The crash report is the starting point for nearly every insurance claim. Here’s how to get yours, depending on which agency responded. If you’re not sure, check the card or slip the officer handed you, which normally names the agency and gives a case number.
Step 1. Match the crash to the agency
| Where the crash happened | Usually handled by |
|---|---|
| City streets inside Birmingham | Birmingham Police Department |
| Interstates and many state highways | Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (state troopers), sometimes BPD inside the city |
| Unincorporated Jefferson County | Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office |
| Hoover, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Trussville, Bessemer and other suburbs | That city’s own police department |
Birmingham Police Department
Police headquarters, 1710 1st Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203. Phone (205) 254-6308. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays, and no reports are sold after 4:30.
- Accident report, $10.
- Accident reports from before January 2015, $25.
- Buy online or in person. Online orders need one transaction per report.
- In person, bring ID. Cash, debit cards, money orders and company checks are accepted. No personal checks.
- Call ahead with your case number to make sure the report is ready.
Details are on the BPD reports office page.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (state troopers)
- Copy of a crash report, $15.
- Buy online or in person at any ALEA Driver License Office.
- No personal checks. Money order, cashier’s check, cash or credit card.
Start at ALEA’s crash reports page. Online orders may add a processing charge, so check the amount before you pay.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
2200 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35203. Phone (205) 325-5700. Ask how to request a crash report and what it costs. Have the date, location and report number ready. The sheriff’s website is jeffcosheriffal.com.
Suburban police departments
Each suburb sells its own reports. Search for the city’s police department website or call its non-emergency line and ask for the report desk.
Step 3. Make sure you’re eligible
Under Ala. Code ยง 32-10-7, crash reports can be released to people involved in the crash, a parent or guardian of an involved minor, the estate’s representative or an heir of someone who died, insurers, an attorney with written consent from the person they represent, certain government agencies and the owner or lienholder of an involved vehicle.
Step 4. Read it closely
Check names, plates, insurance details, the diagram and the narrative. In Alabama, where any fault on your part can block a claim, a mistake in the narrative is worth fixing. Ask the agency what it takes to fix an error or attach a supplemental statement. Our guide on getting a crash report in Birmingham has more on what to look for.
Other things you can request
- 911 calls and dispatch logs, through the agency or the city’s public request process.
- Photos taken by the officer.
- Business or traffic camera footage. Ask quickly, since it’s often erased within days.