How to Get a CHP Collision Report in California

Start with the agency that investigated

Look at the officer's information card, report receipt, or correspondence for the agency name and incident number. A crash near Los Angeles, Glendale, or a freeway entrance does not identify the records holder by itself. Use the responding agency's information rather than guessing from a nearby city name.

CHP explains that it supplies reports for collisions it investigated, not another police department's reports. If the agency is unclear, ask a local police department or CHP office to help identify it. For an LAPD investigation, use our Los Angeles report guide.

If no report was taken, ask the responsible agency how to report the incident. A request to purchase an existing report cannot create one.

Choose the current online, mail, or office route

The current CHP request page offers its online Crash Portal and a CHP 190 application submitted by mail or in person to a nearby CHP Area office. Start from that official page to reach the portal and current form.

The portal registration page requires an account. Follow its instructions for your own request or representative role. For a paper request, confirm the receiving office's address and instructions before sending identification or payment.

Keep the confirmation number or a copy of your completed application. Record the submission date and route so a later status inquiry can refer to one identifiable request.

Explain your right to receive the report

Collision reports contain personal information. Vehicle Code section 20012 provides access for people with a proper interest, including involved drivers, injured people, owners of damaged vehicles or property, and qualifying representatives. Being curious about a collision does not establish eligibility.

If you are requesting for someone else, clarify your relationship and authority before submitting. A parent, guardian, attorney, insurer, or other representative may need different supporting information. Ask CHP which category and documentation fit your situation rather than selecting a category merely to move the application forward.

Prepare CHP 190, signature, and identification

The CHP 190 form asks for the incident date and location, driver or owner information, report number if available, applicant details, and one party-of-interest category. It includes a signed declaration under penalty of perjury. Complete the applicable representative or insurance fields when relevant.

For the location, organize what you actually know: road name, direction of travel, cross street or exit, and an approximate time. Mark uncertainty rather than inventing a precise detail. Make sure the mailing address is where you can receive the response.

CHP's published paper-request instructions call for a photocopy of a driver's license or picture identification; they specify notarization of CHP 190 when neither is available. Confirm the current requirements with the receiving office if identification or notarization is a problem. These paper instructions should not be assumed to describe the portal's verification process.

Check fees and availability before relying on a date

CHP's current request page directs applicants to the receiving Area office for the exact fee. Confirm the amount and accepted payment method for your request route instead of relying on an older fee table.

The portal says reports are typically available within eight business days of the crash. That is an estimate, not a guarantee that a particular report is complete or releasable. Ask the office about your report's status if it is unavailable.

Keep insurance notices and other required reporting moving while you wait. Obtaining the report is one task within the claim, not a prerequisite for every other task.

Make a useful status inquiry

Before contacting CHP again, put the request date, collision date, report number, applicant name, and submission confirmation together. Ask whether the request was received and whether the office needs additional information, payment, or proof of eligibility.

• If no match was found, check the agency, date, spelling, and location you supplied.
• If the report is pending, ask how and when to check again.
• If access was not approved, ask what eligibility issue needs to be addressed.
• If you changed addresses, ask how to update the pending request.

Note the answer and next step. Repeated applications with different details can make your own records harder to reconcile.

Review the report alongside your own evidence

Save an unchanged copy when it arrives. Check names, vehicles, collision location, listed witnesses, diagrams, and the narrative against your records. Identify a specific discrepancy by page and explain the evidence supporting your concern. Ask the investigating office how it handles corrections or supplemental information; do not edit the official copy yourself.

A report should be read alongside photographs, witness information, treatment records, and other evidence. Ask separately about photographs or recordings you need instead of assuming every item comes with the report.

Use the accident document organizer to keep requests and responses together. Follow the camera evidence guide promptly if footage may exist, without waiting for the report.