BOTELER RICHARDSON WOLFE
INJURY LAWYERS
Need a copy of your Alabama crash report? Every Alabama accident report (officially a Uniform Traffic Crash Report) is kept by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), no matter which police department, sheriff’s office or state trooper post investigated the crash. You can request the report online from ALEA — usually about 10 business days after the accident — or get it sooner directly from the local police department that worked the crash. Links for Alabama’s largest police departments are below.
To request an accident report from ALEA you must be one of the following:
- An individual involved in the crash, i.e., driver, passenger, pedestrian, etc.
- A property owner involved in the crash.
- A utility company involved in the crash.
- A parent or guardian of a minor involved in the crash.
- An insurer or its written designee of a person involved in the crash.
- An owner or lienholder of an automobile involved in the crash.
- An heir (next of kin), personal representative, executor, or another legal representative of the estate of a deceased person involved in the crash.
- A legal representative of a party involved in the crash.
- A news organization or individual qualified to report on the crash.
Know that when requesting an accident report from ALEA it may take 10 business days or more from the date of crash for the crash report to be available online. Given this delay, it may be beneficial to request a car accident report directly from the law enforcement agency that investigated the accident. The following are links to several Alabama municipality police departments:
For smaller Alabama municipalities such as Fairhope, Pell City, Opp, Mountain Brook, Helena, and Demopolis a car accident report may be available online at Crashdocs
Alabama Car Accident Report FAQs
How long does it take to get an Alabama crash report?
ALEA typically needs about 10 business days after the crash before a report is available online, and sometimes longer if the investigating officer has not yet filed it. The local police department that worked the crash can often provide a copy sooner, so check with them first if you need the report quickly.
Who can request an Alabama accident report?
Only people with a direct connection to the crash: the drivers, passengers and pedestrians involved, the vehicle owners or lienholders, parents or guardians of a minor involved, insurers, the estate of a deceased person, and the attorneys representing any of those parties (see the full list above).
Do I need my crash report to file an insurance claim?
You can open a claim without it, but the insurance adjuster will get a copy and rely on it heavily. The report records the officer’s narrative and diagram of the crash, any citations issued, witness names, and each driver’s insurance information. Read it carefully as soon as you receive it — it shapes how the insurance company values your claim. Our free Guide for Auto-Crash Insurance Claims explains what happens next.
What if my accident report is wrong?
Contact the investigating officer or department and ask for a supplemental report correcting factual errors (wrong insurance information, vehicle details, or a missing witness). Officers will rarely change their opinion on fault, but a lawyer can gather the other evidence — photos, witness statements, vehicle data — that tells the full story.
Does the crash report decide who was at fault?
No. The report reflects the investigating officer’s opinion, and it is not binding in court. It matters more in Alabama than in most states, though, because Alabama follows the contributory negligence rule: if the insurance company can show you were even partly at fault, it may deny your injury claim entirely. That is why it is worth having a Mobile car accident attorney review the report before you give a recorded statement.
What should I do right after a crash?
See our checklist: What Do I Do at the Accident Scene? — and call Boteler Richardson Wolfe at (251) 433-7766 for a free consultation about your claim.
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