How to get your Florida crash report
Your crash report is the document every insurer and lawyer asks for first. For 60 days it is not public — but if you were involved, you can get yours right away. Here is the exact page, the exact fee, and the one extra form the 60-day rule makes you sign.
Why it is not public for 60 days
Fla. Stat. 316.066(2)(a) makes crash reports that reveal “the identity, home or employment telephone number or home or employment address of, or other personal information concerning the parties involved” confidential and exempt from Florida's public-records law “for a period of 60 days after the date the report is filed.”
What the exemption protects is the personal information about the people in the crash — names, home and work addresses, phone numbers. Obtaining, or trying to obtain, one of these reports while knowing you are not entitled to it is a third-degree felony under Fla. Stat. 316.066(3)(c).
Who can get it inside the 60 days
- The parties involved in the crash, and their legal representatives
- The parties' own licensed insurance agents and insurers, and insurers they have applied to for coverage — not any insurance agent at large
- People under contract with insurers for claims handling or underwriting
- Law enforcement agencies, and service providers under contract to them
- Victim services programs
- Federal, state, and local government agencies acting within their functions
The same paragraph also lets a version with the home and work street addresses, driver license or ID numbers, dates of birth and phone numbers stripped out go immediately to FCC-licensed radio and television stations and to newspapers qualified to publish legal notices. Separately, Fla. Stat. 316.066(2)(c) gives access to any local, state or federal agency authorised by law to have it, in furtherance of that agency's statutory duties.
The steps
- Wait for the report to be filed and processed. FLHSMV says a report may take up to 10 days to become available. Chasing it on day two usually finds nothing.
- Go to the official purchase page: services.flhsmv.gov/crashreportpurchasing. This is FLHSMV's own site — other sites offering Florida crash reports are resellers, not the agency.
- Search using the crash date and the information from the card or receipt the officer gave you at the scene, or your driver license number.
- If you are inside the 60-day window, complete the Sworn Statement to Obtain Crash Report, which is how you certify you are a person entitled to it.
- Pay $10.00 per report, plus a $2.00 convenience fee per payment transaction. A single transaction covers up to 10 reports.
- Download it from the emailed link within 48 hours — FLHSMV states purchased reports must be downloaded inside that window.
- Read the narrative and the diagram, and check your own details — name spelling, insurance information, the listed vehicle damage, and whether any witness was recorded.
Source: Fees, timing, and the sworn-statement requirement from FLHSMV's Traffic Crash Reports page and its crash report purchasing portal, read August 14, 2026.
A crash report is not the end of the story
The officer's opinion about who caused the crash is not binding on anyone. Insurers argue with it, and so do juries. A report that assigns you blame is a problem to work on, not a verdict — and under Florida's comparative fault rule, being partly at fault still leaves a claim as long as your share is not more than 50%.
Questions
How much does a Florida crash report cost?
$10.00 per report, plus a $2.00 convenience fee applied to each payment transaction, through FLHSMV's official portal at services.flhsmv.gov/crashreportpurchasing. One transaction covers up to 10 reports, and purchased reports must be downloaded within 48 hours.
How long does it take for a Florida crash report to be available?
FLHSMV states a crash report may take up to 10 days to become available after the crash. The report is separately confidential for 60 days after it is filed under Fla. Stat. 316.066(2)(a), though the parties involved and their legal representatives may obtain it during that period.
Can I get someone else's Florida crash report?
Not during the first 60 days unless you fall into one of the categories listed in Fla. Stat. 316.066(2)(b) — for example an insurer, a legal representative of a party, or a government agency acting within its function. Unlawfully obtaining the information is a third-degree felony under 316.066(3)(c). After 60 days the report may be released to any person or entity eligible under the applicable statutes and the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act.