SearchSystems Editorial

Reviewed and updated October 21, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every fact on this page was read that day from PennDOT's own Driver and Vehicle Services pages on pa.gov, and the official page each fact came from is linked where it appears.

About this guide

Pennsylvania has separate procedures for reporting a crash and obtaining a copy of a report. A driver may need to submit AA-600 to PennDOT when police do not investigate a reportable crash. Copies of police investigations come from the investigating agency, including a dedicated Pennsylvania State Police request system.

In this guide: Identify which crash document you need, Give required information and arrange assistance, Notify police immediately when the threshold is met, File AA-600 within five days when required, Complete the driver's report carefully, Request State Police reports from the State Police system, Establish eligibility and follow the approval emails, Use the posted PSP fee and mail instructions, Contact the local custodian for a municipal report, Request your driver's report through the separate PennDOT process, Treat photos, recordings and statistics as separate records, Frequently Asked Questions

Identify which crash document you need

PennDOT's motor-vehicle questions distinguish a driver's accident report from a police investigation. AA-600 is the driver's report submitted to PennDOT in the circumstances described by law. A police crash report is the investigating department's record. An insurance claim, a roadside information-exchange sheet and a police incident number are not interchangeable with either completed report.

Begin by identifying the crash date, location and investigating agency. If you are unsure whether an officer investigated the collision or simply assisted at the scene, ask that agency promptly. The answer affects the driver's filing duty and where a later copy request belongs. Waiting for an insurer to obtain a police report does not resolve an unfulfilled driver-report requirement.

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Give required information and arrange assistance

Under Section 3744 of the Vehicle Code, drivers involved in the covered crashes must provide identifying and vehicle-registration information and show licensing and financial-responsibility information when required. The law also requires reasonable assistance for injured people. Obtain emergency help when necessary and follow the responding officer's directions at the scene.

When it is safe, record the other vehicle's plate, driver and owner details, insurer, location and time. Note the investigating department and case number before leaving. Keep observations factual: distinguish what you saw from what another person told you. Preserve photographs and contact details for your records without interfering with emergency responders or standing in moving traffic to document damage.

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Notify police immediately when the threshold is met

The immediate-notice rule in Section 3746 applies when someone is injured or killed, or when damage prevents a vehicle from being driven normally under its own power without further damage or hazard and therefore requires towing. Notify the nearest authorized police department by the quickest means. A capable occupant has the stated duty when the driver is physically unable to make the notification.

Pennsylvania's rule is not based on estimating a particular repair-dollar threshold at the roadside. A collision can trigger the duty because of injury or disabling damage before a repair shop has prepared any estimate. If a vehicle is towed, record why it could not be driven and the towing company's information. Do not confuse a later voluntary tow for convenience with the statutory description of disabling crash damage.

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File AA-600 within five days when required

Under Section 3747, when police do not investigate a crash that is required to be investigated under Section 3746, an involved driver must forward the written report to PennDOT within five days. The law also addresses physical incapacity and the vehicle owner's duty when the incapacitated driver is not the owner. Do not use the separate police-copy waiting period as the filing deadline.

Download the current AA-600 Driver's Accident Report. The posted form is revised July 2026 and specifically identifies its official download location. It directs submission to PennDOT's Bureau of Operations, P.O. Box 2047, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2047. Keep a copy and evidence of submission. PennDOT may require supplemental information if the original report is insufficient.

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Complete the driver's report carefully

AA-600 asks for the crash time and location, vehicles and owners, driver details, insurance, people involved, injuries and circumstances. Use the additional forms or continuation information the instructions require if more vehicles or pedestrians are involved. Include a clear narrative and diagram consistent with the location and vehicle movements. An incomplete field should be resolved from available records rather than filled with a guessed name, number or injury classification.

PennDOT uses the report for its crash-record and prevention functions; it does not conduct the police investigation. Section 3747 provides confidentiality and restrictions on using the driver's report as evidence, with statutory exceptions. Those protections do not excuse an inaccurate submission or replace other reporting duties. Keep the factual record complete even if an insurance claim or dispute about responsibility is still unresolved.

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Request State Police reports from the State Police system

The State Police crash-report service covers incidents investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police. It is not a statewide copy service for every municipal police investigation. Use the official request portal for a qualifying PSP report. The portal asks users to allow at least 15 days after the incident before searching.

