How to Get Your Crash Report in Pennsylvania

Last updated October 5, 2026.

The police crash report is usually the first document an injury claim needs. It names the drivers and owners, lists each vehicle's insurance company and policy number, records the officer's view of the scene and often lists witnesses. Insurers ask for it, and you need it to know whose coverage is in play. This page explains which crashes get a report, who may obtain it, how to request one from each department around Ellwood City and New Castle, and what the report can and cannot be used for. The wider steps after a crash are in what to do after a car accident in Pennsylvania. The claim itself is covered on the main personal injury page.

How does a crash report get made and released, step by step?

The crash is reported. A driver must immediately notify the nearest police department if anyone is injured or killed, or if a vehicle cannot be driven and must be towed (75 Pa.C.S. 3746(a)). If the driver cannot, an able passenger must do it (3746(b)).
An officer investigates. Every crash reported under section 3746 "shall be investigated by a police officer who shall provide each driver a signed statement that the accident was reported" (3746(c)). Keep that statement; it usually carries the incident number.
The department files its report with PennDOT. Within 15 days of the crash, the department forwards an initial written report to PennDOT, with a supplemental report later if the first is incomplete (3751(a)).
You request a copy. The department "shall, upon request, furnish a certified copy of the full report" to any person involved, their attorney or their insurer, among others (3751(b)(1)).
You pay the fee. The statute caps the charge at $15, or $25 in a city of the first class (3751(b)(2), (3)). The State Police list $22 for their reports on their request page and form.
If no officer came. When a crash that had to be reported was not investigated, each driver must send PennDOT a written report within five days (3747(a)), on the Driver's Accident Report, form AA-600.

Where do I ask around Ellwood City and New Castle?

The right office depends on which department responded. The officer's signed statement or business card tells you. The borough's courts and offices are also described on the page for Ellwood City cases.

Where to request a crash report for a local crash (sources listed below)
Department that investigated	How to ask	What the department lists
Pennsylvania State Police	Online through the State Police crash report site, or by mailing form SP 7-0015 to the Crash Reports Unit, 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110	$22 by money order or certified check payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; available 15 days after the crash. Lawrence County's station is PSP New Castle, 3539 Wilmington Road, 724-598-2211
Ellwood City Police Department	Contact the department's administrative offices	Administrative offices (724) 758-9935, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; non-emergency dispatch (724) 758-7564, 24 hours
New Castle Police Department	Contact the department's records office	Records (724) 656-3577; the department is at 303 E. North Street, New Castle
No officer investigated	File your own Driver's Accident Report (AA-600) within five days	Mailed to PennDOT, Bureau of Operations, P.O. Box 2047, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2047

Township and borough departments elsewhere in Lawrence County follow the same statute; call the department's non-emergency line and ask for its records office. The courts and offices around the county are described on the Lawrence County courts page.

Who is allowed to get the report?

Section 3751(b)(1) lists who must be given a certified copy on request: any person involved in the accident, that person's attorney or insurer, the federal government, branches of the military, Commonwealth agencies, officials of political subdivisions, and agencies of other states and nations. The State Police page puts it simply: any person involved, their attorney or insurer, and government agencies involved.

The State Police form adds two details worth knowing. The certified copy excludes appended documents and photographs, and the report "may be viewed or photographed (with personal equipment)" by a person involved, not a witness, their attorney, insurer and certain officials, but only at the investigating station. The form also offers delivery by email as a PDF for crashes from 2004 on.

What does the report do for my claim, and what can't it do?

It identifies the coverage. The other driver's insurer and policy number tell you whether the next step is a liability claim or an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim.
It documents a hit-and-run. An unidentified vehicle counts as "uninsured" only if the accident was reported to the police or proper authority (75 Pa.C.S. 1702).
It supports your first-party claim. Your own insurer pays medical bills regardless of fault, as explained in who pays medical bills after a crash, but it will still want to confirm the crash happened.
It is not trial evidence. "The copy of the report shall not be admissible as evidence in any action for damages or criminal proceedings arising out of a motor vehicle accident" (3751(b)(4)). The witnesses and facts in it can be used; the report itself, as a document, cannot.
A driver's own AA-600 is confidential. Reports drivers send to PennDOT under section 3747 are for government use, are not evidence at trial, and PennDOT discloses only identity and insurance information in the cases the statute lists (3747(e), (f)).

