Michigan crash reports (the UD-10) are bought from one place: the state’s Traffic Crash Purchasing System at michigan.gov/tcps, for $15. MSP calls it “the only way to obtain a traffic crash report.” Since April 14, 2026 the store requires a MiLogin account; the old TCPS site is dead. Reports take 3 to 30 days to appear. About 400 local agencies also list reports on BuyCrash, and if your crash injured anyone or did $1,000+ damage, you were required to report it to police immediately. Late reports get filed only at the agency’s discretion.
Michigan, verified
Key Facts (verified July 2026)
Last updated
- The store
- TCPS (michigan.gov/tcps): $15 per UD-10, statewide. MSP's FAQ calls online purchase "the only way to obtain a traffic crash report."
- The new wall
- Effective April 14, 2026, TCPS moved behind MiLogin. All users must register an account, and MSP states the previous TCPS site "is no longer available for use." Old links and old guides dead-end.
- The window
- 3 to 30 days for a report to reach the TCPS database, and MSP concedes there is NO mandatory timeframe for agencies to submit completed UD-10s to the state.
- The funnel
- Every Michigan law enforcement agency must submit qualifying UD-10s to MSP's Traffic Crash Reporting System. The central repository since Public Act 300 of 1949, processing ~300,000 crashes a year.
- The immediate-report rule
- MCL 257.622: injury, death, or $1,000+ apparent damage must be reported immediately at the nearest police station or officer. Crashes not reported immediately are filed only at the agency's discretion.
- The non-door
- The Traffic Crash Reporting Unit will not read report contents by phone, mail, email, or fax. It will only confirm or deny what you already have. Purchase or FOIA are the two lanes.
- The side door
- Roughly 400 Michigan agencies list reports on BuyCrash, sometimes faster than TCPS for participating departments.
- The no-fault twist
- PIP pays your medicals regardless of fault (coverage levels $50,000 to unlimited since the 2019 reform). Fault gates only two things: the $3,000 mini-tort claim (50%+ at fault) and the serious-injury tort threshold.
- 2024, officially
- MSP Year End Report: 288,880 crashes, 1,099 deaths, 71,316 injuries. Worst month October, worst day Friday, worst hours 3:00 to 5:59 p.m., and 32 zero-fatality days statewide.
The $15 state store, and the login wall that just went up
Most states leave crash-report sales to the investigating agency or a vendor. Michigan centralized retail decades ago and says so without hedging: the State Police FAQ states the UD-10 “must be purchased online” and that the Traffic Crash Purchasing System is “the only way to obtain a traffic crash report.” The price is $15 flat, statewide, whether a village department or an MSP post wrote your report.
The fresh development old articles haven’t caught: on April 14, 2026, TCPS moved behind MiLogin, Michigan’s single sign-on. Every user now registers an account before searching, and MSP states the previous TCPS site “is no longer available for use”. Which quietly killed every bookmark, law-firm how-to, and insurer instruction sheet pointing at the old address. The working entrance is michigan.gov/tcps; migration help lives at michigan.gov/tcpsupdate, and the purchase-support inbox is CrashPurchaseTCPS@michigan.gov.
Two more store rules worth knowing before you pay. Timing: MSP quotes 3 to 30 days for a report to be processed into TCPS, and is candid that no law sets an agency submission deadline. The pace is the reporting department’s. And there is no phone lane: the Traffic Crash Reporting Unit will not read report contents out by phone, mail, email, or fax. It will confirm or deny details you already hold; the contents come only by purchase or a records request.
How every UD-10 reaches Lansing, and what that means for your search
The store works because the funnel behind it is total. Under MCL 257.622, every Michigan law enforcement agency must complete the State of Michigan Traffic Crash Report, the UD-10, for qualifying crashes and forward it to the Michigan State Police. The receiving end, the Traffic Crash Reporting System, has been the state’s central crash repository since Public Act 300 of 1949 and processes roughly 300,000 reports a year. Practical consequence: you never need to guess which local records desk holds your UD-10, because the answer is always “Lansing’s database, eventually.”
