Guide to Getting Your Austin, Texas Crash Report

October 19, 2026 by Adam Loewy

An Austin, Texas crash report is the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, known as Form CR-3, which the investigating officer has to submit to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) by the 10th day after a crash that injured or killed someone or caused at least $1,000 in apparent property damage. You can buy a copy online through TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System, and the City of Austin sells Austin Police Department crash reports online through LexisNexis.

Your crash report lists every driver, every vehicle, and each driver’s insurance company, and it records the officer’s opinion of what caused the crash. The other driver’s insurance company can get your report too, so reading your own copy tells you what the adjuster on your claim is working from and gives you a chance to ask the officer to correct anything the report gets wrong.

Which Agency Wrote Your Crash Report

The agency that sent an officer to your crash is the agency that wrote your report. Austin Police Department officers generally investigate crashes inside Austin city limits, and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office or another agency can investigate a crash outside city limits. Parts of the Austin area fall inside other cities and counties, so the agency is not always obvious from the address of the crash.

Texas law enforcement agencies submit their officers’ crash reports to TxDOT, so a TxDOT search can find your report whichever agency wrote it. You can search faster with a few details from the crash on hand.

  • The first and last name of a driver, passenger, or pedestrian in the crash
  • The driver’s license number of one of the drivers
  • The date of the crash and the county and city where it happened
  • The case number the officer gave you, which TxDOT calls the Agency Case ID
  • The license plate number of a vehicle in the crash

Buying a Copy of Your Crash Report

TxDOT sells copies of the crash reports Texas officers submit, and the agency that wrote yours may sell copies too. Austin police reports and Travis County Sheriff’s Office reports each have their own options in addition to TxDOT’s system.

TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System

TxDOT’s online system is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and it holds crash reports from Austin police, Travis County deputies, state troopers, and other Texas agencies for the past 10 calendar years plus the current year.

  1. Open the search. Go to the Crash Report Online Purchase System, select the option to search for your crash report, and accept the disclaimer.
  2. Search by name or license number. Enter the first and last name of someone in the crash, or a driver’s license or ID card number, and add the county, city, and crash date if the name brings back more than one report.
  3. Pick the report type. Choose a certified copy, which comes with a signed TxDOT certification and seal for a lawsuit or other official use, or an uncertified copy for your own records.
  4. Certify your interest for the full report. Pick the non-redacted version and complete the certification that states how you are connected to the crash.
  5. Pay and download. TxDOT emails a receipt, and a non-redacted report paid for by credit card is ready to download right away.

The CRIS help desk answers calls at (844) CRIS-HLP from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time, seven days a week, if your search comes back empty or the payment page gives you trouble.

Austin Police Department Reports on LexisNexis

The City of Austin points anyone looking for an APD crash report to LexisNexis BuyCrash, which offers its search in English and Spanish. You can buy an APD report through LexisNexis or TxDOT’s system, whichever you find easier.

Travis County Sheriff’s Office Reports

Crash reports written by Travis County sheriff’s deputies are available through TxDOT’s online system. You can call the sheriff’s office Central Records unit at (512) 854-9749 to ask whether your report is ready or how to request a copy by mail or in person.

Who Can Get the Full Crash Report

Texas law makes crash reports confidential and allows release of the full, unredacted report only to someone directly concerned in the crash or having a proper interest in it. The Texas Transportation Code spells out who qualifies.

  • Drivers, passengers, and anyone else in the crash, along with their authorized representatives, which is where your lawyer fits
  • The employer, parent, or guardian of a driver in the crash
  • The owner of a vehicle or other property damaged in the crash
  • A policyholder or anyone else who has established financial responsibility for a vehicle in the crash
  • Insurance companies that issued a policy covering a vehicle or anyone in the crash, and companies under contract to provide claims or underwriting services for them
  • Anyone who may sue because of a death resulting from the crash
  • Licensed radio and television stations and qualifying newspapers
  • The storage facility that kept a vehicle from the crash
  • Federal, state, and local government agencies

Requesters outside those groups receive a redacted copy, which hides phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, and other personal details. TxDOT releases a redacted report within 10 business days of purchase.

Crash Report Processing Time

The officer has until the 10th day after the crash to submit the report electronically, and TxDOT processes it after that. TxDOT says a crash report can take up to 14 days from the crash date to appear in its search results. If more than two weeks have passed and your report still does not appear, TxDOT recommends contacting the investigating agency directly.

