How to get your New Jersey car accident report
The NJ.gov crash report portal only covers State Police and Turnpike or Parkway crashes ($13 non-toll, $5 toll). Atlantic City Expressway, town, Port Authority and NJ Transit reports come from that agency instead, and Elizabeth's are free.
Hurt in a New Jersey car accident and still waiting on the report? You do not need it to start. The 30-second questionnaire asks whether a report was filed, not for a copy.
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Which police agency has your accident report?
The agency whose officer responded, and for most crashes that is not the state portal. In our NJDOT count, 59.3% of 514,320 police-reported crashes in 2023 and 2024 were on municipal or county roads.
Only 7.4% were on state authority toll roads and 30.1% on state highways and interstates. The road name is a clue, not the answer.
- Check what the officer gave you. A case number or a card with a department name tells you who holds the report.
- Turnpike or Garden State Parkway. Use the state portal's toll road option. A fatal crash goes to the Turnpike Authority's records request form.
- Atlantic City Expressway. The state portal does not cover it. Contact the Atlantic City Expressway Authority, P.O. Box 389, Hammonton, NJ 08037, phone (609) 965-7200 ext. 108. See Egg Harbor Township accident reports by agency for one town where this applies. Crash counts for the road are on the Atlantic City Expressway accident page.
- A trooper on any other road. Use the state portal's non-toll road option.
- Port Authority, NJ Transit, Palisades Interstate Parkway or DRPA police. Use that agency's official page, listed in the tables below.
- A town officer, or you are not sure. Call the town's records unit with the date and names, or try our crash report finder by town or road.
Hurt in the crash? Our New Jersey accident help hub covers the claim steps and deadlines. For crash counts rather than one report, see the most dangerous intersections in NJ, built from the same NJDOT records.1
How much does an NJ accident report cost, and how long does it take?
Fees run from free in Elizabeth to $13 for a State Police non-toll report, and stated waits run from 3 to 14 business days. Only 5 of the 11 agency pages state any wait.
| Agency | How to request | Fee as stated | Timing as stated | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey State Police (non-toll roads) | Online, NJ.gov Crash Reports Request portal | $13.00 | Completion and approval "can take 14 business days from the crash date" | njportal.com, Non-Toll Roads search |
| New Jersey Turnpike Authority (Turnpike and Garden State Parkway) | Online, same portal, toll road option; fatal crashes through the Turnpike Authority records request form | $5.00 | "May take up to 14 business days depending on their stage of processing" | njportal.com help page |
| Palisades Interstate Parkway Police | Online, LexisNexis Police Reports (BuyCrash) | Not stated | Not stated | parkwaypolice.org resources |
| Jersey City Police Department (Hudson) | In person, Two Jackson Square, 356 Martin Luther King Drive, 2nd floor | Amount not stated; cash or money order only | Not stated | jerseycitynj.gov |
| Paterson Police Department (Passaic) | Online, LexisNexis link on the official resources page | Not stated | Not stated | njoag.gov Paterson PD resources |
| Elizabeth Police Department (Union) | Online, CrashDocs (crashdocs.org) | Free ("Reports are free for the public") | Available on CrashDocs in 3 to 5 business days after supervisor approval, then emailed after the online steps | elizabethnj.org |
| Lakewood Police Department (Ocean) | Online (CrashDocs or LexisNexis), in person at 231 3rd Street, by mail (PO Box 540) or by email (records@lakewoodpolicenj.com) | Not stated | Not stated | lakewoodpolicenj.com records |
| Edison Police Department (Middlesex) | In person at headquarters, 100 Municipal Boulevard, Records Bureau | $0.05 per letter page, $0.07 per legal page | "Generally" available in 7 to 10 business days; serious crashes may take longer | edisonnj.gov accident reports |
| Woodbridge Police Department (Middlesex) | In person, Records Bureau, ground floor, 1 Main Street | $0.50 per page | Not stated | twp.woodbridge.nj.us police reports |
| Toms River Police Department (Ocean) | Online (CrashDocs), in person at 255 Oak Avenue, by email (PoliceRecords@trpolice.org) or by mail (PO Box 876) | $5.00 by mail; other routes not stated | Allow 3 business days before going in person; mail requests "usually processed within a few days of their receipt" | trpolice.org records |
| Trenton Police Department (Mercer) | In person at 225 N Clinton Avenue, or by mail | Service window: $0.50 per page for pages 1 to 10, $0.10 per page after that. Mail: flat $5 | Not stated | trentonnj.org police report |
Five more agencies: check the official page for route, fee and timing
| Agency | Official page |
|---|---|
| Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police | panynj.gov police reports |
| NJ Transit Police | police.njtransit.com records |
| Delaware River Port Authority Police (DRPA and PATCO) | drpa.org police reports |
| Newark Police Division (Essex) | newarknj.gov City Clerk |
| Hamilton Township Police Division (Mercer) | hamiltontwpnj.gov Records Unit |
Per-page charges in Edison, Woodbridge and Trenton are not whole-report prices. County agencies and other towns are not covered here, so ask that town's police records unit.
