Tennessee owner/operator filings, police crash reports, and records requests

Determine whether an owner/operator report is required

The Department of Safety and Homeland Security's owner/operator reporting instructions, checked October 21, 2026, require a filing after a crash involving death or injury, property damage exceeding $1,500, or damage exceeding $400 to state or local government property. The published form describes the ordinary property-damage threshold in relation to any person involved. Evaluate the government-property threshold separately when a sign, barrier, or other public asset was damaged.

The owner or driver must submit the report, or have it submitted on their behalf, within 20 days after the crash. This duty applies regardless of fault and remains separate from the investigating officer's report. Police attendance, a claim number from an insurer, or a later purchase of a crash-report copy does not replace the required personal filing. Failure to submit can affect driving privileges, registrations, or a nonresident's authority to operate in Tennessee.

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Complete the filing with insurance information for the crash date

The Owner/Driver Report, SF-0395 requests the crash date and location, vehicle information, separate driver and owner details, injuries, property damage, and insurance. Use the policy that covered the vehicle when the crash occurred. Buying insurance afterward does not establish coverage for the earlier event, and the department forwards reported insurance details to the carrier for verification.

Distinguish the insurance company from the agency or representative that sold the policy; the form asks for both. Enter the policy number, coverage period, policyholder, and available information about the other driver. Complete the signature and date fields and preserve the submitted version. If the owner and driver are different people, coordinate the filing so their identities and insurance information are consistent across the report and claim documents.

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Submit online or by mail and retain the filing record

The department offers the filing through its Driver Services e-Services portal. Choose Submit an Owner Operator Report within Driver Services and complete the required fields. Keep any confirmation produced by the transaction, along with the information supplied. Starting an online form without completing its submission is not the same as filing the required report.

For mail, send the completed SF-0395 to Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, P.O. Box 945, Nashville, TN 37202. Plan for the 20-day deadline and retain a dated copy and mailing evidence. The department explains that this insurance-related filing does not generate a police crash report or a returned report copy. If you need the investigating officer's narrative, use the separate purchase procedure after the agency has submitted its report.

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Locate the investigating agency and the correct crash

The state's crash-report purchase instructions distinguish Tennessee Highway Patrol investigations from reports prepared by city police or a county sheriff. Record the agency name, crash date, county, involved drivers, and tracking or case number. If several agencies responded, determine which agency prepared the report that you need rather than selecting whichever name is most familiar.

Online searching requires the last name, accident date, reporting agency, driver license number, and an additional identifier such as the VIN, plate, or tracking number. Check for typographical errors and use the details associated with that particular crash. A repair estimate number or insurer's claim number is not necessarily the investigating agency's case number, and using the wrong identifier can produce no result even when the report exists.

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Compare online, district-office, and mail options

An online police crash report costs $10 under the current public instructions. The payment service accepts the listed major credit cards but does not accept prepaid cards. THP reports can also be purchased through the appropriate district office or by mail for the listed $4 charge. The public page provides district locations and the counties served, which helps identify the office responsible for the crash location.

The mail instructions require an accepted check or money order and the address where the copy should be sent. For a local police or sheriff investigation, the investigating agency may provide its own copy through its records process. An authorized-requester form can have different charges for other record categories, so use the fee specified for the route and document selected. Do not send the online price with an unrelated paper application merely because both concern the same crash.

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Understand access and representation requirements

The Purchase TN Crash eligibility page asks the requestor to identify their connection to the incident. Its categories include involved drivers or passengers, owners or people with an interest in affected property, and specified legal or insurance representatives. Select the category that describes your actual role and review the permitted-use statements before requesting personal information.

The department's Authorized Requester record form provides another documented route for permitted record requests. It requires the reason for access and a company or agency letter supporting the request. Identifying the correct person and authorized purpose matters even when the collision itself was publicly visible. A purchase does not confer unrestricted permission to redistribute personal details or use them for prohibited solicitation.

