North Carolina Crash Reporting Requirements: Police, Driver, and Motor Vehicle Reports

Short answer

In North Carolina, the first state reporting step for a reportable crash is the driver’s immediate notice to the appropriate law-enforcement agency. Inside a city or town, that is the city or town police department; outside one, it is the State Highway Patrol, sheriff’s office, or other qualified rural police. The appropriate agency must investigate a reportable crash, and the investigating officer must prepare a written report within 24 hours. [North Carolina General Statute § 20-166.1][2]

A reportable crash is one involving a motor vehicle that results in a death or injury, total property damage of $1,000 or more, or any amount of property damage to a vehicle seized under the stated statute. NCDMV’s DMV-349 coding guidance adds trafficway and specified run-off-road setting language for use of the report form. [§ 20-4.01][1] [DMV-349 coding guidance][4]

The official sources describe driver notice to law enforcement and an officer’s written report for an ordinary reportable crash—not a general post-crash self-report that every driver files with NCDMV. A different, specific rule applies when a driver hits a parked or unattended vehicle. [§ 20-166.1][2]

For practical next steps, see What to Do After a Car Accident and keep records with the Car Accident Evidence Checklist.

Immediate checklist

Check whether the crash may be reportable. The statutory triggers are death or injury, total property damage of at least $1,000, or property damage to a vehicle seized under the cited law. [§ 20-4.01][1]
Notify the correct law-enforcement agency immediately by the quickest means if it is reportable. The agency depends on whether the crash occurred inside or outside a city or town. [§ 20-166.1][2]
Save the key details. Keep the date, county, exact location, agency/officer name, other driver’s details, plate, and any report number. These details help locate the record later.
Do not confuse notice with the report. The driver gives notice; the investigating officer prepares the formal written crash report. [§ 20-166.1][2]
Follow the parked-vehicle rule if it applies. A driver who hits a parked or unattended motor vehicle on a North Carolina highway must report it to its owner within 48 hours, including when the crash is not reportable. If written notice is not given at the scene, it must be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested, with a copy to NCDMV. [§ 20-166.1][2]

Who reports what in North Carolina?

Report or notice	Who handles it	What the official source says
Immediate notice of a reportable crash	Driver	The driver must immediately notify the appropriate agency. Municipal police apply inside a city or town; the Highway Patrol, sheriff, or other qualified rural police apply outside. [§ 20-166.1][2]
Investigation and written crash report (DMV-349)	Investigating law-enforcement officer	The appropriate agency investigates a reportable crash. The officer makes a written report within 24 hours. The official DMV-349 contains an officer/department section. [§ 20-166.1][2] [DMV-349 form][3]
Transmission to NCDMV	Highway Patrol or local law enforcement	A Highway Patrol officer forwards the report to the Division. A non-Highway-Patrol officer forwards it to the local agency for the crash area, which must forward it to the Division within 10 days after receiving it. [§ 20-166.1][2]
Financial-responsibility proof	Driver, if NCDMV requests it	The driver must furnish proof of financial responsibility when the Division requests it. This is conditional; the statute does not present it as an automatic driver-filed crash form. [§ 20-166.1][2]
Parked/unattended vehicle notice	Driver	Notice to the owner is required within 48 hours. Written notice not delivered at the scene has the certified-mail and NCDMV-copy requirements above. [§ 20-166.1][2]
Supplemental death report	Investigating officer; medical examiner in the stated circumstance	An officer files a supplemental report when a person injured in a reportable crash dies from it within 12 months and the death was not in the original report. The medical examiner has a separate five-day duty. [§ 20-166.1][2]

The DMV-349 is an officer’s crash report for NCDMV, not an insurer claim form. The form says its data are for DMV use, statistical analysis, and highway-safety programming; it says fault determinations are for insurers or courts. [DMV-349 form][3]

Insurance, public-entity, and court processes are separate

The cited state crash-report sources do not set an insurer-notice deadline, public-entity notice procedure, or lawsuit deadline. Ordering an NCDMV crash report does not submit an insurance claim or start a court case. Do not treat the driver’s crash-notice rule, the officer’s reporting rule, or NCDMV request processing as a deadline for those separate processes.

How to find or request the record

NCDMV certified crash-report request

NCDMV’s [Order a Crash Report page][5] is the official route for a report held by the Division. A person personally involved in a crash may request a redacted copy by mail or in person; NCDMV says individuals cannot order online. Use the printable [TR-67A Crash Report Request form][6]. NCDMV says to allow 10 business days from receipt for a mailed request. For five or fewer in-person records, its page says they can be provided immediately at the listed offices; larger requests must be mailed. [NCDMV instructions][5]

TR-67A asks for the driver’s name, county and date of crash, and driver license number. It asks the requester to identify themselves and select or explain any Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) basis for an unredacted copy. [TR-67A][6] The statutory fee for a certified accident report is $6.50. [§ 20-42][8]

NCDMV says a North Carolina-based or North Carolina-licensed business or organization may request an unredacted report by mail, in person, or online only when it confirms a permissible use and provides identification. A request that does not meet a permissible use receives the redacted version; out-of-state business or organization requests must be mailed. [NCDMV instructions][5]

State Highway Patrol search: useful, but not statewide

The [North Carolina State Highway Patrol Collision Reports portal][7] covers crashes investigated by the Highway Patrol since May 16, 2013. Reports normally enter that system within five to seven business days. The portal says its result is not a certified crash report; it does not represent every report made by municipal police, sheriffs, or another agency. Use NCDMV’s request route when a certified report is needed. [NCSHP portal][7]

Documents and identifiers to gather

For TR-67A, gather the fields NCDMV uses: the driver’s name, county and date of crash, and driver license number. [TR-67A][6] Also retain the agency name, report number if provided, vehicle plate or VIN, exact location, and request correspondence. For an unredacted request, have the supporting identification and permissible-use information NCDMV requires. [TR-67A][6]

If the report is unavailable or held elsewhere

No Highway Patrol-portal result does not prove that no report exists; that portal is limited to Highway-Patrol-investigated crashes. Identify the investigating agency from the crash location. The statute identifies municipal police inside cities and towns, and the Highway Patrol, sheriff, or other qualified rural police outside them for initial reportable-crash notice. [§ 20-166.1][2]

For a locally handled report, ask the investigating agency through its official records channel whether it can provide the report or a public-record portion. The crash statute permits a law-enforcement agency to provide accident reports or portions that are public records, and separately requires local agencies to forward reports to NCDMV. [§ 20-166.1][2] North Carolina’s public-records law generally treats public-business records as public records, subject to laws that provide otherwise. [§ 132-1][9]

If no standard report was created, retain your information and ask the agency what record it maintains. The DMV-349 includes a non-reportable designation, but the official sources do not promise that every incident will produce a standard, immediately available DMV-349. [DMV-349 form][3]