How to Get a Texas CR-3 Crash Report After a San Antonio Wreck

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The Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, form CR-3, is usually the first document an insurer reads after a wreck. It names the drivers, owners and insurers, sketches the scene and records what the officer saw and was told. This guide explains when a CR-3 is written, how to get a copy after a wreck in San Antonio or anywhere in Bexar County, and what to check when it arrives.

When an officer writes a CR-3

A law enforcement officer who investigates a collision must write a report when the collision caused injury or death, or apparent damage of $1,000 or more to the property of any one person (Transportation Code 550.062). The officer may investigate at the scene or afterwards by interviewing the drivers and witnesses. The report must be filed electronically with TxDOT no later than the 10th day after the collision.

Inside San Antonio the report is usually written by the San Antonio Police Department; outside the city limits in Bexar County, often by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office; on some highways, by a state trooper. Suburban cities such as Schertz, Live Oak, Universal City, Converse, Leon Valley and Helotes have their own police departments. Whichever agency writes it, the report goes to TxDOT.

Who may get the full report

Crash reports are confidential, with exceptions. Section 550.065(c) requires TxDOT or the agency holding the report to release it, on written request and payment of the fee, to any person directly concerned in the collision or having a proper interest in it, including:

• anyone involved in the collision, and any driver involved
• the authorized representative of anyone involved, such as their attorney
• the employer, parent or legal guardian of a driver involved
• the owner of a vehicle or property damaged in the collision
• an insurer that issued a policy covering a vehicle or a person involved
• anyone who may sue because of a death resulting from the collision

Anyone else may request a redacted report with personal information removed (550.065(c-1)).

How to order a CR-3 from TxDOT

1. Wait about ten days after the wreck, the time the officer has to file the report.
2. Go to TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System at cris.txdot.gov. TxDOT names this as the way to obtain a copy of a CR-3.
3. Search for the crash using the details you have: the date, the county or city, a driver’s name and, if the officer gave it to you, the crash ID or case number.
4. Pay the fee. Under section 550.065(d), a copy is $6, and a certified copy $2 more, so $8. TxDOT adds a small surcharge for the online system, and card processing fees may apply.
5. Watch your email. TxDOT sends purchased reports by email.

If the system cannot find the crash, the report may not have been filed or processed yet, or the details may not match. Check the date and the spelling of the names, wait a few days and try again, or ask the agency that investigated. The agency that holds the report must also release it under section 550.065(c).

Certified or not

A plain copy is enough for most insurance claims. A certified copy is the official version, used when the report is needed as evidence in a lawsuit. TxDOT’s page says certified copies are for official use, such as legal proceedings.

What to check when it arrives

• Names, addresses and insurers. A wrong insurer or policy number delays the claim.
• The direction and lane of each vehicle, and the diagram.
• Contributing factors. The officer codes the factors he or she thinks caused the crash, such as failing to control speed or failing to yield. Insurers read these first.
• Injury codes. Each person’s injury is coded by the officer at the scene, not by a doctor. A code of no injury or possible injury does not mean you were not hurt.
• Witnesses. The report may list witnesses you did not meet at the scene.

If the report is wrong

A factual error, such as a wrong plate, name or insurer, can sometimes be corrected by asking the officer or the agency. A disagreement about who caused the crash is different: officers rarely change their opinion, and they do not have to. The CR-3 is evidence, but it does not decide fault in a claim or a lawsuit. Photographs, witnesses, video and vehicle data can show that the officer’s view was wrong. Our car accident lawyer San Antonio page explains how fault is proved.

What about the driver’s own report?

Older guides mention a driver’s crash report, form CR-2, filed by drivers when no officer investigated. TxDOT says it no longer keeps CR-2 forms and no longer provides copies. If you filled one in or received one, keep your own copy with your records.

We get the report for you

When you hire us after a wreck, we order the CR-3, read it with you and deal with any mistakes in it. For the rest of the first month after a wreck, see our car wreck lawyer San Antonio guide. The first consultation is free, and we work on a contingency fee: you pay no attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you. We advance the case expenses, and if there is no recovery you owe no fee and no case expenses. If there is a recovery, the fee and the expenses are paid from it as your written fee agreement sets out before we start.

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