Who holds your Tennessee crash report
| If the crash was investigated by | Where to get the report | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) | The state: online, at a THP district office, or by mail | Purchase TN Crash |
| A city police department (for example Memphis) | That department's records unit | Memphis police report guide |
| A county sheriff | The sheriff's office | Call the number on the officer's card |
The Department of Safety's page asks the same question first: "was the crash investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), or another agency (county sheriff's office or city police department)?" [1] District offices are in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis, Fall Branch, Cookeville, Lawrenceburg and Jackson.
Option 1: buy it online
| What the state says | |
|---|---|
| Cost | "$10.00 - credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover)"; "You cannot use a prepaid card" [1] [1] |
| Required | "Last Name, Date of Accident, Reporting Agency, Driver's License Number" and one of "VIN, License Plate, Case or Tracking Number" [1] [1] |
| Privacy | "To protect your privacy, the Crash Report search results do not display your address." [2] |
| Sign-up | New users must subscribe to the service [2]. |
Option 2: THP district office or mail ($4.00)
For a THP-investigated crash, "Any driver/owner/passenger or their agent or legal representative may purchase a copy of the Crash Report for a fee of $4.00. The reports are available approximately 7 days after the date of the crash at the THP District Office." [1] [1] Have the date of the crash, the county, the driver names and the agency tracking number ready [1].
By mail, a cashier's check, money order, or personal/business check for $4.00 "must accompany your request," with the address you want the report mailed to [1]. Send it to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Financial Responsibility Division, PO Box 945, Nashville, TN 37202-0945 [1]. The state page lists no processing time for mailed requests, so ask the district office if you need it by a certain date.
The $4.00 fee also appears in the statute: a written request to the commissioner of safety in Nashville by the driver or owner, or the driver's or owner's agent or legal representative, "accompanied by four dollars ($4.00)." [3]
Reports held by city police and sheriffs
Fees, hours and waits differ. The state's own page sends you to the agency that investigated. For Memphis and Shelby County, with the Memphis Police Central Records address, fee and online request, see the Memphis guide and the crash report finder. Ask the agency for its fee and wait before you go.
What is public and what is not
Tennessee's public-records law says all state, county and municipal records "shall, at all times during business hours ... be open for personal inspection by any citizen of this state ... unless otherwise provided by state law." [5] Under § 55-10-108(f)(1) a crash report is open to public inspection, except for personally identifying information [3]. Section 10-7-504(a)(31)(A) says "personally identifying information of any person named in any motor vehicle accident report is confidential and not open for public inspection." [4] On written request, a report with that information "may be given to" any person named in the report; an agent, legal representative or attorney of a person or property owner named, with certification of permission; and the owner of any real property listed in the report [4].
The statute lists the protected details as street addresses and zip codes, telephone numbers, driver license numbers and insurance information [4]. The scheduled June 30, 2026 repeal of this protection was removed by Public Chapter 672 of 2026, which deleted paragraph (a)(31)(F) and took effect April 7, 2026 [9] [10]. The protection remains in force.
Reports made by drivers themselves are treated differently: § 55-10-114(a) says they "shall be for the confidential use of the department or other state agencies," [6] and (b) says they cannot "be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident." [6] Section 55-10-108(d) says the officer's report is not confidential under § 55-10-114(a) except for the personal information above.
It is a crime to use a report for solicitation that is prohibited by a professional standard of conduct: a Class B misdemeanor, "punishable only by fine of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per occurrence." [3]
Before you go or mail a request
- Mailed THP requests: no processing time is listed, so call the district office if you need the report by a certain date.
- City and county agencies set their own fees and waits: call the agency that investigated and ask.
- Statute sections on this page come from a legal publisher's copy of the code dated January 2, 2024. Check the official code for later changes.
- Once you have the report, see how to read a police accident report.
