NCDMV sells certified North Carolina crash reports for $6.50 on form TR-67A, but the investigating department is often cheaper. Charlotte gives them away free at its counters and charges $9 only online. The catch is what arrives. North Carolina releases these records under the federal privacy law, and an involved party without a listed permissible use gets a redacted copy, while an attorney or insurer can obtain the full one. Officers must write the report within 24 hours.
North Carolina, verified
Key Facts (verified July 2026)
Last updated
- The 24-hour rule
- G.S. 20-166.1(e): the investigating officer must make a written report within 24 hours of the crash. Local agencies then forward it to NCDMV within 10 days.
- State price
- $6.50 per report from NCDMV on form TR-67A (revised July 1, 2024). Checks payable to NCDMV, no cash by mail, and allow 10 business days for processing.
- Certified only
- Since January 1, 2013 the Division issues certified crash reports only, under NCGS 20-42(b) and 20-4.02. There is no cheaper uncertified state copy.
- The redaction quirk
- Form TR-67A offers the checkbox "I am a party involved in the crash without a DPPA Permissible Use and I am requesting a redacted copy." Involvement alone is not a permissible use.
- Who gets the full copy
- The permissible uses NCDMV applies include litigation and anticipation of litigation, and insurer claims investigation, rating, or underwriting. Attorneys and insurers therefore qualify where individuals may not.
- Free in Charlotte
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg provides crash reports free at any division office or headquarters counter, and charges $9 through its LexisNexis system. The online convenience is the entire markup.
- Reportable crash
- Injury, death, at least $1,000 in property damage, or a vehicle seized for forfeiture in an impaired driving case. Notice must be immediate, by the quickest means.
- The parked-car duty
- G.S. 20-166.1(c): tell the owner within 48 hours, in person or in writing, and if written but not left at the scene, send it by certified mail with a copy to NCDMV. Applies to non-reportable crashes too.
- 2024, officially
- NCDOT: 284,546 reportable crashes, 1,732 deaths, 115,334 injuries, about $41.5 billion in comprehensive cost, and a crash roughly every 0.03 hours.
Why your own crash report arrives redacted
Most states treat the people in a crash as the obvious audience for the report. North Carolina routes the question through privacy law instead, and the result surprises people. NCDMV states that its crash records contain confidential personal information that is not available to the public, and that it discloses them under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act and N.C.G.S. § 20-43.1. To receive an unredacted report you must hold one of the permissible uses that statute recognises.
Being in the crash is not one of them. Form TR-67A makes this explicit with a checkbox reading “I am a party involved in the crash without a DPPA Permissible Use and I am requesting a redacted copy.” The uses that do apply to crash reports are a short list, and two of them matter most here: use in connection with a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding, including investigation in anticipation of litigation, and use by an insurer or its agents in claims investigation, antifraud work, rating, or underwriting.
The practical shape of that is worth stating plainly rather than dressing up. Your insurer can get the complete report because it is investigating a claim. An attorney representing you can get it because they are working in anticipation of litigation. You, ordering a copy for yourself, may receive one with the other parties’ personal details removed. The form also warns that misrepresenting your identity or how you qualify carries state and federal criminal and civil penalties, so the honest route to a full copy runs through someone who qualifies in their own right.
Need the complete report, not the redacted one?
Every North Carolina door, and what each one gives you
Verified against NCDMV, form TR-67A, and the agencies’ own pages, July 2026.
| Door | Cost and mechanics | What the copy is | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| The investigating department, in person | Often free. Charlotte-Mecklenburg provides crash reports at no charge at any division office or headquarters counter | Agency copy, availability set by that department | Usually the fastest and cheapest door, and the one most guides skip |
| The department's online vendor | Charlotte-Mecklenburg: $9 through the LexisNexis Accident Reporting system. Many NC agencies also list on BuyCrash | Same report, delivered instantly | In Charlotte the online convenience costs $9 more than walking in |
| NCDMV by mail or in person | $6.50 per report on form TR-67A. Checks to NCDMV, no cash by mail. Allow 10 business days | Certified only since January 1, 2013, and redacted unless you hold a DPPA permissible use | Traffic Records Branch, Crash Reports Unit, 3106 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27697-3106 |
| NCDMV online | Restricted to North Carolina based or licensed businesses and organisations | Unredacted where the requester qualifies | Not open to individuals, which is why attorneys and insurers use it |
Charlotte-Mecklenburg is used here as the metro example because its own records page states both prices. Other departments set their own, so ask before paying a vendor. Our BuyCrash guide covers the platform many North Carolina agencies use.
