CA · Crash Record Search

California Accident Report Lookup

Search over 900,000 crash records from the California Crash Records System (CCRS). Find accidents by road, city, or highway — or read below for guidance on requesting an official CHP report.

Search CCRS Records
Interstate 5 Interstate 405 Interstate 10 Interstate 80 US-101 SR-99 Los Angeles San Diego Fresno Sacramento Rear-end DUI crash

Searches CCRS crash records and live CA 511 incidents. Coverage: January 2024 to present. For crashes before 2024, see historical records.

What's Searchable

What CaliCrash Records Contain

Location & Road
Road or highway name, city, county, milepost, and cross-street where available.
Severity & Injuries
Crash severity (fatal, serious injury, minor injury, property damage only) and injury extent per party.
Date & Time
Crash date and time of day as recorded in the CHP investigation report.
Party & Vehicle Count
Number of vehicles involved, party types (driver, pedestrian, bicyclist), and collision type.

What is not included: Party names, driver license numbers, insurance information, fault determination, and witness statements are not published in CCRS records and are not searchable on CaliCrash. To obtain that information, you must request the full CHP 555 report through official channels.

Official Reports

How to Get an Official California Accident Report

CHP 555 Traffic Collision Report

If the California Highway Patrol responded to your crash, the investigating officer files a CHP 555 Traffic Collision Report. This is the primary legal document used for insurance claims, litigation, and DMV proceedings. To request a copy, contact the CHP Area office or district that has jurisdiction over the location of the crash. You will need to provide the collision date, location, and proof of involvement (driver license number or your name as listed in the report). Reports are typically available within 10 to 30 days; fatal crashes under active investigation may take 60 to 90 days.

Local Police Department Reports

If a city police department or county sheriff's office — not CHP — responded to your crash, that agency holds the official report. Most agencies allow you to request crash reports online, in person, or by mail using the agency's public records request process. Some cities use third-party vendors like LexisNexis Crash Report Portal for online access. Processing times vary from 3 to 14 business days depending on the agency.

DMV SR-1 Form

California law requires any driver involved in a crash to file a DMV SR-1 (Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California) within 10 days if anyone is killed or injured, or if property damage exceeds $1,000 — regardless of fault. The SR-1 is separate from the CHP 555 and is a regulatory self-report filed with the DMV. Failure to file can result in license suspension. The SR-1 form is available for download on the California DMV website.

Browse by Location

Find Crashes by County or Highway

If you know where the crash occurred, browsing directly by county or highway is often faster than a keyword search. Each county and highway page shows all CCRS crash records for that location with severity and date filters.

View all 58 counties →
Historical Data

Finding Accident Reports Before 2024

CaliCrash indexes CCRS records from January 2024 onward. For crashes prior to 2024, you have two main paths:

  • Contact the responding agency directly. CHP area offices and local police departments retain case files for a minimum of 3 years. Most will process records requests for crashes going back 5 or more years.
  • Use SWITRS. The California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), maintained by CHP, covers crash data going back to 2003. SWITRS can be requested through CHP's public records process. The UC Berkeley SafeTREC team also offers a SWITRS query interface for academic and research use.
FAQ

Common Questions About California Accident Reports

What information do I need to find my accident report?

You need at least one of: the road or highway name, the city, the approximate crash date, or a report number if the officer gave you one. For an official copy from CHP, you'll also need proof of involvement — your driver license number, insurance policy number, or your name as it appears in the report.

How long does it take for a CHP report to be available?

Most CHP 555 reports are ready within 10 to 30 days. Fatal crashes under active investigation may take 60 to 90 days. CCRS records appear on CaliCrash daily as CHP finalizes and submits them. For urgent insurance needs, call the CHP area office directly for a preliminary case number.

What's the difference between a CHP 555 report and a DMV SR-1 form?

The CHP 555 is the law enforcement investigation document — it contains fault determination, witness statements, a collision diagram, and party information. The DMV SR-1 is a self-report that drivers must file within 10 days when there is injury, death, or property damage over $1,000. They are separate documents for separate purposes. CaliCrash data comes from CHP 555 reports only.

Does CaliCrash show fault or party names?

No. CCRS records published through the CA Open Data portal do not include party names, driver license numbers, insurance information, or fault determination. These fields are redacted under California privacy law. To obtain that information you must request the full CHP 555 report from the relevant CHP district office or law enforcement agency.

Can I find accident reports from before 2024?

CaliCrash only covers 2024 onward. For earlier crashes, contact the responding agency directly (CHP area office or local police department) or use the CHP's SWITRS database, which goes back to 2003 and is available for research via the UC Berkeley SafeTREC query tool.

About This Data

CaliCrash indexes crash records from the California Crash Records System (CCRS), maintained by the California Highway Patrol and published via the CA Open Data portal.

CCRS records are investigator-completed reports. Records include crash location, date, severity, party and vehicle counts, and injury extent — but not party names or fault determination.

Live incident data from CA 511 (active accidents and road closures) is also searchable but is not sourced from CCRS.