What changes the answer?

Criminal charges. A department may refuse to release the complete report while criminal charges are pending against anyone involved, unless the criminal rules require production (3751(b)(5)). In a DUI crash, that can delay the copy; how those cases move is explained in what happens after a DUI arrest in Lawrence County.
Timing. The department has 15 days to send its initial report to PennDOT (3751(a)), and the State Police tell requesters not to apply until 15 days after the crash.
No injury and no tow. If nobody was hurt and every car could be driven away, section 3746 did not require a police report, and there may be none. The drivers still had to exchange names, addresses, registration and, on request, license and insurance information (3744(a)).
A road defect. If a pothole or another road condition caused the crash, the report and its photos help, but the claim against the government has its own six-month notice rule, covered in claims for a crash caused by a pothole.
Philadelphia. The higher $25 cap applies only in a city of the first class (3751(b)(3)).

A worked example

For example, picture a hypothetical driver, not a real case, whose car is struck on a state route outside Ellwood City on a Friday evening. A State Police trooper from the New Castle station responds, and the driver is taken to the hospital. The trooper hands her a signed statement that the crash was reported (3746(c)).

On Monday her insurer asks for the report. She waits until 15 days after the crash, as the State Police instruct, then requests it online and pays $22. The certified copy names the other driver's insurer. Meanwhile she gives her own insurer the incident number so her first-party medical claim can move.

Suppose instead the other driver had been charged with DUI. The State Police could withhold the full report while the charges are pending (3751(b)(5)). She would still have the trooper's statement, the other driver's information exchanged at the scene (3744(a)), and her own photos. And if a crash that had to be reported was never investigated, the AA-600 to PennDOT would have been due from each driver within five days (3747(a)).

Common mistakes with crash reports

Leaving the scene without the incident number. The signed statement under 3746(c) is the easiest way to find the report later.
Asking the wrong department. State Police reports come from the State Police, not the borough, and the other way around.
Requesting too early. Reports are not available until 15 days after the crash at the State Police.
Assuming the report decides fault. It is an officer's account and is not admissible as evidence in a damages case (3751(b)(4)).
Not filing an AA-600 when one was required. If a reportable crash was not investigated, the driver's report is due within five days (3747(a)).
Not checking the report for errors. Wrong plate numbers or insurers can send a claim to the wrong company. Read every line.

What to do this week

Find the officer's signed statement or card and note the department and incident number.
If it is a State Police crash, wait 15 days from the crash date, then request the report online or mail form SP 7-0015 with $22.
If it is a borough or city department, call its records or administrative office and ask how to request a certified copy.
If no officer investigated and someone was hurt or a car was towed, send PennDOT an AA-600 within five days of the crash.
Give the incident number to your own insurer for the first-party claim.
When the report arrives, check names, plates, insurers and the diagram against what you remember.
Keep your own photos and witness names; they matter more than the report at trial.

Frequently asked questions

Can a witness get the crash report?

Not under the statute's list, which covers people involved, their lawyers and insurers, and government bodies (3751(b)(1)). The State Police form says viewing at the station is for people involved, "not witnesses."

Is the crash report public?

Release is controlled by section 3751(b), which names who receives copies. A driver's own AA-600 report to PennDOT is confidential (3747(e)).

Why does the State Police charge $22 when the statute says $15?

Section 3751(b)(2) caps what police departments may charge at $15 outside Philadelphia. The State Police request page and form both list $22 for a State Police report. The figure on this page comes from the State Police's own page.

Does the report include photographs?

The State Police certified copy excludes appended documents and photographs, according to its form. A person involved, their lawyer or insurer may view and photograph the report at the investigating station.

The report says the crash was my fault. Is my claim over?

No. Your first-party medical benefits pay regardless of fault, and the report is not admissible in a damages action (3751(b)(4)). Fault is decided on the evidence, and Pennsylvania's comparative negligence rule is explained on the personal injury page.

How long do I have to act after a crash?

Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (42 Pa.C.S. 5524(2)). A claim against a government unit needs written notice within six months (42 Pa.C.S. 5522(a)).

If you were hurt in a crash in Ellwood City, New Castle or anywhere in Western Pennsylvania and the paperwork has stalled, I can request the records and keep the claim moving. You work directly with me, and the first consultation is always free and confidential.

How do I get a copy of my crash report in Pennsylvania?