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How to Get Your CR-3 Crash Report in Texas: CRIS Retrieval Options Compared

By Accident Atlas Editorial Team · Reviewed by Phil Ayres · Updated July 12, 2026 · 10 min read

Quick Answer: 4 Ways to Get Your CR-3

If you need a copy of a Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (CR-3), the fastest route for most people is the Crash Report Online Purchase System, which delivers the report by email after a minimal surcharge. If you don't personally qualify to request the report, or standard channels don't apply, a subpoena or affidavit request through TxDOT's electronic system is the required path. If you need many crash records or data for analysis rather than a single report, the Crash Data Request Form or the CRIS Query Tool is the correct tool. And if you only need aggregate crash-pattern data rather than your own report, TxDOT's crash data dashboards can help.

Before choosing any of these, confirm you're legally entitled to the record. Texas Transportation Code §550.065 limits release of a crash report to a person "directly concerned" in the crash — upon written request and payment of the required fee.

It's also worth knowing that TxDOT — not local police departments, insurers, or courts — is the sole custodian of Texas crash records and the Crash Records Information System (CRIS) database. Every retrieval option below routes through TxDOT.

Eligibility: Are You "Directly Concerned" Under §550.065?

Texas Transportation Code §550.065 allows release of a crash report on written request and payment of the required fee to any person directly concerned in the accident or having a proper interest in it. That includes a person involved in the crash, an authorized representative of a person involved, a driver, an employer or legal guardian of a driver, the owner of damaged vehicle or property, a person who has established financial responsibility for an involved vehicle (including a liability policyholder), an insurance company that issued a policy covering an involved vehicle or person, a claims or underwriting contractor for such an insurer, a licensed radio or television station, a qualifying newspaper, a person who may sue because of a death resulting from the crash, and an employee or authorized representative of a vehicle storage facility that stored a vehicle from the crash.

This eligibility test is the gatekeeper for the rest of this guide. If you fall into one of these categories, the standard Online Purchase System is available to you. If you don't — for example, a researcher, an unrelated third party, or an attorney whose client status hasn't yet been documented in a way TxDOT can verify — the subpoena or affidavit process becomes the required channel instead of ordinary purchase.

Option 1: Crash Report Online Purchase System (Standard Retrieval)

For anyone who qualifies as directly concerned, TxDOT's Crash Report Online Purchase System is the simplest and fastest option. You submit the required identifying information about the crash, pay the applicable surcharge, and receive the report by email following purchase.

Fees are modest: $6 for a regular copy and $8 for a certified copy, with additional processing fees possibly applied for credit card transactions.

The distinction between regular and certified copies matters more than it might seem. A certified copy is requested when a person needs an official document, such as for a legal proceeding. If your CR-3 will be used only for your own reference or to give to an insurance adjuster informally, a regular copy is typically sufficient. But if the report may be submitted as evidence or an exhibit in litigation — a common scenario in personal injury claims — request the certified version from the outset to avoid having to reorder later.

Option 2: Subpoena or Affidavit Request (When Standard Access Is Blocked)

All requests for crash records made to TxDOT, including subpoena and affidavit requests, are still governed by the same §550.065 requirements described above. This path exists for situations where a requester isn't directly concerned in the crash, or where standard purchase channels don't fit the requester's circumstances.

TxDOT introduced an electronic system in August 2024 — the CRIS Request – TxDOT Subpoena and Affidavit Request System — to let customers submit and track subpoena and affidavit requests online. Effective January 1, 2025, TxDOT no longer accepts these requests by mail; the CR-91 form is no longer required, and any request mailed in will be returned to the sender. Through the online system, a customer searches for the desired crash report, uploads supporting documentation (subpoena, affidavit, and any associated legal papers) in PDF format, and pays the required $8 fee plus a minimal surcharge. TxDOT then emails a link for downloading the processed documents. Processing times are 10 business days for an affidavit alone or an affidavit combined with a state or federal subpoena, and 20 business days for a state or federal subpoena.

This is the practical trigger point: attorneys representing a client who isn't yet documented as directly concerned, or third parties without a listed statutory interest, should use this system rather than attempting the standard purchase portal. Note also that TxDOT is custodian of the crash report only — any request for dash-cam video, field notes, or similar materials from a law enforcement agency must go through that agency separately.

