Colorado Accident Reports: State Patrol, DMV and Police
Who has your crash report, what drivers must report, insurance rules and traffic deaths in Colorado.
I-25 runs about 300 miles north to south, starting at the New Mexico line and passing through Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Fort Collins before reaching Wyoming. Meanwhile, I-70 stretches about 450 miles from the Utah line, running through Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs and Vail into Denver, then continuing east toward Kansas. On the eastern edge of the Denver area, E-470 provides another option for drivers, with a 47-mile tollway around the metro area.
With so many major routes carrying traffic across Colorado, crashes can happen in all kinds of places. If you have been in one, knowing which agency responded, if any, is important because that determines who has your accident report and how you can get a copy.
Who Has Your Colorado Crash Report
The report stays with the agency that investigated the crash: the Colorado State Patrol, or the city police department that responded. Keep the case report number, because the State Patrol asks for it. If no officer came and you filed a report online yourself, the Colorado DMV holds it, and the State Patrol says it cannot get a copy.
State Patrol reports come from the Patrol’s Central Records Unit, and every request goes through its online Records Request Portal. Have the driver’s name, the crash date, the case report number, and the crash location ready. Reports are not available right after a crash: once the investigation is finished, review and approval can take up to 10 working days. Send one request only, so you are not charged twice.
There are two versions. The Basic Crash Report is a synopsis of the crash without witness statements or digital media, and the Complete Case File adds the full investigation report, witness statements, and other written reports.
Requests are handled under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, and you sign a statement that the records will not be used to directly solicit business for profit. The Patrol’s posted fee schedule has no crash report line, so ask Central Records for the cost. Payment can be made by credit card, and the portal delivers the finished report with an email notice.
Questions go to the Central Records Unit at 700 Kipling Street, Lakewood, CO 80215, 303-239-4180 or [email protected], weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
DMV crash records sit in the state’s driver license system, including the online counter reports drivers file when no officer responds. For your own, send form DR 2559 with the fee. For someone else’s, send DR 2559 with that person’s consent, or DR 2489, the Requestor Release and Affidavit of Intended Use, with the fee.
A counter report filed online is released only with the written consent of the driver who filed it. Mail it to the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles, P.O. Box 173350, Denver, CO 80217-3350, or book a Driver Records appointment at the Westgate Office, 3265 S. Wadsworth Blvd. #3A, in Lakewood.
Driver license offices do not hand out crash records. The DMV asks you to allow 90 days for a report to arrive from the police agency and be entered, and it keeps crash information for seven years.
E-470’s online incident form is for telling the highway authority about a non-injury incident on its road, and it is not a police report.
Want someone else to handle the request, or unsure which agency has your report? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.
Police Reports From Colorado Cities
City police departments release their own crash reports, so start with the department that responded. Three examples:
| Department | How to request | Fee |
| Denver Police Department | Online or by mail | Not posted |
| Fort Collins Police Services | JustFOIA online portal, or the Records Unit at 2221 S. Timberline Rd. | Police case reports start at $10 per quarter hour ($40 an hour), with a non-refundable deposit |
| Lakewood Police Department | NextRequest online portal, or Police Records at 303-987-7331, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. | $8 for the first 10 pages, $0.25 each added page |
Denver says crash reports typically become available 5 to 7 days after a case is closed. Fatal, serious-injury, and active-investigation crashes go through Denver’s Civil Liability Section as investigation reports.
What Colorado Drivers Must Report
Colorado sets no dollar threshold for calling police. Under Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) section 42-4-1606, the driver in a crash that injures or kills anyone, or causes any property damage, must stop, then give immediate notice of the location to the nearest police agency and return to the scene if police say to. Failing to do so is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense.
When officers do not come, the driver’s report goes online. During an Accident Alert, called in severe weather, the State Patrol responds only to crashes with a disabled vehicle, a death or injury needing medical care, alcohol or drugs, a hit and run, or damage to public property.
In other crashes, drivers exchange information and file an online counter report through myDMV as soon as possible, or at a State Patrol office, and the DMV keeps that report for its records without a police investigation.
If police did come, the DMV needs no forms from you unless it sends a letter. Drivers who did not give the trooper current insurance information have 10 days to fill out a financial responsibility form, according to the State Patrol.
Colorado Insurance Rules After a Crash
Colorado policies must carry at least $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage under C.R.S. section 10-4-620. Every policy also includes $5,000 of medical payments coverage, which pays regardless of fault, unless you reject it. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is included too unless you reject it in writing, and insurers must offer it at the same limits as your bodily injury liability.
