How to get a car accident report in San Antonio, Texas

The local steps are quoted from San Antonio agency pages and the Texas rules from state law, each with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.

San Antonio Police Department$6for a copy of the report

The short answer

San Antonio crash reports are sold online through the TxDOT Crash Report Online Purchase System, not through a city portal. The police department links it from its own open records page, and you search for your crash there.

A San Antonio crash report can take up to 14 days after the crash to show up in the TxDOT system where you buy it.

A San Antonio crash report costs $6 from the police department. Through the TxDOT online system it is $6 for a regular copy or $8 for a copy certified with the state seal, plus a small surcharge for using the system.

Online

The portal San Antonio uses

San Antonio crash reports are sold online through the TxDOT Crash Report Online Purchase System, not through a city portal. The police department links it from its own open records page, and you search for your crash there.

“The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) provides an easy online system for finding and ordering vehicle accident reports.”

San Antonio Police Department, Police Open Records Requests

Buy your San Antonio crash report from TxDOT

What it costs

A San Antonio crash report costs $6 from the police department. Through the TxDOT online system it is $6 for a regular copy or $8 for a copy certified with the state seal, plus a small surcharge for using the system.

“Accident Reports $6”

San Antonio Police Department, Police Open Records Requests

When it is ready

A San Antonio crash report can take up to 14 days after the crash to show up in the TxDOT system where you buy it.

“Reports can take up to 14 days to appear in the system.”

San Antonio Police Department, Police Open Records Requests

In person or by mail

The records office

You can hand in or mail a crash report request at the San Antonio Police Department Records Office, 315 S. Santa Rosa, San Antonio, TX 78207. The office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring or mail the completed San Antonio Police Department Crash Report Request, SAPD Form CRB-3 REQ.

“San Antonio Police Department Records Office 315 S. Santa Rosa San Antonio, TX 78207”

San Antonio Police Department, Police Open Records Requests

Print the SAPD crash report request form

If no officer came to your crash

Filing it yourself

If the officer decides your crash does not need a state crash report, you and the other driver fill out SAPD Form 12-DAR, the Crash Information Sheet, and trade your information at the scene. When you want paper proof afterward, the police Records Office can print the call for service report the officer filed.

“Should the driver(s) desire documentation of the crash, a computer-generated report may be obtained via the Records Office.”

San Antonio Police Department, General Manual Procedure 402 Differential Police Response

What Texas requires you to file

Texas does not require the driver to separately file a written crash report with the state. That duty falls on the investigating law enforcement officer, who must file an electronic report within 10 days if the crash caused injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more. Texas repealed its old driver-filed report requirement in 2017.

“A law enforcement officer who in the regular course of duty investigates a motor vehicle collision shall make a written report of the collision if the collision resulted in injury to or the death of a person or damage to the property of any one person to the apparent extent of $1,000 or more. The report required by Subsection (a) must be filed electronically with the department not later than the 10th day after the date of the collision.”

Tex. Transp. Code § 550.062(a)-(b)

If the crash was on a highway

A different agency has that report

If a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper worked your crash on a highway instead of San Antonio police, do not go to the city records office. DPS sends you to the TxDOT Crash Report Online Purchase System for the same CR-3 report.

“You may obtain a Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) (regular or certified) from the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Report Online Purchase System.”

Texas Department of Public Safety, Public Information Requests

Requesting a Texas state police report

You can buy a Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (CR-3) online through the Crash Report Online Purchase System. A regular copy costs $6 and a certified copy costs $8.

“$6 for a regular copy. $8 for a certified copy”

TxDOT, Crash Reports and Records

Texas crash report guide

Sources on this page

Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.

  1. San Antonio Police Department, Police Open Records Requests
  2. San Antonio Police Department, General Manual Procedure 402 Differential Police Response
  3. Texas Department of Public Safety, Public Information Requests
  4. San Antonio Police Department, File a Police Report

The state law behind these steps

Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.

  1. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.062(a)-(b)
  2. TxDOT, Crash Reports and Records

Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.