Where this comes from
You can check the original sources
We checked these original sources on August 25, 2026. Each link opens the source so you can read it for yourself.
Original links
Sources and what they explain
- Where it applies
- United States; implemented through state crash-report systems
- What it helps explain
- Defines common crash-report data fields used to improve consistent state reporting.
- Date checked
- Sixth edition public program page; retrieved August 25, 2026
- Where it applies
- United States and state traffic-record systems
- What it helps explain
- Explains the state data systems that collect crash, driver, vehicle and roadway records.
- Date checked
- Live federal program page; retrieved August 25, 2026
- Where it applies
- All U.S. states and territories
- What it helps explain
- Identifies the insurance regulator for each state and territory.
- Date checked
- Live regulator directory; retrieved August 25, 2026
Keep the original report unchanged
Download or request the complete report and every supplement. Save an unchanged copy. Work from a second copy when you highlight the wrong field, sentence, diagram, vehicle, street, direction, witness, or insurance entry.
The federal crash-data standard shows why reports contain separate person, vehicle, roadway, sequence, and injury fields.1 A mistake should be identified by field and page, not described only as “the report is wrong.”
Build a correction file
Put the record that supports the correction beside the marked report:
- original photos or video with their file dates;
- a vehicle registration, insurance card, or VIN photograph;
- witness names and contact details;
- dispatch, ambulance, body-camera, or nearby-camera information;
- a map or street photograph showing the exact location;
- medical records if the injury field is the issue.
Traffic records are built from several state systems, not from one document alone.2 Keep each source labeled so a reviewer can tell what it proves.
Ask the reporting agency about its process
The agency that made the report controls its correction or supplemental-report process. Ask for the records unit, identify the report number, and request written instructions. Save the request and response. Do not claim an officer agreed unless the agency says so in writing.
Keep the insurance file separate
Send the insurer the record it requests, but keep a copy of everything. If the error affects claim handling, the state insurance department is the public office that regulates insurers.3 A regulator does not replace legal advice or decide what the crash report proves in a civil matter.
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 full facts, records, state law and a licensed attorney's review.
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Where this comes from
Crash-report fields follow state and local systems. The federal traffic-record standard explains common fields, while the reporting agency controls its own correction process.
- 1
Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria
Defines common crash-report data fields used to improve consistent state reporting.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - 2
Traffic records
Explains the state data systems that collect crash, driver, vehicle and roadway records.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - 3
State insurance departments
Identifies the insurance regulator for each state and territory.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Last updated
August 25, 2026
Added a checklist for marking the exact error and gathering the record that supports a correction.