The 24-hour report, and the 48-hour rule for parked cars
North Carolina asks for speed that no other state we have documented matches. Under § 20-166.1(e), an officer who investigates a reportable crash, whether at the scene or through later interviews, must make a written report within 24 hours. Compare that with Pennsylvania’s 15 days or Michigan’s frank admission that it sets no deadline at all. The routing adds the rest of the wait: Highway Patrol reports go directly to NCDMV, while a municipal officer’s report goes to the local agency, which then has 10 days to forward it. That is precisely why the local counter often has your report before the state does.
A reportable crash means injury or death, property damage of at least $1,000, or damage to a vehicle seized for forfeiture in an impaired driving case, and the driver must give notice immediately by the quickest means. Two smaller provisions are worth knowing. If someone injured in a reportable crash dies within 12 months and the death was not in the original report, the investigating officer must file a supplemental report. And the report must record financial responsibility information for the vehicle driven by the person the officer identified as at fault.
Then there is the parked-car rule, which catches people who assume a scrape in a car park is nobody’s business. Section 20-166.1(c) requires the driver who hits a parked or unattended vehicle to report it to that vehicle’s owner within 48 hours, and it says in terms that this applies to crashes that are not reportable as well as to those that are. The report can be oral or written, must include the time, date, place, your name, address, and licence number, and your plate number. Put it in writing but fail to hand it over at the scene, and it has to travel by certified mail with return receipt, with a copy to NCDMV.
A public record you can also put in front of a jury
Two provisions in § 20-166.1(i) put North Carolina at the opposite end of the spectrum from several states we have covered. The first concerns access: reports made by law enforcement officers and medical examiners “are public records and are open to inspection by the general public at all reasonable times,” and NCDMV must give a certified copy to any member of the public who asks and pays the fee. Reports made by people who are not officers or medical examiners are not public records at all.
That sits alongside the redaction rules rather than cancelling them, and the distinction is worth holding onto: the document is public, while the personal information inside it is protected. A stranger can obtain a certified copy of your crash report. What they will not get is everyone else’s licence numbers and addresses.
The second provision concerns evidence. A report made by someone other than an officer or Civilian Traffic Investigator is “without prejudice” and cannot be used in any trial. But the statute then says that “any other report of an accident made under this section may be used in any manner as evidence,” as the rules of evidence permit. In other words, the officer’s report is potentially admissible in North Carolina. That is the direct inverse of Pennsylvania, where the statute bars the copy from evidence outright, as our Pennsylvania guide documents. Same document, opposite legal weight, depending on which side of the state line you crashed.
Contributory negligence: why the fault fields carry extra weight here
North Carolina remains one of the few states that still applies contributory negligence, the common-law rule under which a plaintiff whose own negligence contributed to the crash can be barred from recovering against an ordinarily negligent defendant. Most states long ago replaced it with a comparative system that reduces an award in proportion to fault. North Carolina did not, which is why a fault detail that would trim a claim elsewhere can end one here.
That makes the officer’s conclusions unusually consequential, and the statute reinforces their prominence by requiring the report to carry financial responsibility information for whoever the officer identified as at fault. An insurer looking for a reason to deny will read those fields first. Our crash-report decoder explains what the contributing-factor codes and diagram actually assert, and which errors are worth challenging quickly.
One balancing point deserves equal billing, because the popular telling of this rule is bleaker than the law. Contributory negligence is a defence, and under N.C.G.S. § 1-139 the party asserting it carries the burden of proving it. An adjuster asserting that you were partly to blame is making a claim that has to be established, not a fact you must disprove. Courts also recognise doctrines that can defeat the defence in particular circumstances. None of that makes the report’s coding less important, but it does mean an early adverse note is a fight rather than a verdict.
Injured on a North Carolina road?
