Accident help
After a car accident in Texas, check on everyone and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Move to a safe spot if you can. Ask the officer for the crash report number. Take photos and get names, insurance and plate numbers. Which state's rules apply depends on where the crash happened. A free case check organizes what happened, a licensed attorney reviews it, and it does not decide anything.
Free. Not legal advice. Starting a case check does not mean we represent you.
Where this comes from
We checked these original sources on September 5, 2026. Each link opens the source so you can read it for yourself.
Original links
Crash reports and records
Crash Report Purchase Portal
Trooper Duties
Get a Copy of My Accident Report
General rules where the crash happened
Because the crash happened in Texas, Texas traffic and fault rules are the first ones to check. Other state law may also matter depending on where people live, vehicles are registered, policies were issued, employers operate, and companies are based. A lawyer must decide which law controls the particular case.
A secondary state-by-state chart classifies Texas as an at-fault jurisdiction. Fault generally affects legal responsibility, but that does not mean a particular person or insurance company automatically owes or pays a claim. Payment depends on the facts, current law, available coverage, and the policy you actually have. That policy may separately list MedPay or PIP on its declarations page.
A secondary state-by-state chart indicates that insurers in Texas generally must offer uninsured motorist coverage on applicable auto policies. The source does not confirm what was offered, selected, or rejected on the policy you actually have, or whether coverage applies or pays. Check that policy and its declarations page for uninsured motorist or UM; the policy terms and facts control.
Other states can matter too, depending on where the people live, where the vehicles are registered, where the policies were issued and which companies were involved. A lawyer decides which law applies to your facts.
Check any other stateTexas Department of Transportation, Crash Records Information System
In Texas the officer who works your crash fills out the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report, form CR-3, and files it with TxDOT. City, county and state agencies all send reports to the same place, so one search covers most of them.
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Texas Highway Patrol troopers investigate most rural traffic accidents. Inside a city, a city police department usually works the crash instead. The paper the officer handed you at the scene names the agency that wrote your report. Start with that name.
Texas Department of Public Safety02
TxDOT collects crash reports from Texas law enforcement agencies, and the officer has to finish yours and send it in first. That means it is not in the search the same day. If you look early and find nothing, give it time and try again.
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The state runs the TxDOT Crash Report Purchase Portal. Before you open it, write down the date of the crash, the city or county where it happened, the names of the drivers, and the crash report number the officer gave you. Those details make the search much easier.
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TxDOT sells a regular copy and a certified copy of the CR-3 through its Crash Report Online Purchase System. The current fee for each is listed on the TxDOT page, along with a surcharge for using the system. After you pay, the report comes to you by email.
Texas Department of Transportation05
Texas law limits the full report to people connected to the crash. TxDOT names anyone involved, a driver, the owner of a vehicle or property damaged, an employer, parent or legal guardian of a driver, insurance companies and government agencies. Everyone else receives a redacted copy.
Texas Department of TransportationAgencies 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
| County | Fatal crashes | People who died | Share of the state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County | 1,583 | 1,678 | 13.6% |
| Dallas County | 942 | 1,020 | 8.1% |
| Bexar County | 643 | 678 | 5.5% |
| Tarrant County | 599 | 632 | 5.2% |
| Travis County | 445 | 481 | 3.8% |
| El Paso County | 250 | 271 | 2.2% |
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.
Closer to where it happened
Each page names the department that usually holds the report there and how to ask for it.
Questions
The officer who worked your crash files the CR-3 report with TxDOT. You then buy a copy through the TxDOT Crash Report Online Purchase System and it reaches you by email. Have the crash date, the city or county, and a name of someone involved. The fee is shown on the TxDOT page.
No. TxDOT ended the Driver's Crash Report, form CR-2, and no longer hosts or provides that form. When an officer works the crash, the officer writes the report. You still tell your own insurance company what happened, and you still call police at the scene when someone is hurt.
Give it time. The officer has to finish the report and send it in, and Fort Worth police say it can take up to two weeks from the date of the crash to appear. Check that you spelled the name right and used the correct county. If it stays missing, call the records unit of the agency that responded.
Texas law limits the full report to people tied to the crash. TxDOT names anyone involved, a driver, the owner of a vehicle or property damaged, an employer, parent or legal guardian of a driver, insurance companies and government agencies. Everyone else receives a copy with some information removed.
Yes. You can start a free case check from anywhere in Texas in English or Spanish. You can call or text. Gregory S. Hach looks at what you send as the initial attorney reviewer. If another law firm may be able to help, that firm is named and you are asked for permission first.
A quick reality check
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
We opened every Texas agency page linked here on this date and rewrote anything that had changed.
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