How can I get a police report after an accident in Houston?

Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

Which agency has your Houston crash report

The agency a driver must notify usually wrote the report. Under Transportation Code 550.026, notice of a crash inside a city goes to the local police department. A crash no more than 100 feet outside city limits can go to the city police or the sheriff’s office. Anywhere else, notice goes to the sheriff or the nearest state office. On Houston city streets, that usually means HPD.

Harris County has more than one agency on the road. Besides the Sheriff’s Office, constable precincts run traffic units. Precinct 8, for example, describes its Crash Team as accident reconstructionists sent to fatal and serious injury crashes. Outside the city, DPS Highway Patrol troopers investigate rural traffic crashes. The card an officer gave you at the scene names the agency and case number.

Three ways to get an HPD crash report

HPD’s public information page lists these options:

1. Online. HPD links to a LexisNexis BuyCrash site, where you answer a questionnaire, under penalty of perjury, showing you meet the requirements of H.B. 2633.
2. By mail. Send a $6.00 check or money order payable to the City of Houston, a self-addressed stamped envelope and a completed H.B. 2633 crash report form to HPD Records Division, 1200 Travis, Houston, TX 77002. HPD posts the form in English and in Spanish.
3. In person. Go to the first floor of the Edward A. Thomas Building at 1200 Travis.

Whichever route you pick, HPD asks for at least two of these: the date, the location, the names of the drivers or other people involved, and the incident number if you have it. The Records Division phone line is 713-308-8500, option 3.

TxDOT also sells the CR-3 through its Crash Report Online Purchase System: $6 for a regular copy and $8 for a certified copy for legal proceedings, emailed after purchase, according to its crash reports page. One system holds reports from many agencies because section 550.062 requires an investigating officer to file a written report electronically with TxDOT by the 10th day after any crash with injury, death, or apparent damage of $1,000 or more to one person’s property.

Who may buy the full Houston report

Section 550.065 makes crash report information confidential, then lists who gets an unredacted copy on written request and payment. The list includes the people involved and their authorized representatives (your lawyer), a driver’s employer, parent or guardian, owners of damaged property, insurers, and a person who may bring a wrongful death claim.

Anyone outside that list receives a redacted copy, which TxDOT says anyone may buy. The redacted version strips out names, driver’s license numbers, plates, insurance companies and policy numbers, and the place an injured person was taken. The statute sets the fee at $6 per copy, with $2 more for certification.

What the CR-3 shows and how to correct it

Under section 550.064, the form must capture the cause and conditions of the crash and the people and vehicles involved. It must also show whether a trailer was involved and, if so, whether anyone died.

If something is wrong, section 550.068 limits who can change it. A change to a material fact can come only from the officer who prepared the report. Anyone else’s change has to be a written supplement that names the person who made it. Contact HPD with the incident number, ask the officer to review the error, and bring proof such as photos or your insurance card.

Offense reports, 911 audio and video

A DWI or hit-and-run crash usually has an offense report too. HPD withholds full offense reports and their videos unless the case closed with a conviction, but it releases a public information version with a summary, the complainant’s name, the date, time and place, the officers’ names and the incident number. HPD says that version is generally what insurers need. Ask for it at HPD.OpenRecords@houstontx.gov, or get it the same day at the 1200 Travis counter. A request for the full report on an open case goes to the Attorney General, which HPD says takes about 60 business days.

HPD keeps 911 audio for only six months, and the Houston Emergency Center handles those requests. For TranStar, METRO and business video, read how to get traffic camera footage in Houston.

Can a Houston crash report be used at trial?

Only part of it is off limits by statute. Section 550.066 keeps one item out of a civil trial: a person’s answer on the form about whether they want to be contacted by someone seeking work as a professional. Everything else falls under the Texas Rules of Evidence. Rule 803(8) lets a public office’s factual findings from a legally authorized investigation come in during a civil case unless the opposing side shows the source or circumstances are untrustworthy. Rule 702 requires an expert opinion witness to be qualified, so the officer’s view of fault can be contested.

California and Washington are stricter:

For a crash in Los Angeles, see how to get a police report in California.

Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou.

What this means for your case

Order the CR-3 as soon as it is ready and check the names, plates, insurance, diagram and narrative. Ask for 911 audio in the first weeks. A report that blames you is one piece of evidence, so build your own record now. Our Texas injury attorneys can request the report, the 911 records and the offense report for you.

Common questions

Related pages

Injury law FAQs

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 7, 2026.