To get a copy of the MV-104A New York police crash report, order it from the state DMV: $22 online through the crash report portal, or $25 by mail using form MV-198C. Reports take anywhere from two weeks to two months to appear in the state system after the crash, depending on how they were filed.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Order and Access Motor Vehicle Crash (Accident) Reports If your crash happened in New York City and it’s been fewer than 30 days, you order from the NYPD instead.2New York City Police Department. Motor Vehicle Collision Reports
Order Online Through the DMV
The fastest route is the DMV’s online crash report portal. You’ll need a NY.gov ID to sign in.3New York Department of Motor Vehicles. New York Department of Motor Vehicles Crash Reports Once you’re in, the system searches for your report using any one of the following identifiers, and adding more narrows the results:1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Order and Access Motor Vehicle Crash (Accident) Reports
- DMV case number (8 digits, not 9) from paperwork the officer handed you at the scene
- Local police reference code
- Date of crash
- County of crash
- VIN of any vehicle involved
- License plate number of any vehicle involved
- Driver license number
When the system finds a match, you pay a $7 search fee plus a $15 report fee, for $22 total, and download a certified PDF immediately.1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Order and Access Motor Vehicle Crash (Accident) Reports
Order by Mail With Form MV-198C
If you’d rather mail a request, fill out form MV-198C (Request for Copy of Crash Report) and send it with payment to:
New York State DMV
MV-198C Processing
6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 122284New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Request for Copy of Crash Report
The mailed fee is $10 for the search plus $15 per report, $25 total. Pay by check or money order made out to Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, or supply a DMV account number if you have one.4New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Request for Copy of Crash Report The $10 search fee is non-refundable even if no matching report turns up.
The form asks for your contact information and requires you to check every permissible use under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act that fits your request. Common ones include being involved in the crash, having an active insurance claim, or being party to pending litigation. Mail requests take considerably longer than the online option, so plan for several extra weeks.
NYC Crashes: Order From the NYPD First
If your accident happened in one of the five boroughs, the NYPD version of the report (the MV-104AN) stays at the precinct for the first 30 days before it’s forwarded to the state DMV.2New York City Police Department. Motor Vehicle Collision Reports During that window, retrieve it through the NYPD’s Collision Report Retrieval Portal at collisionreport.nypdonline.org.5NYPD. NYPD Collision Report Retrieval Portal Reports usually become available on the portal within seven business days of the crash.
To search, you’ll need the collision date, the borough, your driver license number, your date of birth, the license plate number and state of a vehicle involved, and an email address. Once 30 days have passed, the report moves to the state system and you order it through the DMV process above.2New York City Police Department. Motor Vehicle Collision Reports
When the Report Will Actually Be Available
A search the day after your crash will come back empty. Processing depends on how the report was filed:1New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Order and Access Motor Vehicle Crash (Accident) Reports
- Electronic police reports filed in NYC: at least 14 days after the crash
- Paper police reports: at least 30 days after the crash
- Motorist reports (MV-104) from anywhere in the state: at least 60 days after the crash
If your search returns nothing, the most likely explanation is that the report hasn’t been entered yet. Wait out the applicable window and try again.
How Long the DMV Keeps Your Report
New York holds crash reports for four years from the crash date. After that, the record is purged from the active database and the DMV can no longer produce a copy.6New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Records – Section: Get a Crash (Accident) Report
One exception matters if you have a case that could run long. Under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 201(i), a written request to the Commissioner during the report’s final year on file (year three through year four) extends retention by another four years, for eight years total.7New York State Senate. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 201 – General Powers and Duties of Commissioner If litigation is pending or possible as the four-year mark approaches, send that retention request well before the deadline.
If the Report Has Errors
Crash reports sometimes contain factual mistakes: a wrong street, an incorrect plate number, a code that doesn’t match what happened. You can’t edit the report yourself. What you can do is contact the law enforcement agency that filed it and ask the investigating officer to submit a supplemental or amended report correcting factual errors.
Gather your evidence before you call. Scene photos, dashcam or surveillance footage, repair estimates, and written witness statements all give the officer something concrete to work with. Acting quickly helps, because officers are more willing to revisit a report while the details are still fresh.
Contributing factor codes are a different matter. Those reflect the officer’s professional assessment, and the agency is not obligated to change them. If the officer won’t revise that portion, ask that your written statement and supporting materials be attached to the file so they travel with the report when insurers or attorneys pull it. The coded entries are one piece of evidence, not a legal finding of fault, and your own documentation can carry real weight in a claim or lawsuit regardless of what the report says.