Local crash data: Newark car accidents, Jersey City car accidents, Paterson car accidents, Elizabeth car accidents and Lakewood car accidents. Also Edison car accidents, Woodbridge car accidents, Toms River car accidents, Hamilton Township car accidents and Trenton car accidents.2
Why can't I find my accident report online yet?
A report is searchable only after it is complete and approved, which the State Police say can take 14 business days. If nothing turns up, the portal says to "search again in a couple days."
- Still nothing after 15 business days? The portal's help page says to email the State Police at njsprecords@njsp.gov.
- Using CrashDocs or LexisNexis? These are private companies, not the police. Elizabeth, Lakewood and Toms River link CrashDocs; Palisades, Paterson and Lakewood link LexisNexis.
- Dead link? Paterson and Lakewood still link the older policereports.lexisnexis.com address, which did not respond to our checks. Call that department's records unit instead.
- Before you pay twice, check the agency, the road category (toll or non-toll) and the details you entered.
While you wait, see what to do in the first 24 hours after a New Jersey crash and what evidence helps prove fault after an NJ crash.3
How do I get a police report from the NJ State Police?
Use the NJ.gov Crash Reports Request portal: the non-toll option for a trooper's report ($13), the toll option for the Turnpike or Parkway ($5). For a worked example, see Mount Laurel I-295 and Turnpike reports.
- Search by case number (no dashes), driver's license number, license plate number or the last name of someone involved.
- Pay by major credit card or debit card run as credit. An account is optional and adds eCheck.
- Download within 14 days. When the report is ready you get an email, and the file stays available for 14 days from it.
- Six-year window. Reports are available for six years from the year of the crash; for older ones, contact the State Police.
- Serious or fatal crash files are a separate $20 Records Request that needs a subpoena or a judge's order. The basic NJTR-1 report does not include them.4
What do you need to request an accident report?
The crash date and one identifier, such as a case number or plate. The table shows which agencies also want photo ID, a set payment or proof you were involved.
| Item | What the agency pages say |
|---|---|
| Crash date | The State Police non-toll search form asks for it. Elizabeth also asks for the date. Trenton asks for the date the report was taken. |
| Report or case number | Elizabeth asks for the report or reference number (EPD case number). The state portal and Trenton do not require it. Enter State Police case numbers without dashes. |
| Another identifier | The state portal accepts a driver's license number, a license plate number or an involved person's last name instead of the case number. |
| Photo ID | Lakewood asks for a copy of a valid picture ID and a phone number for mail and email requests. Toms River requires proper identification in person and a driver's license copy by email. Trenton says identification must be shown. |
| Payment | Card on the state portal. Cash or money order only at Jersey City. Trenton by mail: a $5 cashier's check from individuals. Toms River by mail: a $5 fee, payable to Toms River Township. |
| Who is asking | Trenton accepts mail requests only from the person named in the report, their attorney or their insurance company. Elizabeth's steps ask you to confirm you are a party involved in the car accident. |
How do you report an accident without a police report?
File NJDOT's SR-1 Self-Reporting Crash form online. NJDOT says it "is the only form that can be used" for a crash the police did not investigate.