What NCDOT's 2024 numbers say
NCDOT’s 2024 Statewide Crash Profile counts 284,546 reportable crashes, 1,732 deaths, and 115,334 injuries. Deaths rose from 1,686 in 2023, against a five-year average of about 1,729. Property-damage-only crashes made up 209,631 of the total, and non-fatal injury crashes 73,293.
Two trends stand out for vulnerable road users. Fatal pedestrian crashes climbed to 284, the highest in the five years the profile tabulates, and bicycle crashes rose to 864 with 41 fatal. Alcohol was involved in 11,376 crashes, including 335 fatal ones. NCDOT prices the comprehensive cost of all this at roughly $41.5 billion a year, about $149,709 per crash, and works out the cadence starkly: a crash every 0.03 hours and a fatal injury every 5.1 hours.
Step-by-step: getting your North Carolina report
Make the immediate notification the statute requires
A reportable crash means injury, death, or at least $1,000 in property damage. Section 20-166.1(a) requires immediate notice by the quickest means: city or town police inside a municipality, otherwise the State Highway Patrol, sheriff, or qualified rural police for that county.
If you struck a parked vehicle, start the 48-hour clock
Report the collision to that vehicle's owner within 48 hours with the time, date, place, your name, address, licence number, and plate. A written report not handed over at the scene must go by certified mail with return receipt, with a copy to NCDMV. This applies even to crashes that are not otherwise reportable.
Give the officer 24 hours, then the routing time
The investigating officer must write the report within 24 hours. Highway Patrol reports go straight to NCDMV; municipal reports go to the local agency, which forwards them to NCDMV within 10 days. So the local department often has your report before the state does.
Check the local department first, because it may be free
Charlotte-Mecklenburg hands crash reports over at no charge at any division office or police headquarters counter, and charges $9 only through its LexisNexis online system. Many North Carolina agencies also sell through BuyCrash. Ask the investigating department before assuming you must pay the state.
Or order the certified copy from NCDMV for $6.50
Complete form TR-67A with the driver name, crash date, county, and licence number, and mail it with a check payable to NCDMV to the Traffic Records Branch, Crash Reports Unit, 3106 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27697-3106. Cash is not accepted by mail. Allow 10 business days. Since 2013 the Division issues certified copies only.
Decide honestly which box to tick on the form
The form asks whether you have a DPPA permissible use. An involved party without one receives a redacted copy. Misrepresenting your identity or your qualifying use carries state and federal criminal and civil penalties, so if you need the unredacted report, the clean route is through your attorney or insurer, who qualify in their own right.
Read the fault coding as though your claim depends on it, because it can
The statute requires the report to record financial responsibility for the driver the officer identified as at fault. In a contributory negligence state that framing carries unusual weight, so check the narrative, diagram, and contributing factors against what happened and raise errors with the investigating agency promptly.
North Carolina Accident Reports: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get my accident report in North Carolina?
Two routes, and the local one is often cheaper. NCDMV sells certified copies statewide for $6.50 using form TR-67A, by mail to the Crash Reports Unit in Raleigh or in person at the Raleigh Central Services or Huntersville license plate agencies. The investigating department may also provide it: Charlotte-Mecklenburg, for example, gives crash reports free at any division office or police headquarters counter, and charges $9 only if you use its LexisNexis online system.
How much does a North Carolina crash report cost?
NCDMV charges $6.50 per report, stated on form TR-67A itself. Local agencies vary and can be cheaper: Charlotte-Mecklenburg charges nothing in person and $9 through the LexisNexis Accident Reporting system, so the online convenience costs $9 more than a walk-in visit to the same department. Checks go to NCDMV, and cash is not accepted for mailed requests.
Why is my own crash report redacted?
Because North Carolina releases these records under the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act and N.C.G.S. § 20-43.1, and being involved in the crash is not itself a permissible use. Form TR-67A has a checkbox that says it plainly: "I am a party involved in the crash without a DPPA Permissible Use and I am requesting a redacted copy." An unredacted copy requires a listed permissible use, and the ones that apply to crash reports are limited.
Who can get the unredacted version?
People acting in a listed role rather than a personal one. The permissible uses NCDMV applies to crash reports include use in connection with a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding, including investigation in anticipation of litigation, and use by an insurer or its agents for claims investigation, antifraud work, rating, or underwriting. In practice that means your attorney or your insurer can obtain the full copy even when you personally receive a redacted one.