“Eventually” is where the side doors earn their keep. Around 400 Michigan agencies also list reports on LexisNexis’s BuyCrash, which posts a report as soon as the individual agency approves it, sometimes ahead of its arrival in TCPS. If your department participates, that’s a legitimate speed play; the platform’s pricing and troubleshooting quirks are covered in our BuyCrash guide. And for everything the store doesn’t sell (scene photos, 911 audio, supplemental narratives) the lane is a Michigan FOIA request to the investigating agency, on the 5-business-day clock our FOIA guide maps.
The store, the side doors, and the non-doors
Every row verified against MSP’s pages and the cited sources, July 2026.
| Door | Covers | Cost & mechanics | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCPS, the state store (michigan.gov/tcps) | Every Michigan agency's UD-10. All law enforcement must submit to MSP's central repository | $15 per report; MiLogin account required since 04/14/2026 (old site dead) | 3 to 30 days to appear; no mandatory agency submission deadline. The wide window is official |
| BuyCrash (LexisNexis) | ~400 participating Michigan agencies | Per-agency pricing; card only, instant once listed | Can beat TCPS on speed for participating departments; coverage is agency-by-agency |
| FOIA to the investigating agency | The extras: photos, 911/CAD records, supplemental reports | Statutory copy fees; 5-business-day response clock (+10-day extension) under Michigan FOIA | The records path. Not faster for the UD-10 itself, essential for everything around it |
| The non-doors | Phone/mail/email read-outs from the Traffic Crash Reporting Unit | Not offered at any price | TCRU will only confirm or deny details you already have, purchase or FOIA are the two lanes |
Skip the $15, or at least the wrong-door wait
The immediate-report rule, and the discretion trap in its fine print
Michigan’s reporting duty has no 10-day grace period and no after-the-fact form. MCL 257.622 requires the driver in any crash that injures or kills someone, or causes apparent property damage of $1,000 or more, to report it immediately at the nearest or most convenient police station or to the nearest officer. The officer’s UD-10 then becomes the record.
The trap sits one sentence deeper in MSP’s guidance: crashes not reported immediately are “subject to the discretion of the reporting agency if a report will be filed.” Wait a week to report a fender-bender and the department may lawfully decline to write a UD-10 at all. Leaving your crash with no state record, no TCPS entry, and nothing for an insurer to pull. Drivers who exchanged information and “decided to handle it privately” discover this exactly when a dispute surfaces.
Below the threshold, and on private property, where minor crashes often aren’t state-reportable, departments improvise locally: Pittsfield Township, for instance, takes a dedicated private-property crash form for no-injury, minimal-damage lot collisions. Which document exists in which scenario is the subject of our report-terminology guide.
Fault codes in a no-fault state: the two gates where the UD-10 decides money
Michigan runs the country’s most distinctive auto-insurance system, and it changes what your crash report is for. Your own medical care and up to three years of wage loss flow through Personal Injury Protection regardless of who caused the crash. At whichever PIP level you selected under the 2019 reform, from $50,000 up to unlimited lifetime coverage. For those bills, the UD-10’s fault coding is almost irrelevant; what matters is that a crash is documented at all.
Fault re-enters at two gates, and the report is the opening evidence at both. Gate one: the mini-tort claim. Vehicle damage up to $3,000 against a driver who was 50% or more at fault (for crashes after July 1, 2020), typically covering your deductible. Gate two, where the real money lives: suing for pain and suffering requires clearing Michigan’s tort threshold. Death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. At both gates, adjusters and courts start from the UD-10’s hazardous-action coding, diagram, and narrative. One more MSP bluntness worth internalizing: every reported crash appears on your driving record regardless of fault, and the reporting unit can’t remove entries, that’s the Secretary of State’s ledger.
Injured on a Michigan road?
What MSP's 2024 numbers say
The State Police’s official 2024 Year End Report counts 288,880 crashes (up slightly from 287,953 in 2023) with 1,099 deaths and 71,316 injuries. Half of those killed (50.5%) were drivers, and the 25 to 34 age group carried the largest share of both deaths and injuries.
