How You Can Get a Car Accident Report in NY

Key Takeaways

• The $1,000 Threshold: If a NY car crash results in injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage, a Report of Motor Vehicle Accident (MV-104) must be filed within 10 days.
• NYPD vs. DMV Retrieval: You can get your collision report from the local NYPD precinct within the first 30 days. After 30 days, the report is forwarded to the NY State DMV.
• Online Portals Save Time: You can download recent NYC reports via the NYPD Collision Report Retrieval Portal (available ~7 days post-crash) or the NY DMV online portal (14-60 days depending on filing method).
• Expect Search & Report Fees: Through the DMV, reports cost $15 each, plus a mandatory search fee ($7 online or $10 by mail).
• Crucial for Injury Claims: The accident report is the foundation of any insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit, providing the exact evidence your attorney needs to prove liability.

If you are in a car, truck, or motorcycle accident in Queens or anywhere in New York that causes injury or $1,000 or more in damages and the police response to it, they will file a report with basic information about what happened. If the police do not respond to a car accident of that severity, the drivers involved must file a report with the N.Y. Division of Motor Vehicles.

The report, officially known as the Report of Motor Vehicle Accident (MV-104), is typically the basis of a car, truck, or motorcycle accident claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance or a personal injury lawsuit. The MV-140 form can be found online at dmv.ny.gov/forms/mv104.pdf. 

If you own a motor vehicle or drive one in Queens, you should know how to obtain a car accident report. There are more than 440,000 car accidents a year in New York state, more than 1,200 a day. Don’t think it can’t happen to you.

What Is a Car Accident Report?

The State of New York’s MV-104 car accident report form collects information about accidents and those involved, including:

• Contact information for all parties involved in the accident (drivers and witnesses)
• Date, time, and location of the accident
• Driver license information
• Vehicle registration information
• Diagrams to illustrate the accident
• Amount and severity of vehicle damage
• Description of injuries
• Weather and road conditions at the time of the accident
• Citations issued by police
• Police comments and observations
• Insurance information.

The MV-104 must be filed within 10 days of the date of the accident. It can be completed online. In the best circumstances, the police will file the report for you. However, the police don’t respond to every car accident in the New York City metropolitan area.

Once the report is filed, the accident goes on the records of all drivers involved in the crash. This doesn’t mean you were at fault. The DMV doesn’t determine fault.

Police Accident Report vs. MV-104: What’s the Difference?

When discussing a collision with your attorney or an insurance representative, you may hear someone use the term “accident report.” It’s important to be clear on what that means, as they may be referring to two different documents:

• A police accident report is the record the responding law enforcement officer prepares that details facts about the crash, such as the accident date and time and the involved parties.
• Form MV-104 is the NY DMV accident report that NY Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 605 requires drivers to submit after a crash that causes injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage.

While these two forms may contain overlapping information, they are not identical. Filing an MV-104 doesn’t make a police crash report irrelevant, and obtaining the police report doesn’t relieve you of the responsibility to report a serious collision.

Requesting Your Accident Report from the NYPD

If you are involved in a car accident in Queens that police responded to, you can obtain a copy of the report from the precinct where the collision occurred within 30 days of the accident.

There are three ways to obtain the report:

• Download and complete two copies of the Request for Copy of Collision Record, and either:
  • mail them to the precinct with jurisdiction over the site of the accident, or
  • drop them off in person at the precinct.
• Request a collision report online using the Collision Report Retrieval Portal. It may take seven business days from the date of the accident for the report to be available here.

Collision Reports are held at the precinct for 30 days before being forwarded to the New York State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. After 30 days from the date of the accident, you’ll have to contact the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get a copy of the report.

Requesting Your Accident Report from the N.Y. Department of Motor Vehicles

Local police reports filed after car accidents causing a personal injury or $1,000 in damages go to N.Y. DMV about a month after the accident.

The DMV says to expect a report to enter their system at least 14 days after the accident if it happened in Queens or one of the other four boroughs of New York City. Paper police reports take at least 30 days to appear in the system. Meanwhile, a report filed by a motorist from anywhere in New York State takes at least 60 days after the accident to enter the system (assuming it is filed within the required 10 days).

In most cases, the DMV keeps accident reports filed by police or motorists for four years from the date of the accident.

You can obtain an accident report from the DMV by mail or online.

