Philadelphia County

What should you do after a car accident in Philadelphia?

In Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department usually works the crash, and the city Department of Records holds the crash report for Philadelphia County. Get checked by a doctor, then note the district control number, the date, the location, and both drivers' names. Photos of the cars and the street help. A free case check organizes it and a licensed attorney reviews it.

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Where this comes from

You can open every source we used

We checked these original sources on September 5, 2026. Each link opens the source so you can read it for yourself.

Original links

Sources and what they explain

Pennsylvania State Police

Request a Copy of a Vehicle Crash Report

Where it applies: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What it helps explain: Official State Police service page. Lists the online and mail request paths, the fee, how long after the crash a report is available, who may get a copy, and the Crash Reports Unit address in Harrisburg.
Date checked: Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026

City of Philadelphia, Department of Records

Get a copy of a public safety report

Where it applies: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What it helps explain: Official city service page. Confirms the Department of Records handles crash report copies, points to the online public safety reports application and the request forms, and gives the City Hall Room 170 address and a phone number.
Date checked: Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026

City of Philadelphia, Department of Records

Application for crash report and affidavit

Where it applies: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What it helps explain: The official application. It asks for the date of crash, location, drivers, district control number, affidavit and photo ID, says to allow a few weeks from the date of the crash, and names City Hall Room 170 as the mailing address.
Date checked: Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026

Pennsylvania State Police

State Police Troop K

Where it applies: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What it helps explain: Official troop directory page. States that Troop K covers Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware counties, and lists a Philadelphia station on Belmont Avenue.
Date checked: Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026

City of Philadelphia

Philly311

Where it applies: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What it helps explain: Official city contact center page. Gives 311 inside the city and a ten digit number for callers outside Philadelphia, the weekday hours, and confirms an interpreter can join a call in over 200 languages.
Date checked: Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026

Source	Where it applies	What it helps explain	Date checked
Pennsylvania State Police Request a Copy of a Vehicle Crash Report	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Official State Police service page. Lists the online and mail request paths, the fee, how long after the crash a report is available, who may get a copy, and the Crash Reports Unit address in Harrisburg.	Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026
City of Philadelphia, Department of Records Get a copy of a public safety report	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Official city service page. Confirms the Department of Records handles crash report copies, points to the online public safety reports application and the request forms, and gives the City Hall Room 170 address and a phone number.	Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026
City of Philadelphia, Department of Records Application for crash report and affidavit	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	The official application. It asks for the date of crash, location, drivers, district control number, affidavit and photo ID, says to allow a few weeks from the date of the crash, and names City Hall Room 170 as the mailing address.	Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026
Pennsylvania State Police State Police Troop K	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Official troop directory page. States that Troop K covers Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware counties, and lists a Philadelphia station on Belmont Avenue.	Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026
City of Philadelphia Philly311	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Official city contact center page. Gives 311 inside the city and a ten digit number for callers outside Philadelphia, the weekday hours, and confirms an interpreter can join a call in over 200 languages.	Live public source; retrieved September 5, 2026

City of Philadelphia Department of Records

How to get the crash report in Philadelphia

In Philadelphia the copy of the crash report does not come from the police district. The Department of Records handles copies, online or by mail, and the application asks for very specific details.

01
Get the district control number
The crash application asks for the district control number and the Philadelphia Code. The Department of Records form says to call the police district where the crash happened to get both. Write them down as soon as you can.
City of Philadelphia, Department of Records
02
Apply online or by mail
The city runs an online public safety reports application that includes crash reports. You can also print the Department of Records form and mail it to City Hall. The service page points you to the request forms and to the application fees.
City of Philadelphia, Department of Records
03
Wait before you apply
The application tells you to allow a few weeks from the date of the crash before applying. Applying too early can come back with no report. The city also warns that vague or incomplete information produces the wrong report.
City of Philadelphia, Department of Records
04
Check whether the state police responded
State Police Troop K covers Philadelphia County and has a station on Belmont Avenue. If troopers worked your crash instead of city officers, the report comes from the State Police, not from the Department of Records.
Pennsylvania State Police

Agencies change their forms, portals and fees. Open the linked page before you pay for anything, and keep a copy of every request you send.

Federal fatal-crash counts, 2022 to 2024

What the federal record shows for Philadelphia

fatal crashes: 394
people who died: 414
with a pedestrian recorded: 192
with a large truck recorded: 23

That is 12.0% of every fatal crash the federal file records in the state over the same three years.

These are crashes in which at least one person died within 30 days, as counted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They are not a count of all crashes, injuries, insurance claims or lawsuits, and most crashes are not in this file at all.

The counts are not adjusted for population, road miles or how much people drive, so they cannot say one place is more dangerous than another. A crash appearing here does not show who was at fault, whether anyone was insured or whether anyone has a claim.

Open the federal source file CSV JSONCounted from the 2022 to 2024 national files.

Things people run into in Philadelphia

Philadelphia keeps crash reports at the Department of Records in City Hall, not at the police district. The district is where you get the control number.
The city service page for public safety reports has an official Spanish version, so you can read the crash report steps in Spanish.
Philly311 answers non emergency city questions. Dial 311 inside Philadelphia, or 215-686-8686 from outside, and ask for an interpreter in Spanish.
State Police Troop K covers Philadelphia County, so a crash in the city is not always a Philadelphia Police report.

Questions

Common questions in Philadelphia

How do I get a Philadelphia crash report?

Ask the Department of Records, not the police district. You can use the city's online public safety reports application or mail the Department of Records form to City Hall. You need the district control number, the date, the location, the drivers' names, an affidavit, and a photo ID.

What is a DC number on a Philadelphia crash report?

DC stands for district control number. It is the number the police district gives your crash. The Department of Records application asks for it, along with the Philadelphia Code. The form says to call the police district that covers where the crash happened to get both.

Is there Spanish help for Philadelphia crash reports?

Yes. The city's public safety report service page has an official Spanish version with the same steps. Philly311 can put an interpreter on the line in over 200 languages. A free case check with Vetted Cases can also be done in Spanish from anywhere in Pennsylvania.

What if the state police worked my crash in Philadelphia?

Then the Department of Records will not have it. State Police Troop K covers Philadelphia County from a station on Belmont Avenue. Request that report through the Pennsylvania State Police instead, using the case number or a last name and the date of the crash.

Keep reading

More for Philadelphia

Injury lawyers in PhiladelphiaPublic directory listings PittsburghAccident help nearby

A quick reality check

What this page can and cannot tell you

This page cannot decide fault, medical cause, insurance coverage, legal deadlines, case value or whether you have a claim. Those questions depend on the complete facts, records, state law and a licensed attorney's review.

Last updated

September 5, 2026

We opened every Philadelphia agency page linked here on this date and rewrote anything that had changed.

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