How fast does the officer have to write the report?
Within 24 hours, which is the tightest statutory deadline of any state we have documented. N.C.G.S. § 20-166.1(e) requires the investigating officer to make a written report within 24 hours of the crash. State Highway Patrol officers send theirs to NCDMV; other officers route theirs to the local agency, which must forward it to NCDMV within 10 days. Allow 10 business days for NCDMV to process a request once you file it.
What counts as a reportable crash in North Carolina?
One that causes injury or death, at least $1,000 in property damage, or damage to a vehicle seized for forfeiture in an impaired driving case. For a reportable crash, § 20-166.1(a) requires the driver to notify law enforcement immediately by the quickest means: the city or town police if it happened inside one, otherwise the State Highway Patrol, the sheriff, or other qualified rural police for that county.
I hit a parked car. What does North Carolina require?
A specific 48-hour duty that applies even when the crash is not otherwise reportable. Under § 20-166.1(c) you must report the collision to the owner of the parked or unattended vehicle within 48 hours, orally or in writing, giving the time, date, and place, your name, address, and licence number, and your registration plate number. If you put it in writing and did not hand it over at the scene, it must go by certified mail with return receipt, and a copy must go to NCDMV.
Is a North Carolina crash report a public record?
The officer's report is, and the statute says so: reports made by law enforcement officers and medical examiners "are public records and are open to inspection by the general public at all reasonable times," and NCDMV must give a certified copy to any member of the public who requests one and pays the fee. Reports made by people who are not officers or medical examiners are not public records. Public status does not override the privacy law, which is why a stranger's copy comes redacted.
Can the crash report be used as evidence in my case?
The officer's report can be, subject to the ordinary rules of evidence. Section 20-166.1(i) provides that a report made by someone other than a law enforcement officer or Civilian Traffic Investigator is without prejudice and cannot be used in any trial, while "any other report of an accident made under this section may be used in any manner as evidence." That is the opposite of Pennsylvania, where the statute bars the copy from evidence entirely.
Why does fault on the report matter so much in North Carolina?
Because North Carolina still follows contributory negligence, one of the few states that does. Under that doctrine a plaintiff who is even slightly at fault can be barred from recovering from an ordinarily negligent defendant. One balancing detail sits in the statute: under N.C.G.S. § 1-139, the party asserting contributory negligence carries the burden of proving it. The crash report is where an insurer usually looks first for that proof, which is why its coded conclusions deserve close reading.
How dangerous are North Carolina roads, officially?
NCDOT's 2024 Statewide Crash Profile counts 284,546 reportable crashes, 1,732 deaths, and 115,334 injuries. Pedestrian deaths rose to 284 fatal pedestrian crashes, and bicycle crashes reached 864. NCDOT puts the comprehensive cost of crashes at about $41.5 billion a year, roughly $149,709 per crash, and calculates that the state records a crash every 0.03 hours and a fatal injury every 5.1 hours.
Sources
Every fee, statute, deadline, and statistic on this page was verified against the following official sources on July 28, 2026. Statutory text and NCDMV’s own form control.
- NCDMV: Crash Reports (request methods, who may order redacted and unredacted copies, processing time)
- NCDMV Form TR-67A: Request for Motor Vehicle Information, Crash Reports (revised July 1, 2024; $6.50 fee, certified-only rule, DPPA permissible uses)
- N.C.G.S. § 20-166.1: Reports and investigations required in event of accident (24-hour report, 48-hour parked-vehicle rule, public-record and evidence provisions)
- N.C.G.S. § 1-139: Burden of proof of contributory negligence
- N.C.G.S. § 20-166: Duty to stop in event of a crash
- NCDOT: 2024 Statewide Crash Profile (PDF; all statistics cited)
- NCDOT: Crash Facts and Reporting
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department: Records (crash reports free in person, $9 through LexisNexis)
- 18 U.S.C. § 2721: Driver's Privacy Protection Act (the permissible uses NCDMV applies to crash reports)
- LexisNexis Support Center: Overview of BuyCrash (North Carolina participating agencies)
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.