Option 3: Bulk Crash Data or Crash ID Requests (For Multiple Records or Data Analysis)

If you need multiple records or data for analysis rather than a single report, submit an online Crash Data Request Form. Because Texas Transportation Code requires that all crash records be individually purchased, TxDOT cannot fulfill bulk requests for multiple full crash reports directly. Instead, TxDOT will provide the crash ID numbers matching your request parameters, and you purchase individual reports at your leisure.

For self-service searching of public data, the CRIS Query Tool is available, along with annual reporting and data extracts for customers with recurring needs. Note that TxDOT cannot fulfill bulk requests requiring a search of confidential fields under Transportation Code 550.065(f) — for example, a search for all accidents involving a particular person — unless the requestor otherwise qualifies under section 550.065(c).

Plan around TxDOT's retention limitation: records are retained for the previous 10 full calendar years plus the current calendar year. Data or reports outside that window may no longer be retrievable through any channel described here.

Option 4: Crash Data Visualizations and Dashboards (Non-Report Research Use)

Sometimes what you actually need isn't your individual CR-3 but broader context about crash patterns at a particular roadway or intersection. TxDOT's crash data visualizations, available through dashboards and the Traffic Safety Data Portal, draw data directly from CRIS and support analysis of key safety emphasis areas. Available dashboards include the Comprehensive Crash Data Analysis Dashboard, the Crash Tree Analysis Dashboard, and the Pedestrian/Pedalcyclist Fatalities Dashboard.

These tools are useful for supporting an injury claim with roadway or location crash-pattern context — for instance, showing a history of similar crashes at the same intersection — rather than for proving the facts of your specific incident, which still requires your own CR-3 or equivalent documentation.

What If No CR-3 Was Filed? Understanding the Underlying Legal Duties

Not every crash generates a CR-3. Under Texas Transportation Code §550.062, an investigating officer must submit a written crash report to TxDOT within 10 days only when the crash resulted in injury to or death of a person, or damage to the property of any one person to an apparent extent of $1,000 or more. Minor incidents below that threshold, or crashes where no officer responded, may have no CR-3 to retrieve at all.

Chapter 550 also has a limited scope of applicability. It applies only to: a road owned and controlled by a water control and improvement district; a private access way or parking area provided for a client or patron by a business (other than private residential property, or a garage/parking lot charging for storage); and a highway or other public place. Crashes occurring entirely outside these locations may fall outside CR-3 coverage entirely.

When no officer report exists, Texas law creates alternative documentation duties that can substitute as evidence. Under §550.024, a driver who collides with and damages an unattended vehicle must locate the owner/operator or leave a written notice at the scene with name, address, and a statement of the circumstances. Under §550.025, a driver who damages a structure, fixture, or highway landscaping must take reasonable steps to notify the owner or person in charge of the property and provide identifying information. And under §550.022, drivers in a vehicle-to-vehicle collision resulting only in vehicle damage must stop at the scene and comply with the exchange-of-information requirements in §550.023. Any written notice or exchanged information created under these duties can serve as documentation when no CR-3 is available.

Retention Policy: Why Timing Your Request Matters

TxDOT's state retention schedule keeps crash reports and data for 10 years plus the current year; data analysis for years outside this period is unavailable, though published annual reports may still exist. This retention policy has driven several revisions to the CR-3 form itself over time, meaning the exact form version you receive may depend on the date of the crash.

Notably, TxDOT no longer retains the Driver's Crash Report (Form CR-2) at all — that retention period expired as of January 1, 2019, following a 2017 legislative change. Drivers who received a CR-2 or similar local-agency form for a crash not investigated by a police officer should keep their own copy, since TxDOT will not have it and will destroy any submitted CR-2 under its records policy.

For anyone considering a delayed injury claim, requesting your CR-3 promptly avoids the risk that the report ages out of the retrievable window before you act.

Next Steps Checklist

Confirm your eligibility status — directly concerned party versus third party — before choosing a retrieval channel.

Match your actual need to the correct system: a single certified copy for litigation, a single regular copy for personal or insurance reference, bulk crash IDs/data for analysis, or aggregate dashboard data for pattern research.

Budget for fees: $6 for a regular copy or $8 for a certified copy or subpoena/affidavit request, plus possible card processing surcharges.

Act within TxDOT's retention window of the previous 10 full calendar years plus the current year, since records outside that period may no longer be retrievable.