The calendar patterns are unusually sharp in Michigan’s data: October produced the most crashes (30,012. Deer season and early darkness), Friday is the worst day (48,770 crashes), and the 3:00 to 5:59 p.m. window leads for both total crashes (65,506) and fatal crashes (174). Against that, one genuinely hopeful stat: Michigan logged 32 separate days in 2024 with zero traffic deaths statewide.
Step-by-step: getting your Michigan report
Report immediately if your crash qualifies: The clock has no grace period
Injury, death, or $1,000+ in apparent damage triggers MCL 257.622: report immediately at the nearest or most convenient police station or officer. Late reports get filed only at the agency's discretion, the most consequential fine print in Michigan crash law.
Get the incident details at the scene
The responding agency's name, the incident/report number if offered, and the exchanged driver, vehicle, and insurance details. Every retrieval and claim step downstream keys off these.
Register a MiLogin account before you need the report
Since April 14, 2026, the state's Traffic Crash Purchasing System (michigan.gov/tcps) sits behind MiLogin. The old TCPS site is dead. Registration takes minutes and works for every other Michigan state service; purchase questions go to CrashPurchaseTCPS@michigan.gov.
Wait out the 3 to 30 day window, then buy the UD-10 for $15
MSP quotes 3 to 30 days for the report to be processed into TCPS. There's no mandatory submission deadline for agencies, so pace varies by department. Search with the crash date, county, and involved names; the fee is $15 per report.
Check the faster side doors while you wait
Around 400 Michigan agencies also list reports on BuyCrash, which can post sooner than TCPS for participating departments. Your insurer can pull the report for an open claim, and a FOIA request to the investigating agency reaches the extras (photos, 911 audio) the store never sells.
Don't call Lansing for a read-out: it's purchase or FOIA
The Traffic Crash Reporting Unit will not relay report contents by phone, mail, email, or fax; it will only confirm or deny what you already have. Budget for the $15 or write the records request; there is no third lane.
Read the fault coding against Michigan's two fault gates
PIP pays your medicals regardless of fault, so the UD-10's coding matters where fault does: the $3,000 mini-tort claim (50%+ at fault) and the serious-injury tort threshold. If you were hurt, have an attorney read the codes free before the insurer prices either gate.
Michigan Accident Reports: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get my accident report in Michigan?
Through the state, not the local department: Michigan State Police's own FAQ says the UD-10 Traffic Crash Report "must be purchased online" and that this is "the only way to obtain a traffic crash report." The store is the Traffic Crash Purchasing System (TCPS) at michigan.gov/tcps, at $15 per report, and since April 14, 2026 you must first register a MiLogin account. Reports from every Michigan agency land there, because all law enforcement is required to submit UD-10s to the MSP's central repository.
What happened to the old TCPS website?
It was retired. Effective April 14, 2026, TCPS is accessed through MiLogin, Michigan's single sign-on, and MSP states the previous TCPS site "is no longer available for use." Every older article, bookmark, and law-firm guide pointing at the old address now dead-ends. Register a MiLogin account first, then search for your report; MSP posts migration help at michigan.gov/tcpsupdate and answers purchase questions at CrashPurchaseTCPS@michigan.gov.
How long until my Michigan crash report is available?
MSP quotes 3 to 30 days from the crash for a report to be processed into the TCPS database, and is unusually candid about why the range is wide: there is no mandatory timeframe for an agency to submit the completed UD-10 to the state. The typical wait tracks the reporting agency's pace, not Lansing's. Searching in week one often means searching too early.
Can the State Police just tell me what's in my report over the phone?
No, and they say so directly. The Traffic Crash Reporting Unit will not provide report information by phone, mail, email, or fax; it will only confirm or deny details you already have. Insurance information, report numbers, and personal details of involved parties are never read out. Your two paths to the content are purchasing the report through TCPS or submitting a FOIA request.
Do I have to report my Michigan crash to police?
Immediately, if it cleared the threshold. Under MCL 257.622, the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash that injures or kills anyone, or causes apparent property damage totaling $1,000 or more, must immediately report it at the nearest or most convenient police station or to the nearest officer. The trap in the fine print: crashes not reported immediately are subject to the reporting agency's discretion as to whether a report gets filed at all. Wait a week and there may simply never be a UD-10 for your crash.