By mail, you must download and complete the Request for Copy of Accident Report (MV-198C) and provide the:

• date of the accident
•  county where the accident occurred

and at least one of the following:

• the license plate number of a vehicle involved in the accident
• the driver license number of a person who was involved in the accident
• name and date of birth of a person who was involved in the accident.

There is a cost payable by check of:

• $10 search fee, and
• $15 report fee for each report you order.

Mail the completed form and a check to:

NYSDMV
MV-198C Processing
6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12228

Online, you can search for, buy and immediately download certified accident reports. This requires a $7 search fee and $15 for each report, but first, you can search for free to determine whether the report is available.

Here is the online Get Motor Vehicle Accident Reports portal.

Conduct a free search by clicking on “List Reports on File by Date” to see a list of accidents on file by the county and date you enter. The list will include license plate numbers of vehicles involved in the accidents on file.

If your report is available, you must then conduct a paid search by clicking on “Search by Plate Number, License Number, or DMV Accident Case Number.” You will be charged the $7 fee regardless of the outcome of the search, including problems caused by entering incorrect information or if the report is not actually available.

Order the report you need by providing one of the following:

• the plate number of a vehicle involved in the accident
• the driver license number of a person who was involved in the accident
• the 8-digit DMV case number (starts with the number 3).

After you pay the $15 fee (per report), you will be able to download your reports in PDF format.

You will have seven calendar days to access the report you purchased. After seven days, you will need to pay again.

What Information Do You Need to Get an Accident Report?

Before you request an accident report, gather details that will help you identify the correct record. Some basic details to have on hand include:

• The accident date and location
• Names of the drivers involved
• Vehicle information
• The report number, if you have it

Starting with accurate information can help you avoid delays or mismatched records.

What If Your Accident Report Isn’t Available Yet?

Waiting for your accident report can be frustrating, but not having it yet shouldn’t stop you from taking other important steps after a car accident. Even without the report, your attorney can still investigate the crash and gather evidence to begin preparing your claim.

Why You Might Need a Car Accident Report

A car accident report provides the basic information about a collision: who, what, where, when, how it happened, and how much damage it caused. If you have an insurance claim against a policy or the other driver’s coverage, you and the insurance company will need this information.

If your claim is disputed, the information on a car accident report gives your lawyers a place to start to build a case for you.

Can a Car Accident Lawyer Get the Report for You?

Even if you know how to get an accident report in New York, you don’t necessarily need to do it on your own. If you’ve already retained a car accident attorney after a collision, obtaining the crash report is something they can handle. This can be extremely helpful if you’re feeling overwhelmed by medical appointments and financial worries.

Your car accident attorney has likely gone through this process numerous times – they’ll know what information they need, what steps to take, and how to handle any unexpected snags. Let them take care of it for you.

As your attorneys, The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C. can help you get the crash report if you don’t have it. But obtaining your New York car accident report is just one of the many things your auto collision attorney in Queens can manage while you focus on healing. We can also:

• Investigate the crash and gather evidence to build your car accident claim
• Prepare and file your claim with the appropriate insurance company
• Handle communications and negotiations with insurers and the other party’s attorney
• File a lawsuit if necessary to pursue full, fair compensation through the New York court system
• Keep you informed and up to date at every stage of the legal process

Working with an experienced attorney can make every aspect of your car accident injury claim easier for you. Our Queens injury attorneys will aggressively fight for just compensation so you can concentrate on doing what you need to do to move forward after a car accident.

Work with a Queens Car Accident Attorney to Recover Compensation

If you have been injured in a car accident in Queens, N.Y., contact a car accident lawyer at The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C. today. We are aggressive legal advocates ready to fight to maximize your compensation for your accident-related medical expenses, lost income, and other losses.

Our team offers over 120 years of combined legal experience and a track record of obtaining meaningful results for our clients, including a $1.3 million recovery for a truck accident victim.* We keep our caseload manageable so that we can provide each client with personalized and comprehensive legal support throughout the entire process. Here’s what one of our clients had to say about working with us:

“Excellent legal support from start to finish. The team was knowledgeable, responsive, and detail-oriented.” – Munavvara Saidjanova

Most importantly, we won’t charge a legal fee unless we win money for you. We’ll start by reviewing your accident, answering any questions, and discussing your legal options during a free consultation. Call now to get started.

*Each case is unique, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

About the Author

Boris Tadchiev
Boris Tadchiev is the founding partner at The Tadchiev Law Firm, P.C. He focuses his practice on advocating for the rights of individuals and families in personal injury cases involving motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death. He also represents healthcare providers in complex no-fault arbitration claims.