Nashville police crash report: how to get your copy

Where Nashville crash reports are sold

The Metro Nashville Police Department does not sell crash reports on its own website. Its page Get Crash Report Online says that police reports for vehicle crashes in Nashville "can now be obtained online via the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security at PurchaseTNCrash.gov." That is the state service described on the Tennessee page.

MNPD's Central Records Division, in Madison, is the department's own counter. It charges for reports by the page and takes requests in person and by mail.

A state trooper may have worked the crash instead of MNPD. In that case the patrol's district office in Nashville is another place to ask. See the Highway Patrol page.

Getting the report online

MNPD gives three facts about the online route, all in its own words.

• Reports "can be accessed online via search by entering the date of the crash."
• A person using the service "must certify that they were involved in the crash, have interest in property involved in the crash, or are a legal or insurance representative of a party involved in the crash."
• Self reported crashes submitted to MNPD's minor crash portal "are not found" on the state service.

The state service itself, Purchase TN Crash, charges $10.00 per report, paid by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. A prepaid card cannot be used. New users have to sign up first, and the state notes that the search results do not display your address. The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security describes what it sells as an official copy of your crash report.

1. Open MNPD's Get Crash Report Online pageFollow its Order Crash Report link to the state service.
2. Sign up or log inNew users subscribe to the service before searching.
3. Search for the crashThe state lists what an online purchase requires: last name, date of the accident, reporting agency and driver's license number, plus one of the VIN, the license plate, or the case or tracking number.
4. Certify your connection to the crashInvolved, an interest in property involved, or a legal or insurance representative.
5. Pay $10.00 by credit cardThen save the report.

MNPD Central Records

Note the address. Central Records is in Madison, not at Police Headquarters, which is at 600 Murfreesboro Pk, Nashville, TN 37210. People who go to headquarters for a report are in the wrong building.

MNPD's fee page lists the reports Central Records releases, all charged by the page: Full Accident, Minor Accident, CAD Report and Incident Report. The two accident types are worth knowing. If you were given a minor accident report, it can help to name that type when you ask.

What Central Records asks for

MNPD's Central Records page says crash reports "can be purchased by mail request, at the records counter (refer to fee schedule), or online." For the counter and the mail, it sets these rules:

• Photo ID: "A Photo ID is required for all records requests."
• Consent forms: the page publishes three forms to release an accident report, one for an individual, one for a third party and one for an attorney certification.
• By mail: complete the MNPD Public Records Policy and Request Form and send your state issued photo ID with it.
• No fax: "We do not accept or send requests by fax."

Above the forms, the page notes that as of July 1, 2019, the Tennessee Legislature amended the definition of personally identifying information of any person named in a motor vehicle accident report, in Tennessee Code Annotated 10-7-504(a)(31).

Body worn camera and in car camera footage is requested separately, through MNPD's Open Records Request form, and is processed by the department's Information Technology Division.

What Central Records charges

MNPD prices reports under the Mayor's Executive Order Number 35, which sets a per page charge for all reports.

For a single crash report, the page charge is small, and the labor fee only begins after an hour of work. The state's online copy at $10.00 costs more but needs no trip to Madison.

Paying by mail

MNPD accepts a U.S. personal or cashier's check, or a money order, by mail. It asks you not to send cash.

Online or at the counter?

If the Highway Patrol worked the crash

Davidson County is in the Tennessee Highway Patrol's District 3. A crash a trooper worked is a Highway Patrol report, and MNPD will not have it. The state gives three ways to buy one.

The Nashville Highway Patrol Office's phone number is (615) 741-3181. Its district covers Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties. By mail, send a cashier's check, money order, or personal or business check for $4.00 with the address the report should go to.

When you ask the Highway Patrol for a report, the state says to give the date of the crash, the county where it happened, the names of the drivers involved and the agency tracking number. More on the patrol's process is on the Highway Patrol page.

When it goes wrong

The online search finds nothing

Check the date first, since the search is built around it. If you reported a minor crash yourself through MNPD's online portal, it will not be on the state service at all. Call Central Records at 615-862-7631.

A trooper came, not MNPD

Then the report is the Highway Patrol's. Its Nashville office at 1603 Murfreesboro Rd. covers Davidson County, and the state's online service sells its reports too. See the section above.

You went to headquarters

Central Records is at 811 Anderson Ln in Madison. Headquarters at 600 Murfreesboro Pk is a different building.

You need more than the report

Central Records also produces CAD reports and incident reports at the same per page rates. Larger requests made in person, by mail or by email can carry a labor fee after the first hour.

Questions about Nashville police crash reports