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Allow processing time and download promptly

The Purchase TN Crash help page explains that reports may be unavailable because the investigating agency has not completed submission or because the search criteria do not match the record. The public instructions generally indicate availability around seven days after the collision, while the help page recognizes that some investigations take longer. Contact the agency or the purchase service when an expected report cannot be located.

After buying through the online service, you have 48 hours to download the report. Save the file within that period and check that the crash date, location, vehicle, and participants are correct. For a wrong report, failed payment, or unresolved search, the service lists 1-866-468-4587 and purchase.tncrash@tn.gov. Request assistance with the existing transaction before making repeated purchases in an attempt to correct an identification problem.

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Request additional records from the proper custodian

A purchased police crash report should not be assumed to contain every recording, photograph, dispatch record, or investigative supplement. The department's open-records instructions explain its process for other existing records, including the proof of Tennessee citizenship required for the described public-records route. A municipal agency has its own custodian for records it created or retains.

The SF-1565 public-records request asks for a sufficiently detailed description, dates, subject matter, delivery preference, and contact information. It also addresses estimates for copy charges. Identify the particular material needed instead of assuming an agency must create a new report or answer an unlimited set of investigative questions. If a police report appears factually incorrect, contact the investigating agency about its correction procedure and keep your evidence separate from the official copy.

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Obtain financial-responsibility evidence when that is the real need

The Financial Responsibility Services page describes a $5 notarized affidavit stating whether a person involved in a specified crash filed an owner/operator report indicating liability insurance. The request needs the person's name and driver license number, crash date, and county. The department asks requestors to allow two weeks from mailing for the affidavit's return.

That service also describes an Accident Claim against an adverse party, with receipt required within two years and ten months of the crash. The supporting packet includes the full police crash report and the specified claimant, adverse-party, and damage information; a notarized damages affidavit is required in the stated threshold situations. This administrative claim process should not be confused with an insurance claim submission or treated as a substitute for separately applicable court deadlines.

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Respond separately to any notice affecting driving privileges

The department's financial-responsibility and reinstatement guidance describes a separate 20-day response period after a proposed adverse-claim action. Depending on the case, the response may involve proof of coverage in effect on the crash date, a qualifying release, a bond, or a timely hearing request. Read the actual notice and provide the evidence it requires instead of assuming that merely ordering the police report resolves the pending action.

A Tennessee driving record is another distinct document and does not replace the crash narrative. Likewise, the state's public crash statistics provide aggregate information for analysis. The TITAN system description explains the agency reporting repository and its access restrictions. Use the public report-purchase or data service appropriate to your purpose rather than treating an agency login as a public search route.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Tennessee police report eliminate my owner/operator filing duty?
The required personal report remains separate and must be submitted within 20 days for a qualifying crash. Police attendance and fault do not remove that obligation.

Does Tennessee use the same damage threshold for private and government property?
The ordinary reporting threshold is property damage above $1,500, while state or local government property has a separate threshold above $400. Injury or death also triggers the reporting requirement.

How much does a Tennessee police crash report cost online?
The current online price is $10, with prepaid cards excluded. The public THP district-office and mail route lists $4, and other record types or agency routes may have their own charges.

How long can I download a purchased Tennessee online crash report?
The purchase service allows 48 hours after the completed transaction. Save and inspect the report during that period, and contact the service if the wrong record was provided.

Will filing SF-0395 send me a copy of the police investigation?
The owner/operator filing places relevant insurance information on record and does not produce a police-report copy. Order the investigating agency's report through the appropriate purchase channel.

Is Tennessee's financial-responsibility affidavit the same as a crash report?
The affidavit addresses whether the identified person filed insurance information for the specified crash. It does not replace the officer's account, diagrams, or other details in the police report.

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More Tennessee DMV guides

The other Tennessee DMV guides, 52 of them:

The records side of the same subject, state by state on SearchSystems: what the Tennessee records law opens and Tennessee court records.

Police reports in the largest Tennessee counties, each with the local court and office that holds the file: Shelby, Davidson, Knox, Hamilton, Rutherford and Williamson.