Colorado is a fault state and does not require personal injury protection. The driver found at fault pays for the other side’s losses through liability coverage. Under section 13-21-111, a driver who shares the blame recovers only if their share of fault is smaller than the other driver’s, and the award shrinks by that share, so a driver found 50% at fault recovers nothing.
Colorado Traffic Deaths by the Numbers
| Measure | Figure | Year | Source |
| People killed in traffic crashes | 701 | 2025 | CDOT |
| People killed in traffic crashes | 689 | 2024 | CDOT |
| Motorcyclists killed | 147 | 2025 | CDOT |
| Pedestrians killed | 131 | 2025 | CDOT |
| Deaths in crashes with suspected impaired driving | 235 | 2025 | CDOT |
Colorado Crash Guides by City and County
At Local Accident Reports, we cover crashes across the country. That means going county by county, and then city by city, focusing on car crashes, motorcycle wrecks, commercial and residential fires, and every other kind of accident happening in every corner of the nation.
Colorado is no exception. With 64 counties and 272 municipalities/cities, there are crashes to report every single day, and that’s what we do. But we don’t stop there. We don’t just want to tell drivers and commuters when and where a crash happened. We also want to help people get to know the cities they drive in, including the most important roads and the most dangerous intersections, so they have a clear picture of what to expect behind the wheel.
Here you’ll find the latest accidents across Colorado’s counties and communities, along with guides to some of the state’s most important cities.
County accident news: Arapahoe County · Denver County · El Paso County · Weld County · Adams County · Boulder County · Larimer County · Jefferson County
Locations with high past crash counts are listed on our Colorado dangerous intersections page.
Help After a Crash
- Local Accident Reports. We can put you in touch with local help after a crash, from doctors and body shops to injury attorneys. Contact our team.
- Colorado Crime Victim Compensation Helps victims of crimes reported to police, through a program in each judicial district; apply in the district where the crime happened, within one year of the injury. Covered crimes include vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, and state law under C.R.S. section 24-4.1-102 also covers crashes in which a drunk or impaired driver, a careless driver, or a driver who left the scene injured or killed someone.
- MADD Free support for people hurt by drunk or drugged drivers and for families who lost someone. 24-hour help line: 877-MADD-HELP.
- 911. Call 911 any time for support after an accident.
- Trauma centers. Colorado’s state-designated Level I trauma centers include Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs and UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland.
Colorado Crash Questions
How do I get a Colorado State Patrol accident report?
Request it through the State Patrol’s Records Request Portal at coloradostatepatrol.govqa.us, run by the Central Records Unit in Lakewood. You need the driver’s name, crash date, case report number, and location. Processing can take up to 10 working days after the investigation ends, you sign a no-solicitation statement, and Central Records gives the cost.
How do I get a Colorado crash report I filed online?
The DMV holds online counter reports, and the State Patrol cannot provide them. Mail form DR 2559 with the fee to the Division of Motor Vehicles, P.O. Box 173350, Denver, CO 80217-3350. Another driver’s counter report needs that driver’s written consent. The DMV asks for 90 days for a report to be received and entered, and it keeps crash information for seven years.
Is Colorado a no-fault state?
No. Colorado is a fault state with no personal injury protection requirement, so the at-fault driver’s liability insurance pays the other side’s losses. Policies include $5,000 of medical payments coverage unless you reject it. A driver who shares the blame recovers only if their share of fault is smaller than the other driver’s, and the award drops by that share.
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Colorado?
Three years for injury and property damage from a motor vehicle crash, under C.R.S. section 13-80-101(1)(n), and two years for wrongful death, under section 13-80-102(1)(d). A claim against a city, county, or state agency needs written notice within 182 days of discovering the injury, under section 24-10-109, or the claim is barred.
Recent Colorado Crash Coverage
Serious Injury Crash on W 2nd Pl Sends Man to Hospital by Air in Lakewood, CO
Multi-Vehicle Crash on NB I-25 in Denver, CO, Blocks Multiple Lanes
Passenger Killed, Driver Critically Hurt in I-70 Crash Near Byers, CO
Crash On I-25 SB In Douglas County, CO Injures Passenger
One Driver Hurt in Two-Vehicle Crash on I-25 Ramp in Castle Rock, CO
Older stories are in our Colorado accident news archive, and recent accident alerts track new crashes nationwide as they are reported.
Local Accident Reports compiles this information from public agency sources and published reports for general reference. It is not legal advice and is not an official police record. Fees, forms and deadlines change, so confirm with the agency before you send a request. Last updated October 2026.