Search with a CAD or case number, or with the required last name and incident date. A case number is usually the most direct identifier when one has been provided. If no result appears, verify the agency, date and spelling before concluding that no report exists. The minimum waiting period is not a guarantee that every investigation is complete on day 15, especially when additional investigation or a supplemental report is needed.

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Establish eligibility and follow the approval emails

The access provisions in Section 3751 identify authorized requesters, including a person involved, their attorney or insurer and specified government recipients. Complete the PSP request form with your actual involvement and reason. Finding a report in a search does not mean that every member of the public is entitled to purchase its contents.

PSP says an online request is approved or denied within seven business days after receipt. The confirmation email and approval email serve different purposes. After approval, follow the payment link supplied by PSP; the report is delivered in a separate email after the payment step. Check the address entered in the application and retain the confirmation details. A submitted request or payment receipt is not the report itself.

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Use the posted PSP fee and mail instructions

PSP's current service page and SP 7-0015 request form list a $22 report fee. For a mailed request, the service page specifies a money order or certified check payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, sent with the completed application to PSP Crash Reports Unit, 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110. The form also says not to apply before 15 days have elapsed.

The Vehicle Code's general copy provisions show different fee limits for local departments and a city of the first class, while PSP publishes its own $22 request charge. Use the fee and payment instructions for the agency actually supplying the report. Do not send PSP's payment to PennDOT with AA-600 or assume that the same amount and payment method apply to a local department.

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Contact the local custodian for a municipal report

If a city, borough or township police department investigated, request its report through that department's designated records process. Philadelphia, for example, uses the Department of Records' public safety report service, which supports online crash-report applications and provides mail and in-person instructions. Its posted processing estimate for a crash report is 2-3 weeks, separate from PSP's timeline.

Identify the report type carefully. A crash report and a general police incident report can use different applications and processing times even within the same city. Follow the local service's eligibility, identification, fee and payment instructions. If two agencies attended, ask which one prepared the crash investigation; the presence of a state trooper at the location does not by itself establish that PSP is the report's custodian.

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Request your driver's report through the separate PennDOT process

PennDOT's M-600 request authorizes release of the driver's own AA-600 report to the driver's legal representative. It asks for the county and crash date, the representative's information and the reporting person's signature. This is a targeted release form, not a request for a certified police investigation from PSP.

Use the correct form when a representative asks you to obtain a copy. A police report may contain an officer's investigation, while AA-600 records the driver's submission. Keep those sources identified in your files so statements from one are not mistakenly attributed to the other. If you discover an error in the police report, contact the investigating agency about its correction or supplemental-report procedure rather than editing the purchased copy.

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Treat photos, recordings and statistics as separate records

SP 7-0015 states that the supplied police crash form excludes appended documents and photographs. PSP's records-request page provides a separate audio-visual request route. If photographs, recordings or another specific item are needed, identify them and follow the custodian's procedure instead of assuming the ordinary crash-report purchase includes the complete investigative file.

PennDOT's Pennsylvania Crash Information Tool serves a different purpose: public crash statistics and analysis. It can help examine crash patterns but is not a substitute for obtaining the report for your own collision. Keep personal records, agency reports and aggregate statistics separate when answering an insurer or preparing documents for a representative.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When do I have to send AA-600 to PennDOT?
When police do not investigate a crash that meets the reportable conditions, the involved driver's written report is generally due within five days. The statute has specific incapacity provisions.

Is Pennsylvania's reporting threshold a particular repair-dollar amount?
The immediate-notice rule uses injury, death or the specified disabling damage requiring towing. Do not wait for a dollar estimate when one of those conditions exists.

Can I buy a local police crash report through the PSP portal?
The PSP service covers State Police investigations. Contact the municipality's designated records custodian for a local police investigation.

How soon can I search for a PSP report?
PSP asks applicants to wait at least 15 days after the incident. Availability can take longer, and the online request then has a separate approval and payment process.

How much does a PSP crash report cost?
The current PSP service page and request form list $22. Local police reports use the applicable local process, fee and payment instructions.

Does the purchased PSP report include all photos and recordings?
No. The standard form request excludes appended documents and photographs. Use the appropriate separate request process for additional records or audio-visual material.

About this page

Written by SearchSystems.net from the PennDOT pages linked in each section, on pa.gov and legis.state.pa.us, phila.gov, crashinfo.penndot.pa.gov, read on October 21, 2026.

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