How to Get a Copy of your Washington State Collision Report

There are many reasons why you might wish to order a copy of your Washington State collision report. Most important, you’ll want to have a copy if you are filing a claim because you were injured in a car accident and a Washington State patrol officer responded. An officer’s objective, third-party analysis could be valuable evidence of what happened and who may be at fault.

Thankfully, it’s a pretty easy process to request your report. There are three ways you can request your report:

Online
By Mail
In Person

We’ll discuss each of these three ways in this post.

How to Request your Collision Report Online

We think that the simplest method to request your report is by doing so online, through the Washington Requests for Electronic Collision Reports (“WRECR”).

Here’s what to do:

Go to the WRECR report search page.
Search for your collision by name and date range or collision number.
Locate the collision report you’d like and pay the $10.50 fee.

You will then be able to download your report. Please note that it can take several days after a collision for the report to appear in the database.

How to Request your Collision Report by Mail

You can also request your collision report by mail.

Here’s what to do:

Fill out the Request for Copy of Collision Report (PDF).
Send it to: WSP, Collision Records Section, PO Bos 42628, Olympia, WA 98504-2628.
Enclose a check or money order in the amount of $10.50, payable to Washington State Patrol. (Do not send cash.)

As with the online report, please be aware that it can take up to 2-4 weeks for a report to be made available after a collision.

How to Request your Collision Report in Person

Finally, you can visit the Collision Records Section office during normal business hours and request a copy of your report in person, at a kiosk. If you have questions, staff will be able to help you.

The office is located at:

Collision Records Section
Edna Lucile Goodrich Building
7345 Linderson Way SW, first floor
Tumwater, WA 98501

They are open Monday thru Friday, 7am – 4pm. The office is closed on all legal holidays.

How to Contact the Collision Records Office

If you have a general question, you can reach the collision records office by phone at (360) 570-2355 or email at collisionrecords@wsp.wa.gov. However, understand that they cannot answer questions about your specific collision over the phone. For that, you will need to request a report in one of the three methods described above.

Why Can’t I Find my Washington State Collision Report?

If you’re searching the database for your Washington State Collision Report and can’t find it, there are two likely reasons:

You’re searching too soon. Remember, it can take as long as 2-4 weeks for your collision report to appear in the database. Give it a few more days and try again.
A Washington State Patrol officer did not respond to your collision. If the collision was minor, an officer may not have come to the scene. In this case, there wouldn’t be a report.

If it turns out that an officer did not complete a collision report, you might need to file one yourself. By law, if anyone involved in your collision was injured and/or there was property damage over $1,000, someone will need to file a report (see RCW 46.52.030 “Accident Reports”). You can file a report through the WSP website. (We recommend you do this on desktop as the process doesn’t work with all smartphones.)

What Information is on my Collision Report?

Your Washington State collision report contains valuable information about what happened. Possible details include:

Name of the drivers involved
Time and location of collision
Road conditions
Weather conditions
Type of collision
If serious or minor injuries are suspected
If citations were issued
BAC information (if this was a DUI situation)

The report can offer important clues as to who may be at fault for the crash. Identifying who’s at fault is a key step in identifying who’s financially responsible.

What Other Steps Should You Take after a Car Accident?

After a car accident, you may wonder what steps to take, and in what order. As accident attorneys, here’s what we advise:

Seek medical care. Your health always comes first. Go to the emergency room if you have life-threatening injuries. Otherwise, make it a priority to get evaluated as soon as possible by your doctor or at urgent care after an accident. Often, you may not realize the extent of your injuries until a few days afterwards.
Gather evidence. If you or a passenger is able, take as many pictures as possible at the scene of the accident. (Here are the photos we suggest you take.) Get witness names and contact information.
Notify your insurance company. Open a claim with the insurance company.
Use care in what you post on social media. While the tendency is to post about your accident on social media, we advise that you refrain from doing so. (Read our post on social media and your accident claim for the details.)

Finally, if you’ve been injured in a car accident due to no fault of your own, please give one of our attorneys a call. We may be able to help you file a claim and ensure you get the settlement you deserve.

How a Personal Injury Attorney Could Help

Often, clients reach out to us only after they’ve run into frustrations with the claims process. These frustrations could range from gathering their collision report to incessant calls from insurance agents. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out to a car accident lawyer as soon as possible!

Here are some of the ways we can help:

Gather key evidence (including your collision report)
Interview witnesses
Communicate with the insurance company (or companies)
Provide you with ideas for resources
Negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf
If necessary, file a lawsuit and take your case to court

Also, it’s free to speak with us about what happened. During this initial review, you can tell you if we think we can help. In fact, we only charge a fee if we’re able to win your case. There’s no risk or obligation, so give us a call.

We look forward to helping you.