Crash records
How to get a Georgia crash report
Find the agency that wrote it, order it from the right portal, then check the truck fields line by line.
On this page
A Georgia crash report belongs to the agency that investigated the crash: a city police department, a county police department, a sheriff’s office or the Georgia State Patrol. Order your copy through that agency’s route. State Patrol reports cost $5 on the Department of Public Safety’s EPORTS portal. Many local reports are sold on BuyCrash, a LexisNexis site. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) also takes requests by mail for $5.
Have four details ready: the crash date, the place, the report number and the last name of a driver or owner.
Find the agency that wrote the report
Start with the paper from the scene. An officer’s card or exchange slip often names the agency and gives a report number. If you left in an ambulance, ask someone who stayed at the scene what they were given.
No paper? Search by name and date. BuyCrash can search all Georgia agencies at once, and DPS and GDOT search their own records from the details you send.
| Route | Reports it covers | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| EPORTS (DPS) | Georgia State Patrol, Capitol Police and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement | $5 per crash report |
| BuyCrash (LexisNexis) | Many city police, county police and sheriff’s offices | $11 at two sheriff’s offices |
| GDOT by mail | Reports held in GDOT’s crash records | $5, or $7 certified |
| The agency’s office | Reports that agency wrote | Varies; 10 cents a page in Richmond County |
What to have ready
- The crash date. Every route asks for it. EPORTS asks for a date range.
- A last name. BuyCrash accepts a driver, passenger, owner or pedestrian.
- One more key. On BuyCrash: the report number, a VIN or a driver’s license number.
- The place. DPS asks for the county or city in an open records request.
GDOT warns that spelling and entry errors on a report can slow a search. If one name finds nothing, try another person’s name or the VIN.
BuyCrash is a LexisNexis site, not a state site
BuyCrash is run by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, not by a government agency. GDOT stores Georgia crash reports in its GEARS database and links to BuyCrash from its crash reporting page for online purchases. Use that link to reach the real portal.
To search, choose Georgia and “All GA Agencies”. Enter a last name and the crash date, then one more key from the list above.
There is no single statewide price. The Richmond County and Muscogee County sheriff’s offices both list $11 for a BuyCrash copy. Richmond County also sells copies at its office for 10 cents a page. Some agencies run their own portal: Cobb County Police sends people involved in a crash to its own online system. Check the agency’s records page before you pay.
Richmond County says reports are generally available 3 to 5 days after a crash. A complex report can take longer.
Georgia State Patrol accident reports
The Georgia State Patrol is part of the Department of Public Safety (DPS). DPS sells its own reports through EPORTS. The portal also covers Capitol Police and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, the DPS division that inspects trucks.
- Submit a request with the incident date range and the request type. A report number or a name speeds the search.
- Wait for an email. DPS generally processes requests within 3 business days. A crash request number starts with “CRAS”.
- Search by that number, then pay and download. The DPS fee chart lists a crash report at $5. EPORTS takes Visa and Mastercard.
DPS says reports are generally ready 3 to 5 business days after a crash. Multi-vehicle crashes and crashes with serious injury or death often take longer. EPORTS keeps reports for 3 years plus the current year.
You can also ask a State Patrol post or the DPS Open Records Unit by email or mail. DPS offers a request form, but it is optional.
After a serious truck crash, a reconstruction team may examine the scene. GDOT’s crash manual asks that the team’s final diagram be attached to the original report as a supplement. Ask the agency later whether a supplement has been added.
Who may get a copy
Access is limited by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(5). Any person or company named or identified in the report may get a copy, directly or through a lawyer or other representative. Anyone else must give the records custodian a written statement of need.
The law lists who has a need. The list includes:
- a person injured in the crash, or a witness
- an owner or lessee of property damaged in the crash
- an insurer of a party or of the damaged property
- a person with a personal, professional or business connection to a party
- a person alleged to be liable for the crash
- prosecutors and law enforcement officers
GDOT’s mail form turns this into a checklist: you tick your reason and sign. Reports are not released in bulk without a statement for each one.
Check the truck fields
Georgia’s law enforcement agencies report crashes on one form, the Georgia Motor Vehicle Crash Report (GDOT-523). When a vehicle in the crash is a commercial motor vehicle, the officer must fill in the form’s Commercial Motor Vehicle section. For the report, that means a truck or combination rated at 10,001 lb or more, a bus with more than 9 seats including the driver, or any vehicle with a hazardous-material placard.
| Field | What to check |
|---|---|
| 71. Carrier name | The business operating the truck at the time. GDOT tells officers not to rely only on the name painted on the truck. |
| 73. US DOT # | Look it up in FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot and compare the carrier name. |
| 74. No. of axles | All axles under the truck and trailer together. |
| 75. GVWR | The weight rating. If the officer could not find it, the manual allows 80,000 lb for a tractor-trailer. |
| 77. Vehicle configuration | Single-unit truck, truck with trailer, tractor with twin trailers, or a tractor with no trailer (bobtail). |
| 78. Interstate or intrastate | Whether the load was moving across state lines or only within Georgia. |
| 80–81. CDL | Whether the driver held a commercial driver’s license, and whether it was suspended. |
| 82–84. Hazardous materials | A placard, hazardous cargo on board, and any release. |
| 87. CMV sequence of events | Ran off road, downhill runaway, cargo loss or shift, or separation of units. |
Then read the diagram and the narrative together. GDOT’s manual says the diagram should show each vehicle’s path, not only where it stopped, and should not contradict the narrative. The narrative should identify the at-fault unit. Contributing factors are the officer’s opinion.
Many boxes hold number codes. GDOT’s report overlay is the key. On it, suspected operator contributing factor 3 is “Following Too Close”, and vehicle type 4 is “Tractor/Trailer”.
Ask for a correction
Send a correction request to the agency that wrote the report. GDOT stores reports and BuyCrash sells copies, but officers write them.
- Give the report number and the field number, for example 73 for the USDOT number.
- Quote what the report says and what it should say.
- Attach proof: a photo of the cab door, the registration, an insurance card or the carrier’s SAFER record.
The agency decides whether to change the report. The GDOT-523 form set includes a supplement sheet, so a change can arrive as an added page. Keep every version you receive, with the date you got it.
Getting the report and meeting a filing deadline are separate tasks. Our home page explains Georgia’s two-year limit, and how a free review works if you want a truck accident attorney in Georgia to look at the crash. You do not need the report to start.