How to Get a State-Level Crash Report in Maryland

Short answer

If the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP) investigated the crash, start with MDSP’s motor vehicle crash-report request service. MDSP says it provides crash reports maintained in the State’s central repository to legally entitled parties. Its page offers an online form, barrack, mail, Central Records, and email routes.

This is not one pickup point for every Maryland crash. The regulation addresses State Police-investigated reports, while other agencies keep their own records. If another agency investigated, use its records unit. MDSP directs Baltimore City requests to Baltimore Police, and MDTA Police says it does not hold other agencies’ reports. See the official routes below.

Immediate checklist

Identify the investigating agency before you request. Look at any exchange sheet, incident number, officer information, or the location of the crash. “Statewide” does not necessarily mean the State Police holds the particular report.
Gather the exact crash details. The Maryland regulation calls for the exact crash date, exact spelling of the driver’s name, county, route number, and the MAARS report number if known. It also identifies additional party details for fatal crashes and pedestrians or bicyclists. COMAR 29.02.02.01
Use the route for the agency that investigated. For an MDSP report, use the official MDSP request page. For Baltimore City or MDTA Police reports, use their separate official pages.
Plan for the stated search fee and processing interval. MDSP’s current request page states a $4 non-refundable document-search fee, payable by check or money order to Maryland State Police; it does not accept cash. The official materials describe different wait periods, explained below.
Save the confirmation and keep your request details. If the report cannot be located, those details help the records unit search or help you redirect the request.

Who reports what after a Maryland crash

The report you request is not always the same as an obligation to notify police or file a separate written report. Maryland’s official materials support the following distinctions.

Category	What the official source says	What it means for this guide
Calling or notifying police	For injury or death crashes, drivers have duties to stop, remain, provide information, and give reasonable assistance under § 20-102 and § 20-104. Section 20-104 requires an immediate report to the nearest authorized police office only in its stated no-officer/no-recipient circumstance.	These provisions do not establish one call-to-police rule for every collision.
Police-investigated report	A police investigation and report filed with the Department of State Police is the statutory exception to the separate written driver report described below. Transportation Article § 20-107	Requesting a copy does not create the officer report. First determine whether an officer investigated and which agency made the record.
Separate driver written report	A driver in an injury-or-death crash must report in writing to the “Administration” within 15 days and file insurance/security evidence, subject to statutory exceptions. No written report is required if an officer investigated and filed a report with the Department of State Police; physical incapacity is also an exception. § 20-107	This is separate from getting a copy. The 15-day provision is not a deadline for every crash.
DMV/MVA record, insurer notice, public-entity notice, and court deadlines	The official sources used for this report-access page do not establish a separate MVA crash-copy process, an insurer-notice rule, a public-entity notice rule, or a lawsuit deadline.	A police-report wait period or records-request timeline does not set any of those other deadlines. This article does not infer one.

How to request an MDSP crash report

MDSP describes the service as being for legally entitled parties. Its Public Information Act page says MDSP may release records to the person named in the record, that person’s attorney, or others allowed by law, and that protected information may not be available. Do not assume that every portion of a record will be released or that a request alone establishes entitlement.

For an MDSP-investigated crash, the official request page lists these ways to seek a motor vehicle accident report:

complete the official online motor vehicle accident-report request form;
visit the MSP barrack where the report was filed, after calling ahead to confirm availability;
complete the request form and mail it with the check or money order to Central Records;
visit the MDSP Central Records Division in person; or
email the completed request form to MDSP, then mail the $4 check or money order to complete the submission.

The online form asks for contact and delivery information plus such crash details as the local case number, crash date, county, and party information. The regulation lists the exact date, driver name, applicable deceased/pedestrian/bicyclist name, county, route number, and MAARS report number if known. A report number helps, but is not the only listed identifier. COMAR 29.02.02.01

Timing and fee: an official-source difference to know

MDSP’s current request page tells users to wait at least 10 days after the crash for processing. The published State Police regulation says requests for copies will not be considered until at least 20 days after the crash, and says a request to review a State Police report at the installation in the area of occurrence will not be considered until at least 5 days after the crash. Both the current agency page and regulation state the $4 non-refundable search fee for a copy request; the regulation also says mailed copy requests include a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Because the official sources state different intervals, do not treat 10 days as a guaranteed delivery date. Follow current form instructions; for a mailed copy, the regulation’s 20-day interval is especially important. Call before traveling to confirm availability. MDSP lists Central Records contacts and hours on its official contact page.

When another agency investigated

Baltimore City

MDSP expressly directs requests for crashes in Baltimore City to the Baltimore Police Department’s report page. BPD says accident reports from January 1, 2011 forward are available only through the online LexisNexis BuyCrash portal, which BPD directly designates. To retrieve a report, BPD says to use a report number, the full name and incident date, or the location. For reports before 2011, BPD directs requests by email to its Community Correspondence Unit.

Maryland Transportation Authority Police

For a crash at BWI/Marshall Airport, the Port of Baltimore, or an MDTA facility, use the MDTA Police Central Records Unit. MDTA offers mail, in-person, and email routes; wait at least seven days. Provide the date and time, location, vehicle types, involved parties, and report number if known. It holds MDTA Police-produced reports only.

Local police, sheriff, campus, or another agency

If the investigator was not MDSP, BPD, or MDTA Police, use that agency’s official records or public-records page. Ask for its procedure, fee, waiting period, and eligibility rules; MDSP timing and fees do not automatically apply. If unsure, provide the known date, location, names, vehicle details, and case number to the likely records unit and ask whether it holds the record.

If the report is unavailable or you need other records

A missing report may still be processing, held by a different custodian, or hard to locate from the identifiers provided. Ask the investigating agency whether it holds a crash report and needs a different identifier. The MDSP crash form is for initial crash-report/call-for-service requests, not photographs, reconstruction materials, thefts, assaults, or other incident records.

For records outside the standard crash-report process, MDSP has a Public Information Act request route. Protected information, including some private motor-vehicle-file information, may be withheld. A PIA request differs from the $4 crash-report search and may involve reasonable search or copying fees. Under General Provisions § 4-203, an agency generally must grant or deny a request within 30 days. If production will take more than 10 working days, it must give written or email notice within 10 working days with the anticipated time, fee range, and reason for delay.

Keep the confirmation, photos, contact details, and identifiers used in your request. The car-accident evidence checklist can help organize those materials.