What is a UD-10?
The State of Michigan Traffic Crash Report. The standardized form every Michigan law enforcement agency must complete for reportable crashes and forward to the Michigan State Police under MCL 257.622. The MSP's Traffic Crash Reporting System (TCRS) has been the central repository since Public Act 300 of 1949 and processes roughly 300,000 crash reports a year. The UD-10 carries the usual anatomy (parties, vehicles, conditions, diagram, narrative, and coded factors) which our decoder guide walks through.
Is BuyCrash an option in Michigan?
For many local agencies, yes. Around 400 Michigan departments list reports on LexisNexis's BuyCrash platform, which can beat TCPS on speed once an agency approves a report. The state store remains the universal fallback: every agency's UD-10 eventually reaches TCPS, while BuyCrash coverage depends on whether your specific department participates. Compare prices before paying either, our BuyCrash guide covers the platform's mechanics.
Will the crash go on my driving record even if it wasn't my fault?
Yes. MSP's FAQ is blunt: all reported traffic crashes appear on your driving record regardless of fault. The Traffic Crash Reporting Unit can't remove them. Driving-record questions belong to the Secretary of State's Driving Records Activity Unit at 517-636-6406. A crash entry is a historical fact, not a fault finding.
Does fault even matter in no-fault Michigan?
It matters at exactly two gates, which is why the report's coding still counts. Your own medical bills and up to three years of wage loss flow through PIP regardless of fault (at the coverage level you chose, $50,000 to unlimited under the 2019 reform). Fault decides the rest: the mini-tort claim for vehicle damage (up to $3,000, against a driver 50% or more at fault, for crashes after July 1, 2020) and the right to sue for pain and suffering, which requires death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement. The UD-10's fault signals are the opening evidence at both gates.
What if my crash was in a parking lot or no officer came?
Private-property fender-benders often don't generate a state-reportable crash, and some departments handle them with local forms instead. Pittsfield Township, for example, takes a dedicated private-property crash form when there are no injuries and minimal damage. If your crash met the MCL 257.622 threshold and no officer responded, report it immediately at the nearest station. Remembering that late reports are filed only at the agency's discretion. Our report-terminology guide maps which document exists in each scenario.
How dangerous are Michigan roads, officially?
MSP's 2024 Year End Report: 288,880 crashes (up slightly from 287,953 in 2023), 1,099 deaths, and 71,316 injuries. The patterns: October had the most crashes (30,012), Fridays are the worst day (48,770), the 3:00 to 5:59 p.m. window is the peak for both crashes (65,506) and fatal crashes (174), and Michigan recorded 32 days in 2024 with zero traffic deaths.
Sources
Every fee, rule, statute, and statistic on this page was verified against the following official sources on July 28, 2026. MSP’s pages and statutory text control.
- Michigan State Police: UD-10 Traffic Crash Reporting (TCRS repository; MiLogin migration notice)
- Michigan State Police: Traffic Crash Reporting Unit FAQ ($15 fee, "only way" rule, 3 to 30 days, MCL 257.622 duty)
- Michigan State Police: Traffic Crash Purchasing System (TCPS, via MiLogin)
- Michigan State Police: TCPS MiLogin Migration Information
- Michigan State Police: UD-10 Traffic Crash Report Instruction Manual (2022, PDF)
- Michigan State Police: 2024 Statewide Traffic Crash Data Year End Report (PDF; all statistics cited)
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 257.622 (immediate-report duty; officer UD-10 requirement)
- Michigan DIFS: Brief Explanation of Michigan No-Fault Insurance (FIS-PUB 0202a, PDF)
- Michigan.gov/autoinsurance: Choosing PIP Medical Coverage
- Michigan DIFS: Auto Insurance Reform FAQ (mini-tort $3,000)
- LexisNexis Support Center: Overview of BuyCrash (402 Michigan agencies)
- Pittsfield Charter Township, MI Police: File a Police Report (private-property and incident lanes)
This guide is informational and is not legal advice. FindAccidentReport.com is sponsored by personal-injury attorneys; see our editorial standards for how we research and fund our guides.