An officer can investigate a crash afterward by interviewing the drivers or witnesses, and the 10-day deadline applies to that investigation as well.

Codes and Sections on the CR-3

The CR-3 uses number and letter codes in place of words for most of its boxes. TxDOT gives you a link to the matching CR-3 Code Sheet on the download page, and the code sheet translates each numbered field. Your copy of the CR-3 records each part of the crash in its own section.

  • Injury severity for each driver, passenger, or pedestrian, coded K for killed, A for suspected serious injury, B for suspected minor injury, C for possible injury, and N for not injured
  • Vehicle damage codes that record where each vehicle was hit and how badly
  • Contributing factors, where the officer marks what contributed or may have contributed to the crash for each driver
  • Vehicle defects the officer noticed
  • Weather, lighting, and road conditions at the time of the crash
  • The investigator’s narrative, which describes in the officer’s words what happened
  • The field diagram, which the form labels as not drawn to scale

The injury codes record the officer’s assessment when the report was written. A concussion or back injury a doctor diagnoses days later may not appear on the report. Your medical records document your diagnosis and treatment from the first visit on.

The Officer’s Opinion on Fault

The CR-3 labels the contributing factors section and the narrative as the investigator’s opinion. Insurance adjusters generally read the officer’s opinion alongside photos, witness statements, vehicle damage, and medical records, and Loewy Law Firm can present evidence that contradicts the officer’s view during settlement negotiations.

If the case goes to trial, Section 33.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code gives the jury or judge the job of assigning each party a percentage of responsibility for the crash. Texas law reduces your compensation by your percentage of fault and bars any recovery when your share is more than 50 percent.

Errors in Your Crash Report

Section 550.068 of the Texas Transportation Code allows only the officer who wrote a crash report to change a material fact in it. A change by anyone other than that officer has to come through a written supplement that names who made it, so a correction starts with the investigating officer or that officer’s agency.

  1. Read every page. Compare the names, insurance information, vehicle details, location, and narrative against your photos, your insurance card, and what you remember.
  2. Gather proof of the error. Collect photos, dash camera video, a repair estimate that marks the point of impact, or the contact information of a witness who saw the crash.
  3. Contact the investigating agency. Give the agency case number and the officer’s name from the report, and ask how the officer can review a correction.
  4. Ask for a supplement. Request that the officer add a written supplement to the report that corrects the error, and keep a copy of everything you send.

An officer who reviews your evidence may correct a factual error and still keep the original opinion on what caused the crash. You or your lawyer can send the photos, video, and witness statements you gathered to the insurance adjuster along with your claim.

If No Officer Wrote a Crash Report

An officer has to write a CR-3 only after investigating a crash that injured or killed someone or caused at least $1,000 in apparent property damage. The City of Austin tells drivers to call 911 after a crash, and an officer comes out when one is available to determine whether to investigate. If no officer investigates, the city tells drivers to exchange names, addresses, registration, insurance, and driver’s license information with the other driver.

Without a crash report, keep your photos of the vehicles and the scene, the other driver’s information, and the names and phone numbers of any witnesses with your own records. Give copies to the insurance adjuster on your claim when you report the crash.

Photos, Video, and Other Records Outside the Crash Report

TxDOT says it keeps only the crash report itself, and that dash camera video, field notes, and photographs an officer took at the scene stay with the investigating agency. A request for those records goes to the agency’s open records office. The Austin Police Department takes open records requests online, and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office takes open records requests for its own deputies’ records.

Get Help From Loewy Law Firm After an Austin Crash Injury

If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a car accident in Austin, Loewy Law Firm can investigate the crash and pursue compensation from the driver who caused it. When we take on a case, the crash report is one of the first records our team gathers. Our car accident lawyers can request the scene photos and video an agency holds, find witnesses the report does not list, and send preservation letters for 911 recordings and vehicle data while you focus on your recovery.

Loewy Law Firm has recovered millions for clients, and our team can answer your questions about your injuries and the insurance claim that follows the crash. We offer a free consultation. Call (512) 280-0800 or contact us online to talk with our team about your case.

References and Additional Reading

The content on this website is for general informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. Laws change, and case outcomes depend on specific facts. Viewing this material does not establish an attorney-client relationship. For legal guidance on your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney.

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