Texas accident report codes are the numbered and lettered entries an officer writes on the CR-3 Peace Officer’s Crash Report to describe, in a standardized shorthand, what happened in your collision. Each number traces back to the Texas Crash Code Sheet, a reference document published by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) that assigns a code to every contributing factor, event, injury level, and road condition the officer might need to record.1Texas Department of Transportation. Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report – Code Sheet The codes that matter most on your report are the contributing factor codes, because insurers read them as the officer’s opinion on who caused the crash.
The system exists so that every agency in Texas records crashes the same way, and so TxDOT’s data lines up with the federal Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria used by other states.2NHTSA. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria For you, the practical result is a report full of numbers that look opaque but each have a specific meaning worth knowing.
Contributing Factor Codes
This is the field to look at first. The contributing factor code is the officer’s answer to the question “why did this crash happen?” Insurance adjusters treat it almost like a verdict, and a single number here can decide whether your claim moves quickly or turns into a fight.
Officers choose from a long numbered list in the Factors and Conditions section of the code sheet.1Texas Department of Transportation. Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report – Code Sheet The codes you’re most likely to see:
- Code 4 — Changed Lane When Unsafe. Typical of highway sideswipes.
- Code 16 — Disregard Stop Sign or Light. Running a red or a stop sign.
- Code 20 — Driver Inattention. The catch-all used for distracted driving.
- Code 22 — Failed to Control Speed. Going too fast for conditions, even at or below the posted limit.
- Code 33 — Failed to Yield Right-of-Way at Open Intersection.
- Code 35 — Failed to Yield Right-of-Way at Stop Sign.
- Code 37 — Failed to Yield Right-of-Way, Turning Left. Common in intersection crashes.
- Code 44 — Followed Too Closely. The classic rear-end code.
- Code 45 — Had Been Drinking. The impairment flag.
- Code 60 — Unsafe Speed. Often used when speed was a primary cause rather than a contributing one.
An officer can assign more than one contributing factor to a single driver, and both drivers in the same crash can each receive codes. If you were rear-ended, you should see code 44 next to the other driver, not next to you. If a code is sitting next to your name that doesn’t match what happened, that is exactly the kind of entry worth challenging.
Impairment and Right-of-Way Codes Deserve Extra Attention
Code 45 (“had been drinking”) carries weight well beyond the crash report. Texas defines intoxication as either lacking the normal use of mental or physical faculties due to alcohol or drugs, or a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher,3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.01 – Definitions and an impairment notation can lead to charges under the DWI statute as well as significant civil exposure.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.04 – Driving While Intoxicated
Right-of-way codes are the most contested because intersection crashes often come down to timing. A driver entering an intersection with a stop or yield sign must stop and yield,5State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.151 – Vehicle Approaching or Entering Intersection and a driver turning left must yield to oncoming traffic in or approaching the intersection.6Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Transportation Code 545 – Operation and Movement of Vehicles A code 37 on a left-turning driver effectively creates a presumption they violated that rule. The presumption can be rebutted — with dashcam footage showing the oncoming car speeding, for instance — but you’re pushing uphill against the number on the page.
Sequence of Events Codes
Where contributing factor codes explain why, the sequence of events codes describe what physically happened, in order, from the first harmful event to the vehicles coming to rest.1Texas Department of Transportation. Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report – Code Sheet
These codes split into non-collision events and collision events. Non-collision codes cover things like running off the road (code 1), jackknifing (code 2), rollover (code 3), and cargo shift (code 5). Collision codes identify what the vehicle struck: another moving vehicle (code 13), a parked vehicle (code 14), a pedestrian (code 12), a fixed object such as a pole or guardrail (code 18), or a train (code 15).
A single crash often carries several of these in a row. A driver who leaves the roadway, hits a guardrail, and then rolls would show codes 1, 18, and 3 recorded in sequence. The chain matters because secondary impacts can account for specific injuries, and the order of events can determine whether a particular impact was foreseeable.
Injury Severity Codes (KABCN)
Every person listed on a CR-3 gets a one-letter injury rating using the KABCN scale, which Texas inherits from the federal MMUCC guidelines.7U.S. Department of Transportation. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria – Suspected Serious Injury (A) Classifications
- K — Fatal Injury. The person died from the crash.
- A — Suspected Serious Injury. Visible injuries likely needing hospitalization, such as broken bones, severe lacerations with active bleeding, crush injuries, or unconsciousness.
- B — Suspected Minor Injury. Visible but minor, like bruises or small cuts.
- C — Possible Injury. Pain or signs of injury reported, but nothing visually apparent at the scene.
- N — Not Injured.
