HomeCrash reportsSouth Dakota
How to get a South Dakota crash report
Copies come from South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Office of Accident Records (sold through SafeSD.gov). Request one at safesd.gov. The fee is not stated on the official page.
Checked against the official pages on October 2, 2026
The statewide copy
| Who has it | South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Office of Accident Records (sold through SafeSD.gov) |
|---|---|
| Where to request it | safesd.gov |
| Covers | State of South Dakota crash reports on file with DPS (reportable crashes only: at least $1,000 damage to one person's property or $2,000 total damage, or injury/death); city and county agencies also keep their own copies |
| What you need | At least two of: date of crash, driver's last name, county of crash |
| Who can get a copy | anyone (reports 'are not privileged and may not be held confidential' under SDCL 32-34-13) |
| By mail | Mail request available for the $4 fee (see DPS Office of Accident Records, 605-773-3868); address not on the fetched page |
Reports taken by city police or a sheriff
County and municipal law enforcement may collect $4 for each copy of an accident report they furnish, so sheriffs and city police give copies directly as well (Lincoln County also offers the state's online system).
The form
Officers in South Dakota write crash reports on the South Dakota Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Report (uniform report form adopted under SDCL 32-34-12). Most boxes on it hold numeric codes for things like contributing factors, injuries and road conditions.
After you have the report
South Dakota gives you three years to file a personal injury lawsuit (S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14(3)). Every South Dakota deadline and fault rule.
South Dakota is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
712 people died in crashes in South Dakota 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 South Dakota. Both take under a minute.
Questions
Are South Dakota crash reports public?
anyone (reports 'are not privileged and may not be held confidential' under SDCL 32-34-13)
Sources
- Statewide crash reports: www.sd.gov/dps?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0010319
Go to SafeSD.gov and click on Purchase Crash Reports. Debit and credit card customers using the online system receive their report(s) immediately if the report is available for purchase. There is a $4 fee to locate and provide the crash report and a $6 convenience fee to purchase the online crash report. | In order to obtain a copy of a State of South Dakota crash report, a person must be able to provide at least two of the following: Date of crash; Driver's last name; County of crash | You may not be able to locate a crash report if ... It has been less than 10 days since the incident occurre…
- Request portal: www.safesd.gov/#buy-reports
- Local police and sheriff reports: sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/32-34-13.1
- Driver report duty (SDCL 32-34-7; 32-34-10): sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/32-34-7
Chapter 32-34 (official index): 32-34-10 Duty of law enforcement officer upon receipt of notice of accident--Report to department. The chapter lists no section requiring a driver to file a written report.
- When to call police (SDCL 32-34-7): sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/32-34-7
The driver of any motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in bodily injuries or death to any person or property damage to an apparent extent of one thousand dollars or more to any one person's property or two thousand dollars per accident shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident to the nearest available law enforcement officer who has jurisdiction. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Read October 2, 2026. Laws and fees change; the linked page is the authority.