driver a signed statement that the crash was reported. Police departments that prepare a written report for a crash requiring a report must forward an initial written report to PennDOT within 15 days; a supplemental report may follow if needed. 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3746, 3751 5

The investigating department is therefore the practical first place to request the agency’s report. For a PSP investigation, use the PSP process below. For another department, contact that department’s records unit and ask for its crash-report request procedure and fee. Pennsylvania law identifies eligible recipients as a person involved, that person’s attorney or insurer, and specified government bodies. It also permits a police department to refuse a complete investigation copy when criminal charges are pending, unless criminal procedure rules require production. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3751

A driver’s separate report to PennDOT

A driver report is not the same thing as an officer’s investigation report. If no police officer investigates a crash that should have been investigated under the immediate-notice rule, each involved driver must send a written report to PennDOT within five days. PennDOT’s official form for this purpose is the AA-600 Driver’s Accident Report; its instructions say it is to be completed only when the crash was not investigated by a police agency. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3747 AA-600 form

PennDOT says there is no fee to file an AA-600. A driver submitting the form may request a date-stamped copy for $5, and only the submitting driver may request a copy of that submitted form. PennDOT also says it does not investigate crashes. AA-600 form

The police-report and AA-600 processes are not substitutes for other requirements that may apply outside the report system. This page does not establish an insurer-notice deadline, a public-entity notice deadline, or a lawsuit deadline.

How to request a PSP crash report

Online

Start at PSP’s Online Crash Report Requests site. After waiting the required 15 days, search with either:

the CAD/case number, or
the last name and incident date.

After locating a possible report, complete the web application with basic personal information and a reason for the request. PSP says it will approve or deny the request within seven business days of receipt. If approved, PSP sends a payment link; after payment, it sends the requested documents in a separate email. PSP Online Crash Report Requests

By mail

Use PSP’s Application to Obtain Copy of Police Crash Report. Complete and sign it, then mail it with a $22 money order or certified check payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the PSP Crash Reports Unit at the address printed on the form. The PSP service page lists the same fee and mailing route. PSP crash-report service

The form asks for information that can help PSP identify the report, including the crash date and time, CAD/case number, county, municipality, route or location, the requester’s role, names of others involved, and contact information. It also states that the certified PSP report excludes appended documents and photographs. PSP request form

Documents and identifiers to gather

Before you search or request a copy, collect what you already have rather than guessing:

the investigating agency’s name;
the CAD/case or incident number, if available;
crash date and approximate time;
county, municipality, route, street, intersection, or other location details;
the involved person’s last name and your connection to the crash;
names of drivers, owners, pedestrians, or property owners involved, where known; and
payment information for the request method you use.

For the PSP online search, the case number is especially useful, but PSP also permits the last-name-and-date search path. PSP Online Crash Report Requests

If the report is unavailable or was held elsewhere

First, confirm that you have the correct investigating agency. The PSP service is limited to PSP-investigated incidents. If a local or specialized agency investigated, take the case number and crash details to that agency’s records process rather than repeatedly searching PSP.

If PSP investigated and the crash was recent, allow the stated 15 days before searching. If you submit an online request, PSP’s stated seven-business-day approval or denial period begins after receipt of the request; it is separate from the 15-day availability period. PSP Online Crash Report Requests

Do not use a PSP Right-to-Know request as a substitute for PSP’s crash-report process. PSP expressly says Right-to-Know requests are not for vehicle crash reports and directs people seeking a PSP-investigated crash report to the crash-report service. PSP Right-to-Know page

If no police agency investigated a crash that met the immediate-notice criteria, review the AA-600 instructions and the statutory five-day driver-report rule. Retain a copy of what you send. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3747