The police report will not win a case by itself. In Pennsylvania it is not even admissible as evidence in a damages action arising out of a motor vehicle accident, under section 3751. It is still one of the first documents everyone asks for. Insurers want it. Lawyers want it. You will want it when memories of the intersection start to fade.
If the crash was investigated in Philadelphia, the City’s service page on how to get a copy of a public safety report is the official starting point. You can also use the City’s public safety reports application to request a crash report online.
When a report has to be made
Section 3746 requires the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident to give immediate notice, by the quickest means of communication, to the nearest office of a duly authorized police department if the accident involves injury to or death of any person, or damage to any vehicle involved to the extent that it cannot be driven under its own power in its customary manner without further damage or hazard to the vehicle, other traffic elements, or the roadway, and therefore requires towing. If the driver is physically incapable of giving that notice and another occupant can do so, the occupant shall make or cause the notice to be given.
Every accident reported under that section shall be investigated by a police officer, who shall provide each driver a signed statement that the accident was reported. Keep that statement. It is often the only paper you leave the scene with, and it can help you later when you are asked for a report number or a date.
What the officer forwards, and what you can request
Section 3751(a) requires every police department that investigates a vehicle accident for which a report must be made, and that prepares a written report, to forward an initial written report to the department within 15 days of the accident. If the initial report is not complete, a supplemental report shall be submitted later.
Section 3751(b) then gives you a right to a copy. Police departments shall, upon request, furnish a certified copy of the full report of the police investigation to any person involved in the accident, his attorney or insurer, and to certain government agencies named in the statute. Departments may refuse to furnish the complete copy when criminal charges are pending against a person involved, unless the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure require production.
The fee cap, and the City’s process
The cost of furnishing a copy shall not exceed $15, except that in a city of the first class the cost shall not exceed $25. Philadelphia is a city of the first class, so the statutory cap for a copy here is $25. The City’s service page is the place to confirm the current request steps and any payment instructions that apply along with that cap.
You can request a crash report online through the public safety reports application linked above. You can also apply in person or by mail at City Hall, Room 170, 1400 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19107. The service page lists weekday hours of 8:30 a.m., closing at 4 p.m., and a telephone number, (215) 686-2266. The same page estimates two to three weeks to process a crash report request.
Have the date, the location and any report or district-control number from the officer’s signed statement when you apply. The more precise those details are, the less likely the request is to stall. Do not send questions to an email address printed on a form if you can use the official page and phone line instead. This site does not publish email addresses.
What the report is, and is not
The statute is clear that the copy of the report shall not be admissible as evidence in any action for damages or criminal proceedings arising out of a motor vehicle accident. It can still help you identify the other driver, the insurance information the officer collected, the location and the way the officer described the scene. Photographs, bills and treatment notes you request for your own use, and witness names remain important in their own right.
A crash outside the city is investigated by a different department, and you would request that report from the department that handled it, still under section 3751. The City’s portal is for Philadelphia reports.
Once you have the report, read it against the other clocks on this site. The two-year filing period in section 5524 and, if a government vehicle was involved, the six-month statement in section 5522 do not wait for the copy to arrive.
Timing for your copy, versus the officer’s deadline
The 15-day period in section 3751 is the time the department has to forward its initial written report after the crash. It is not a promise that your copy will be ready in 15 days. The City’s service page currently estimates two to three weeks to process a request. If you apply too early, the safer course is to wait until that window has passed and then request the copy, unless you have a specific reason to apply sooner.
If you left the scene without a signed statement, call the police district that would have handled the location, or use the phone number on the City service page, and ask how to identify the crash. The date, the approximate time, the street or intersection and the names of the drivers are the details most likely to help. You still have to fall within the group of people section 3751 allows to receive a certified copy.
Crashes in the suburban counties around Philadelphia are not requested through the City portal. Those reports are requested from the police department that investigated, still under section 3751, at a cost that the statute caps at $15 outside a city of the first class. Ask that department how it accepts requests and what it charges within the cap.
Our first-week guide puts those steps in order.