How to get an Ohio crash report
Copies come from Ohio Department of Public Safety (Crash Retrieval, unofficial copies from all agencies) and Ohio State Highway Patrol Central Records (official copies of OSHP-investigated crashes). Request one at ohtrafficdata.dps.ohio.gov. Cost: $4.00 per Ohio State Highway Patrol crash report (plus a 1.95% card fee, $1.75 minimum); the ODPS search for unofficial copies lists no fee. OSHP reports can be ordered after 7 business days.
Checked against the official pages on October 2, 2026
The statewide copy
| Who has it | Ohio Department of Public Safety (Crash Retrieval, unofficial copies from all agencies) and Ohio State Highway Patrol Central Records (official copies of OSHP-investigated crashes) |
|---|---|
| Where to request it | ohtrafficdata.dps.ohio.gov |
| Covers | ODPS system: unofficial copies of crash reports submitted by all Ohio law enforcement agencies for the past five years plus the current year. OSHP: official reports and photos of crashes investigated by the State Highway Patrol only. The investigating agency is the official record keeper for all others |
| Cost | $4.00 per Ohio State Highway Patrol crash report (plus a 1.95% card fee, $1.75 minimum); the ODPS search for unofficial copies lists no fee |
| Usually ready | OSHP reports can be ordered after 7 business days |
| What you need | ODPS search by crash number or document number, or by crash date range and county (advanced options). OSHP online order needs a Javascript-capable browser, a valid credit card and a PDF viewer |
| By mail | OSHP Central Records: mail P.O. Box 182074, Columbus, OH 43218-2074, email ADCentralRecords@dps.ohio.gov, fax (614) 644-9749 (for school-vehicle crash records request form OHP 0413) |
Reports taken by city police or a sheriff
For crashes investigated by a city police department or county sheriff, Ohio says to contact the investigating agency for the official report; Ohio's crash system states 'The investigating agency is the official record keeper and the report with the diagram can be obtained from them.'
The form: OH-1 (HSY 7001)
Officers in Ohio write crash reports on the Ohio Traffic Crash Report (OH-1 (HSY 7001)). Most boxes on it hold numeric codes for things like contributing factors, injuries and road conditions. The state publishes the key to those codes:
City police and sheriff reports in Ohio
| Agency | Covers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Division of Police | Cleveland | In person: five |
| Columbus Division of Police | Columbus | Free online through ODPS |
After you have the report
Ohio gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A)). Every Ohio deadline and fault rule.
Ohio is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
6,257 people died in crashes in Ohio 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 Ohio. Both take under a minute.
Questions
How much does an Ohio crash report cost?
$4.00 per Ohio State Highway Patrol crash report (plus a 1.95% card fee, $1.75 minimum); the ODPS search for unofficial copies lists no fee, from Ohio Department of Public Safety (Crash Retrieval, unofficial copies from all agencies) and Ohio State Highway Patrol Central Records (official copies of OSHP-investigated crashes). Reports taken by a city police department or sheriff may be priced differently by that agency.
How long does it take to get a crash report in Ohio?
OSHP reports can be ordered after 7 business days. The officer has to finish and submit the report before it can be sold.
Sources
- Statewide crash reports: publicsafety.ohio.gov/what-we-do/crash-reports/crash_report_search
The Ohio Department of Public Safety receives crash reports on public roadways from all law enforcement agencies in Ohio for statistical purposes only. ... Crash reports may take up to six weeks to be available. If the crash report is not located, please contact the agency that investigated the crash. Crash reports provided on this website are not official documents. To obtain the official report, contact the agency that investigated the crash. | The Ohio State Highway Patrol maintains: Complete crash reports and crash photographs from crashes investigated by the Ohio State Highway Patrol only…
- Request portal: ohtrafficdata.dps.ohio.gov/crashretrieval
- Local police and sheriff reports: ohtrafficdata.dps.ohio.gov/crashretrieval
- OH-1 (HSY 7001) codes: dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/publicsafety.ohio.gov/HSY7010.pdf
- Driver report duty (ORC 4509.06): codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4509.06
(A) Any person who is in any manner involved in a motor vehicle accident, including as the driver of a motor vehicle, the owner of property, or any person sustaining bodily injury or property damage, may, within six months after the accident, forward a written report of the accident to the registrar of motor vehicles on a form prescribed by the registrar alleging that a driver or owner of any vehicle involved in the accident was uninsured at the time of the accident.
Read October 2, 2026. Laws and fees change; the linked page is the authority.