Sources
- Tennessee Highway Patrol: Obtaining a Crash Report (Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security) (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“was the crash investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), or another agency (county sheriff's office or city police department)”“Cost: $10.00 - credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover)”“You cannot use a prepaid card”“Required: Last Name, Date of Accident, Reporting Agency, Driver's License Number”“Required one of the following: VIN, License Plate, Case or Tracking Number”“Any driver/owner/passenger or their agent or legal representative may purchase a copy of the Crash Report for a fee of $4.00”“The reports are available approximately 7 days after the date of the crash at the THP District Office”“When purchasing a Crash Report, you should provide the following information”“A cashier's check, money order, or personal/business check in the amount of $4.00 must accompany your request”“Financial Responsibility Division PO BOX 945 Nashville, TN 37202-0945”“You can also contact the agency that investigated the crash to purchase a copy of the report from their office”
- Purchase TN Crash (TN.gov service) (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“To protect your privacy, the Crash Report search results do not display your address”“New users must subscribe to this service”
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-108, officer's accident reports; copies; public inspection (FindLaw, current as of Jan. 2, 2024) (checked November 9, 2026)Code text via FindLaw (unofficial copy)“the written request to be accompanied by four dollars ($4.00)”“is open to public inspection as a public record under the public records laws compiled in title 10, chapter 7, with the exception of personally identifying information”“It is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable only by fine of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per occurrence”
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a)(31), confidential personal information in accident reports (FindLaw, current as of Jan. 2, 2024) (checked November 9, 2026)Code text via FindLaw (unofficial copy)“personally identifying information of any person named in any motor vehicle accident report is confidential and not open for public inspection”“Any person named in the motor vehicle accident report”“Street addresses and zip codes”
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503, records open to inspection (FindLaw, current as of Jan. 2, 2024) (checked November 9, 2026)Code text via FindLaw (unofficial copy)“be open for personal inspection by any citizen of this state, and those in charge of the records shall not refuse such right of inspection to any citizen, unless otherwise provided by state law”
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-114, accident reports made by drivers (FindLaw, current as of Jan. 2, 2024) (checked November 9, 2026)Code text via FindLaw (unofficial copy)“shall be for the confidential use of the department or other state agencies having use of the records for accident prevention purposes”“No reports or information mentioned in this section shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident”
- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security: Submit an Owner Operator Report (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“You must submit an Owner Operator Report to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security within twenty (20) days of the crash”
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-106, immediate notice to police (FindLaw, current as of Jan. 2, 2024) (checked November 9, 2026)Code text via FindLaw (unofficial copy)“shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident to the local police department if the accident occurs within a municipality, otherwise to the office of the county sheriff or the nearest office of the state highway patrol”
- Tennessee Public Chapter No. 672 (2026), SB 1879, amending Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504 (Tennessee Secretary of State) (checked November 9, 2026)Official sourceWhere: Public Chapter No. 672, Section 1
- Tennessee Public Chapter No. 111 (2019), SB 1346, which created § 10-7-504(a)(31) with its original June 30, 2026 repeal clause (Tennessee Secretary of State) (checked November 9, 2026)Official sourceWhere: Public Chapter No. 111, Section 1
Unofficial copies come from a legal publisher, not the state. They can lag the current code, so check the official code before relying on a date or amount.
Page last updated November 9, 2026. Attorney review pending. General information, not legal advice. Fees, hours and rules change; confirm on the official page. How we source.
Questions
How do I get a copy of a police report in TN?
First find out who investigated. If the Tennessee Highway Patrol did, buy it online for $10.00 by credit card, or from a THP district office or by mail for $4.00 [1]. If a county sheriff or city police department did, the state says to "contact the agency that investigated the crash to purchase a copy of the report from their office." [1] For Memphis, see the Memphis police report guide.
How do I look up an accident report in Tennessee?
The state's online service asks for your last name, the date of the accident and the reporting agency, plus your driver license number and one of VIN, license plate, or case or tracking number [1] [1]. The service says its search results do not display your address [2]. A prepaid card will not work [1].
How do I file an accident report in Tennessee, and do I have to?
Tennessee has three separate duties. First, notify police: under § 55-10-106 the driver of a vehicle in a crash causing injury or death, or property damage of $50 or more, "shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident" to the local police department if inside a municipality, otherwise to the county sheriff or the nearest state highway patrol office [8]. Second, the officer who investigates sends the crash report to the state. Third, file an Owner Operator Report yourself: the Department of Safety says it is required if the crash caused death or injury, or more than $1,500 in property damage ($400 for state or local government property), regardless of who was at fault, within 20 days [7]. See do you have to report a car accident in Tennessee.
Are police reports public record in Tennessee?
Largely yes, with personal details withheld. Section 55-10-108(f)(1) says a report investigated by the department or prepared by an officer "is open to public inspection as a public record under the public records laws compiled in title 10, chapter 7, with the exception of personally identifying information." [3] The personal details are confidential under § 10-7-504(a)(31) (its June 30, 2026 repeal clause was deleted by a 2026 act before it took effect, so the protection remains; see below), and can be given on written request to people named in the report and a few others (below). See are police reports public record.
Keep reading
- City guide
How to get a Memphis police crash report
Who wrote your Memphis crash report, how to request it online or in person, what it costs and how long it takes. Official links, checked Nov 2026.
Open - State reference
Do you have to report a car accident in Tennessee?
Tennessee's duties after a crash: stay, notify police, and file the Owner/Driver Report within 20 days. $1,500 threshold, with statutes. Nov 2026.
Open - Guide
How do I file a police report after a car accident?
How to file a police report after a car accident and get your copy: who to call, what to give, which agency holds the report, plus fees and waits in Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
Open - Guide
Are police reports public record? What each state says
Are police reports public record? Crash reports are open with personal details removed in Tennessee, limited to listed people in Alabama, and your own report in Oklahoma. Statutes quoted.
Open - Guide
How to read a police accident report: sections and codes
A section-by-section walk through a police accident report: injury codes, contributing circumstances, units, diagram and narrative, from the Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina state manuals.
Open - State reference
How long do you have to file after a car accident in Tennessee?
Tennessee gives one year for most injury claims after a crash. See each deadline, the statute text, exceptions and a Memphis court ruling. Checked Nov 2026.
Open