The difference between letters matters more than it looks. An “A” rating pushes an insurer to set higher reserves and investigate harder, while a “C” or “N” on a crash that later turns out to involve a serious injury — whiplash symptoms often take days to appear — can make full recovery harder. The officer picks a letter based on what they can see at the scene, and they sometimes get it wrong. If your rating doesn’t match your actual medical condition, send your insurer the medical records that show it.1Texas Department of Transportation. Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report – Code Sheet
Road, Weather, Vehicle, and Traffic Control Codes
The report also carries context codes that frame the contributing factor. These are easy to overlook, but they often shift the fault analysis.
Road Surface and Weather
Road surface (dry, wet, icy, debris-covered) and weather (clear, rain, fog, snow) are coded separately. Texas law requires drivers to slow down when conditions create a hazard.8Texas Public Law. Texas Code Section 545.351 – Maximum Speed Requirement A wet-road code paired with code 22 (failed to control speed) makes a strong case the driver should have eased off. Conversely, a code recording ice or roadway debris can support an argument that conditions, not driver error, caused the crash.
Vehicle Defects
If the officer notes a mechanical problem — brake failure, tire blowout, steering issue — a defect code appears on the report. Under Texas Transportation Code 547.004, driving a vehicle in a condition that endangers others is itself a violation.9State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 547 – Vehicle Equipment That cuts two ways: a driver who knew about bad brakes can face added liability, but a manufacturer or mechanic may share fault if the defect was hidden or recently “repaired.”
Traffic Controls
The report records what traffic control was in place at the scene — signal, stop sign, yield sign, flashing beacon, or none — and whether it was working. Texas drivers must obey all functioning control devices.10State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 544.004 – Compliance with Traffic-Control Device If the code shows the signal was inoperative or missing, that detail undercuts any claim someone “ran a red light.” You can’t run a light that wasn’t on.
How the Codes Translate Into Fault and Dollars
Crash report codes are not legally binding findings of fault. In practice, though, they do most of the work. Adjusters start with the contributing factor codes, and in a straightforward case those codes effectively decide who pays.
Texas applies a proportionate responsibility rule: you cannot recover any damages if you are found more than 50 percent at fault,11State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 33.001 – Proportionate Responsibility and if you do recover, your award is reduced by your share of fault.12State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 33.012 – Amount of Recovery So a single contributing factor code next to your name — even something like code 60 for unsafe speed — gives the other side a lever to argue shared fault and shrink your check.
If both drivers show contributing factor codes, expect negotiation over percentages. If only the other driver has a code and you have none, your claim should move. If only you have a code and you don’t believe it belongs there, read the next section.
If a Code on Your Report Is Wrong
Officers make these calls fast at chaotic scenes, and errors happen. A wrong contributing factor code, an injury rating that’s too low, or a misidentified vehicle position can meaningfully damage a claim.
Start by contacting the law enforcement agency that filed the report. Submit a written request identifying the specific error and attach supporting evidence: photographs from the scene, dashcam video, witness statements, or medical records showing an injury rating was too low. Officers will usually amend factual errors — a wrong vehicle color, a mistyped code — but they’re reluctant to revisit judgment calls on contributing factors.
If the agency won’t change the report, you still have options. In an insurance dispute, present your evidence alongside the report and argue the code is wrong. In litigation, an attorney can bring in accident reconstruction analysis or expert testimony to challenge the officer’s conclusions. The report is evidence, not a verdict. But the longer you wait, the harder it gets to persuade anyone the officer missed something.
Getting a Copy of the Report
Texas crash reports aren’t posted publicly online. You request one from TxDOT using form CR-91. Regular copies cost $6, certified copies $8.13Texas Department of Transportation. Crash Records Forms for Law Enforcement The officer has up to 10 days to file the report electronically, and TxDOT needs a few business days to process it, so plan on roughly two weeks after the crash before yours is available. TxDOT keeps reports for 10 years; anything older has to come from the local agency that responded.
As a party to the crash, you’ll receive the full report. Third parties may receive redacted versions under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, which limits release of personal information from motor vehicle records to specific permitted uses.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2721 – Prohibition on Release and Use of Certain Personal Information from State Motor Vehicle Records
What If No Officer Came to the Scene?
Not every Texas crash gets a CR-3. In minor parking lot collisions and low-speed fender-benders, law enforcement often doesn’t respond. When that happens, Texas still requires a report if the crash caused injury, death, or property damage, and the driver files a CR-2 electronically with TxDOT within 10 days. The CR-2 is a self-report, and it will not contain the officer-assigned contributing factor codes discussed above. Insurers tend to give it less weight for that reason. If no officer responds and fault looks disputed, your own evidence from the scene — photos, witness contact details, dashcam footage — will matter more than anything on the form you fill out.