Short answer: For an HPD-investigated crash, use the currently working official purchase route identified by HPD or TxDOT after the report should be available. HPD says its officers’ crash reports are filed with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and TxDOT says it is the state custodian of Texas crash records. [1][2] This guide is about requesting an existing crash report. HPD says its online police-report form cannot be used to report a crash or hit-and-run crash. [2]
First make sure HPD—not another agency—investigated the crash. HPD’s own contact guidance limits its non-emergency police service to locations within Houston city limits; a Houston mailing address or nearby location alone does not prove that HPD made the report. [5] If HPD was the investigating agency, its current request form directs online requesters to use Texas / Houston PD. [4]
Quick checklist
- Identify the investigating agency. Use the agency named on any incident card, exchange sheet, or other crash paperwork. This page covers an HPD-investigated report.
- Collect the search details. HPD asks for at least two of these: crash date, crash location, and a driver or other involved person’s name. Include the incident number if you have it. [1]
- Allow for availability. HPD’s public-information page says crash reports need 5–8 days of processing before public availability. Its newer request form, revised December 2025, says requests should not be submitted until at least 10 days after the crash because an investigating officer has up to 10 days to submit the report. [1][4] These official instructions are not identical. For a cautious request, use the form’s 10-day instruction; if you need to check sooner, use HPD Records’ official contact route rather than assuming no report exists.
- Use the official TxDOT purchase route. The state page says online customers receive the report by email after purchase and that an online-use surcharge may apply. [2]
- Answer the access questions truthfully. Texas limits access to crash reports. TxDOT describes categories of people with a direct concern or proper interest and says a requester who does not meet a listed criterion may receive a redacted copy. [2]
- Save the confirmation and the report. Keep a copy with your own crash records; it does not replace any insurer notice or other separate task.
Which agency is responsible?
For this guide’s scope—Houston city, Texas (Census place GEOID 4835000)—there are two different roles:
- HPD / HPD Records: When an HPD officer investigated, HPD prepares the local officer report and offers a Houston Records process, including an online-purchase link and published mail and walk-in options. HPD Records says it provides crash reports to the public through multiple channels. [1][6]
- TxDOT: TxDOT is the statewide custodian of crash records and collects reports from Texas law-enforcement agencies for crashes on public roadways and the state highway system. TxDOT provides the statewide CR-3 purchase system. [2]
This division of work is important. Do not use the city name alone to choose HPD. If another Texas law-enforcement agency investigated, check that agency’s instructions and use the TxDOT record route where appropriate. If no officer investigated, do not assume a CR-3 exists. TxDOT says it no longer retains drivers’ CR-2 reports. [2]
Official request routes for an HPD-investigated crash
1. State online purchase route
Use TxDOT’s official Crash Report Online Purchase System. TxDOT says its online purchasers receive the report by email after purchase. Crash reports are not available for general-public online viewing because they are confidential; the purchase process is the access route. [2]
TxDOT currently lists $6 for a regular copy and $8 for a certified copy, with possible additional credit-card processing fees. Verify the total and the copy type in the official system before paying. [2]
2. HPD Records mail or walk-in route
HPD publishes an English crash-report request form and a Spanish form. Its public-information page says a requester may mail a completed HB 2633 form with payment and a self-addressed stamped envelope, or request a copy in person at the HPD Records Division public counter, 1200 Travis Street, Houston, Texas 77002. [1][4]
The current English form lists $6 for a non-certified report and $8 for a certified report for its mail route, payable to the City of Houston. It also asks the requester to select an access qualification (or seek a redacted report), sign the certification, and provide identifying information. Use the form’s current instructions rather than an old copy or an unofficial service. [4]
What to have ready
Item: Crash date, location, and an involved driver or party name
- Why it helps: HPD requires at least two of these search details; an incident number should be included if available.
- Official basis: [1]
Item: Incident number, if available
- Why it helps: Helps HPD locate the correct report.
- Official basis: [1]
Item: Your access basis
- Why it helps: The HPD form and TxDOT explain that report access depends on a direct concern or proper interest; the form asks the requester to select a qualification.
- Official basis: [2][4]
Item: Authorization documentation, if requesting for someone involved
- Why it helps: The HPD form says documentation is required for an authorized representative.
- Official basis: [4]
Item: Identification details for an HPD form request
- Why it helps: The current local form asks for identification type and number.
- Official basis: [4]
Item: For an HPD mail request: completed form, correct payment, and a self-addressed stamped envelope
If the normal route does not work
The report is not available yet. Treat the HPD 5–8 day statement and the form’s at-least-10-day instruction as an availability issue, not proof that the report was never made. Wait until the more conservative 10-day point or ask HPD Records through its official page. [1][4]
The online system cannot find the report. Recheck the date, location, names, and investigating agency. A crash within greater Houston may have been investigated by a different agency. This article does not establish which agency investigated a particular crash.
You do not qualify for the copy you expected. Read the TxDOT access categories and the HPD form carefully. TxDOT says an otherwise unlisted requester can identify another proper-interest basis but will receive a redacted copy if the criteria are not met. [2][4]
You need photographs, dash-camera video, field notes, or other scene material. TxDOT says it is custodian of the crash report only; subpoena requests for those other materials should go to the investigating agency, not TxDOT. [2]
You want to file a report now, rather than request an existing one. HPD’s online police-report form specifically cannot be used to report a crash or hit-and-run crash. For an emergency, HPD directs callers to 9-1-1. For non-emergency police service at a location within Houston city limits, HPD provides its official non-emergency contact route. [3][5] This request guide does not determine whether an officer will respond or whether a separate report can be made after the fact.
Keep separate tasks separate
A crash-report request is a records-access task. It does not itself:
- file a new police report;
- notify an insurer or prove coverage;
- make a claim against a city, transit agency, or other public entity; or
- start a lawsuit or preserve every possible deadline.
If you have an insurance policy, check the policy and insurer’s notice instructions separately. If a government vehicle or property may be involved, obtain the responsible entity’s current claim instructions directly. ## Safety and health note
If there is an emergency, call 9-1-1 as HPD directs. [5] ## More AccidentFiling.ai resources
Browse Accident Guides and Official Accident Resources. These are general starting points; use the cited agency or regulator for an official process.
Sources
- Houston Police Department, “Public Information Requests,” “Accident Report / Crash Report” (City of Houston / HPD; verified September 11, 2026).
- Texas Department of Transportation, “Crash reports and records” (TxDOT; verified September 11, 2026).
- Houston Police Department, “Online Police Report” (City of Houston / HPD; verified September 11, 2026).
- Houston Police Department, “HPD Crash Report Request Form,” Rev. 12/25 (City of Houston / HPD; verified September 11, 2026).
- Houston Police Department, “How to Contact HPD” (City of Houston / HPD; verified September 11, 2026).
- Houston Police Department, “Records” (City of Houston / HPD; verified September 11, 2026).
- U.S. Census Bureau, “2026 Gazetteer Files” and the 2026 National Places Gazetteer file (verified September 11, 2026).
Authorship, update, and review hold
Publisher: AccidentFiling.ai is an independent informational resource, not HPD, TxDOT, an insurer, a law firm, or a medical provider. Public official resources above are available without an AccidentFiling.ai form.