The NJDOT self-reporting page sends an acknowledgment within minutes, and NJDOT says that receipt "can be submitted to an insurance company." A separate SR-1S form takes supplemental information. We also cover reporting a crash after hitting a deer.
Police come first if someone is hurt or killed, or damage to any one person's property is over $500. The driver must tell local, county or State Police by the quickest means, and a written report to the Motor Vehicle Commission is due within 10 days unless an officer files one. Our accident deadline checker dates it.6
Does the police report decide who was at fault?
No. DOBI says insurance companies assign fault from all the facts, such as police reports and statements.
Disputes over a fault share are covered in what partly at fault meant in real New Jersey cases and what to expect from an insurance adjuster.7
Questions people ask
What happens if I don't report an accident within 10 days?
You owe the MVC a report only if no officer wrote one. Skipping it knowingly risks a $30 to $100 fine and license or registration suspension. Not knowing how badly someone was hurt, or how much damage was done, is no defense if you knew you crashed.
That report is confidential, usable as evidence only to prove you complied.8
Can you file a police report after an accident in NJ?
If police never came, yes: the online SR-1 is your record. Otherwise police must be told by the quickest means, and if the driver cannot do it, another occupant or the owner must.
How do I look up an accident report in NJ?
Ask the agency whose officer came: the NJ.gov portal holds State Police, Turnpike and Parkway reports, and a town's records unit holds its own.
Are accident reports public record in NJ?
The basic one is. The state portal says "the basic crash investigation report is a public record," but "Serious/Fatal Investigation reports associated with a crash are not public records." Those need a subpoena or a judge's order.9
How do you read the codes on an NJ police report?
The basic report is the NJTR-1, which only police complete, and most of it is numbered codes. Our guide to reading a New Jersey crash report decodes the form and explains how to flag a mistake.
Still waiting on your New Jersey accident report? You do not need it to start. The 30-second questionnaire asks about your injury, fault, medical care and the date, and a sponsoring lawyer's office may then call you.
Start the New Jersey accident quiz
Advertisement. Opens the New Jersey questionnaire. Review its policies and contact consent before submitting your details. No legal advice or guarantee of acceptance or compensation.
Sources
- NJ State Police and NJ Turnpike Authority, Crash Reports Request help page (fees, Atlantic City Expressway contact) and portal home (fatal crash routing), retrieved 2026-11-10; road categories: our count of NJDOT crash records for 2023 and 2024 (NJDOT Crash Data Portal, as normalized by the open nj-crashes project), downloaded 2026-11-06.
- our agency dataset of 16 agency report pages, read 2026-11-06; each official page retrieved again 2026-11-10.
- non-toll road search page and help page; elizabethnj.org, lakewoodpolicenj.com, trpolice.org, parkwaypolice.org and njoag.gov Paterson PD resources; all retrieved 2026-11-10.
- Crash Reports Request help page, non-toll road search page and portal home, retrieved 2026-11-10. The $20 request needs "a subpoena signed by an officer of the court or an order issued by a judge" and asks for a case number, a court order docket number and a bar association number; the basic report "does not include additional investigative documents."
- Crash Reports Request help page, jerseycitynj.gov, elizabethnj.org, lakewoodpolicenj.com, trpolice.org and trentonnj.org, retrieved 2026-11-10.
- NJDOT, Self-Reporting Crash Form page, retrieved 2026-11-10; N.J.S.A. 39:4-130, statute text (Justia 2025 edition), retrieved 2026-11-10.
- NJ DOBI, Everything You Wanted to Know About Auto Insurance (2026), p. 26, retrieved 2026-11-10.
- N.J.S.A. 39:4-130, retrieved 2026-11-10.
- Crash Reports Request portal home, retrieved 2026-11-10.
- agency dataset; NJ Department of Labor, 2020 Census data, read 2026-11-06.
How we counted
On 6 November 2026 we read the public report pages of 16 agencies: six state and regional police forces and the police of the ten largest towns by 2020 Census population. For each we recorded the request route, fee, timing, ID rules and page link.
On 10 November 2026 we reloaded every page. Eleven still showed the same facts, and the counts here cover those 11; for the other five we list only links.
We did not request any report or time real deliveries. Road categories come from our count of NJDOT crash records for 2023 and 2024.10