Jill Kolodner | November 10, 2022 | Car Accidents
An accident report can provide valuable information to your personal injury lawyer after you get injured in a car accident. The report contains contact and insurance information for the other driver. It also gives the investigating officer’s account of what happened.
Maryland gives you several options for getting a copy of your accident report. You can even download the forms and request your accident report by mail.
Read on to learn how to obtain an accident report in Baltimore and how to use it in your injury case.
What Is an Accident Report?
Maryland has two types of accident reports: self-reports and police reports.
Self-Report
Under Maryland law, drivers involved in accidents that cause injury or death must file an accident report with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. This report includes your contact and insurance information.
You do not need to self-report if the police responded to your accident and produced a police report.
Police Report
In Maryland, you must call the police anytime you have a car accident involving:
- Injury
- Death
- A hit-and-run
- An intoxicated driver
- An unlicensed driver
- Significant vehicle damage
- A driver who refuses to exchange information
If the police respond to an accident, they will typically create an accident report using a state-issued form. The accident report includes:
- Names and addresses of everyone involved, including pedestrians and bicyclists
- Disposition of each injured person, including whether an ambulance was called
- A narrative explanation of what happened
- Insurance information for each driver
- List of any traffic tickets issued
- Diagram of the accident
- Names of witnesses
All police agencies in Maryland, except the Baltimore Police Department, send their police accident reports to the Maryland State Police. The Baltimore Police Department maintains a separate archive for its police accident reports.
How to Request an Accident Report Outside Baltimore
In all of Maryland outside of Baltimore, you request a copy of your accident report from the Maryland State Police (MSP). The MSP gives you three options for getting a copy of your accident report:
Contact the Barrack
If your accident was investigated by the MSP, you can visit the MSP office (called a barrack) that investigated your accident and produced your report. You must pay a $4 search fee to get a copy of your report. Call the barrack before visiting to verify that you’re going to the right location and that it has your report.
Go to the Records Division
You can go to the Central Records Division for the MSP to get reports for accidents investigated by MSP or any other police agency in Maryland, except the Baltimore Police Department. The Central Records Division is located in Windsor Hill.
The records division charges a $4 fee for copies of search reports. You can go to the central records division to avoid returning to a distant accident location.
Mail Your Request
You do not need to make an in-person request to get a copy of your accident report. You can download the accident report request form from the MSP website. You can fill out this form and mail it to the Central Records Division with the $4 fee. When your report becomes available, the MSP will mail a copy to you.
How to Request an Accident Report in Baltimore
The Baltimore Police Department only provides its accident reports online. After an accident on Baltimore city streets, you must request your accident report from them by accessing the website and providing one of the following:
- Accident report number
- Driver name and accident date
- Driver name and accident location
The city charges $14 per accident report.
Contact a Baltimore Car Accident Lawyer for Help Obtaining Your Accident Report
A car accident attorney can obtain your accident report on your behalf. They can also help you pursue an injury claim against the at-fault driver using the same report.
For more information, contact the Baltimore car accident law firm of WGK Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free initial consultation.
WGK Personal Injury Lawyers
14 W Madison St, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States
(410) 837-2144
WGK Personal Injury Lawyers – Dundalk Office
7329 Holabird Ave Suite 3, Dundalk, MD 21222
(410) 970-3080
