HomeCrash reportsAlabama
How to get an Alabama crash report
Copies come from Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Driver License Division. Request one at alabamadl.alea.gov. Cost: $15 per report.
Checked against the official pages on October 2, 2026
The statewide copy
| Who has it | Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Driver License Division |
|---|---|
| Where to request it | alabamadl.alea.gov |
| Covers | Reports that law enforcement officers forward to ALEA under Ala. Code 32-10-7(a). ALEA's page does not say whether every city/county report is sold through the portal. |
| Cost | $15 per report |
| Who can get a copy | Under Ala. Code 32-10-7(b): people involved in the crash (drivers, passengers, pedestrians), a parent or guardian of an involved minor, an estate representative or heir of a deceased person, their insurer, their attorney or the attorney's employee (with the client's signed written consent), the governmental entity responsible for the road, and owners or lienholders of vehicles in the crash. News-gathering organizations get reports with identifying details limited to name and age for the first 30 days. |
Reports taken by city police or a sheriff
Alabama law lets local police departments (and their contracted agents) keep copies of the reports their officers write, so a city or county report can also be requested from that agency's records unit. Ala. Code 32-10-7(a): "Local police departments, and their contracted agents, may retain copies of the written reports."
The form
Officers in Alabama write crash reports on the Alabama uniform accident report form (supplied by ALEA). Most boxes on it hold numeric codes for things like contributing factors, injuries and road conditions.
When you must call the police
Immediately, if anyone is injured or killed. The statute sets no property-damage dollar trigger for notifying police. (Ala. Code 32-10-5(a))
After you have the report
Alabama gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l)). Every Alabama deadline and fault rule.
Alabama is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
4,841 people died in crashes in Alabama from 2020 to 2024 (NHTSA FARS). See the record for your county.
Check your deadline and a rough claim range
A filing date and a rough value range for Alabama. Both take under a minute.
Questions
How much does an Alabama crash report cost?
$15 per report, from Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Driver License Division. Reports taken by a city police department or sheriff may be priced differently by that agency.
Are Alabama crash reports public?
Under Ala. Code 32-10-7(b): people involved in the crash (drivers, passengers, pedestrians), a parent or guardian of an involved minor, an estate representative or heir of a deceased person, their insurer, their attorney or the attorney's employee (with the client's signed written consent), the governmental entity responsible for the road, and owners or lienholders of vehicles in the crash. News-gathering organizations get reports with identifying details limited to name and age for the first 30 days.
Sources
- Statewide crash reports: www.alea.gov/dps/driver-license/driver-records-crash-reports-and-driver-license-
ALEA: "Copy of Crash Report - $15"; "Crash Reports may be purchased online HERE or in person at any ALEA Driver License Office." "NO PERSONAL CHECKS ARE ACCEPTED." "Alabama Code 32-10-7 governs who is eligible to purchase crash reports." Ala. Code 32-10-7(b)(3): "When requested by any of the following persons: a. A person involved in the accident made the basis of the accident report, including, but not limited to, drivers of and passengers in the automobiles and pedestrians involved in the accident that is the subject of the report. ... d. An insurer or its written designee of a person involv…
- Request portal: alabamadl.alea.gov
- Local police and sheriff reports: alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=32-10-7
- Driver report duty (Ala. Code 32-10-7, 32-10-8 (officer reports and report forms); no driver-filed crash report found): alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=32-10-8
Ala. Code 32-10-7(a) places the written-report duty on officers: "Every law enforcement officer who in the regular course of duty investigates a motor vehicle accident ... shall, within 24 hours after completing such investigation, forward the necessary completed written report ... to the director on the uniform accident report form supplied by the director." ALEA's only crash-related driver form online is SR-31 (an accident claim form): "Completion of this form is required ONLY if a motor vehicle accident occurring in Alabama, caused death, personal injury, or property damage to any one owner…
- When to call police (Ala. Code 32-10-5(a)): alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=32-10-5
"The driver of any motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or the death of any person shall immediately by the quickest means of communication give notice of such accident to the local police department if such accident occurs within a municipality; otherwise to the office of the county sheriff or to the state highway patrol."
Read October 2, 2026. Laws and fees change; the linked page is the authority.