Minnesota Accident Reports: State Patrol and DVS Copies
Who has your crash report, what drivers must report, insurance rules and traffic deaths in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, I-94 brings traffic in from Fargo-Moorhead, passes through both downtowns and continues east toward Wisconsin at Hudson. Farther south, I-90 crosses Minnesota from the South Dakota line toward La Crosse. Although these highways carry plenty of traffic, none charges tolls outside the express lanes.
With so many vehicles moving along these routes, crashes can involve different agencies, including Minnesota State Patrol troopers, city police officers, and county sheriffs. The agency that responds to your accident determines who writes the report, but that does not necessarily mean you have to track down the local department to get a copy. In Minnesota, you can obtain the report through a single state office, making it easier to find the records you need after a crash.
Who Has Your Minnesota Crash Report
To get a Minnesota car accident report or a State Patrol crash report, the people involved order a copy from Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS), part of the Department of Public Safety.
The agency that responded to your crash wrote the report, and the officer must send it to the state within 10 days, so DVS can fulfill requests for State Patrol, city police, and sheriff reports. There is no online lookup or purchase. You request a copy on paper, in person, or by mail.
The DVS request uses the Minnesota Crash Record Request, form PS2503-20. Each copy costs $5, and checks or money orders are made payable to “DVS.” Reports are available about three weeks after the crash, and the form asks for the law enforcement case number, the crash date, location and county, and details of the people and vehicles involved. DVS says a request without enough crash information cannot be completed.
You can turn the form in at the DVS exam station in the Town Square Building, 445 Minnesota Street in downtown St. Paul, or at any full-service deputy registrar office, with a driver’s license, government ID, or notarized signature. By mail, send it with a copy of your ID or a notarized signature to Driver and Vehicle Services, Records Unit, 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 161, St. Paul, MN 55101-5161.
The report is confidential, and DVS releases copies only to people recorded on it: drivers, passengers, pedestrians, vehicle owners, and owners of damaged property. Attorneys, insurance representatives, and other agents need a signed release from one of them. After a fatal crash, next of kin, a surviving spouse, or the estate’s legal representative can request it with proof of death, such as a death certificate, obituary, or memorial card. Anyone else can get only basic incident information from the police agency that responded, and Minn. Stat. 169.09 bars using the report as evidence at trial.
The State Patrol’s own pages carry no crash report request form, so Patrol reports come through DVS like any other. The Patrol lists serious and fatal crashes where it was the primary reporting agency, covering the past week, and it can fall behind during ice and snow storms. That page is a public summary for the media and the public; the crash report itself comes through the DVS request above.
Don’t want to deal with the forms, or not sure which agency took your report? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.
Police Reports From Minnesota Cities and Counties
City police departments and sheriff’s offices also release their own crash reports, each with its own process. Start with the department that responded:
| Department | How to request | Fee |
| Minneapolis Police | Call the Records Information Unit at 612-673-2961 to confirm the report is ready, then send the accident report request form through the city’s online portal | Free |
| Saint Paul Police | Records Unit online portal, or in person at 367 Grove St., weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; no online payment | Not posted |
| Bloomington Police | Online police and accident report request form | Set at request |
| Washington County Sheriff | NextRequest online portal or in person; the owner or driver listed on the report may get a copy | $1 per 10 pages, plus a possible software fee online |
| Ramsey County Sheriff | Sheriff’s Office accident report page | Not posted |
Because officers file their reports with the state, the DVS form also works for any of these departments’ crash reports.
What Minnesota Drivers Must Report
Minnesota drivers no longer file their own crash report. The state repealed the driver’s written report, Minnesota Statutes section 169.09 subdivision 7, effective July 1, 2021, and DVS no longer accepts them. Older guides that tell drivers to mail a report within 10 days are out of date.
What remains is the duty to stop, help anyone hurt, and exchange information. When a crash injures or kills someone, the driver must notify police by the quickest means available: the local police department inside a city, the State Patrol on a trunk highway, or the county sheriff anywhere else. Officers then write the report for crashes that kill someone, cause an injury needing immediate medical treatment, or leave a vehicle so damaged it must be towed.
For a driver who did not cause the crash, leaving the scene or failing to give notice after a fatal crash is a felony carrying up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. When the crash causes great bodily harm, the limit is two years and $4,000; for other injuries, up to 364 days and $3,000. Violations involving only property damage are misdemeanors.
How No-Fault Insurance Works in Minnesota
Minnesota is a no-fault state. Your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays first after a crash, regardless of who caused it, and state law (under Minnesota Statutes 65B.44) sets the minimum at $20,000 for medical expenses plus $20,000 for income loss, replacement services, funeral costs, and survivors’ losses. Income loss benefits are capped at $500 a week.
Every policy must also carry liability coverage of at least $30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 per crash and $10,000 for property damage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash under Minnesota Statutes 65B.49.
You can sue the other driver for pain and suffering only past a threshold set by Minnesota Statutes section 65B.51: medical bills over $4,000, not counting diagnostic X-rays and rehabilitation, or a permanent injury, permanent disfigurement, death, or 60 days or more of disability.
When fault is shared, Minnesota Statutes section 604.01 lets you recover if your share of the blame is no greater than the other side’s, and your damages shrink by your own percentage. At 51% or more, you recover nothing from that driver.
Minnesota Traffic Deaths by the Numbers
| Measure | Figure | Year | Source |
| People killed in traffic crashes (preliminary) | 363 | 2025 | Minnesota DPS Office of Traffic Safety |
| People killed in traffic crashes | 402 in 364 fatal crashes | 2023 | Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, DPS |
| Crashes reported | 64,744 | 2023 | Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, DPS |
| Motorcyclists killed | 67 | 2023 | Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, DPS |
| Pedestrians killed | 38 | 2023 | Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, DPS |
The 2025 counts are preliminary and change as crash reports come in. The 2023 Crash Facts book is the latest final count DPS has published.
Minnesota 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.
Minnesota is no exception. With 87 counties and 856 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 Minnesota’s counties and communities, along with guides to some of the state’s most important cities.
County accident news: Hennepin County · St. Louis County · Blue Earth County · Wright County · Stearns County · Olmsted County · Dakota County · Sherburne County
High-crash intersections in Minneapolis are listed on our Minnesota intersections page.
Help After a Crash
- Local Accident Reports. After a crash, we can connect you with local help, from doctors and body shops to injury attorneys. Contact our team.
- Crime Victims Reparations Board Covers victims of drunk driving and criminal vehicular operation, and dependents of those killed, for medical and funeral bills, counseling, lost wages, and other costs insurance does not pay. File within three years; the crime must have been reported to police within 30 days. 651-201-7300 or 1-888-622-8799.
- 911. Call or text 911 after an accident for support.
- Trauma centers. Minnesota’s adult Level 1 trauma centers are Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Mayo Clinic Hospital Saint Marys Campus in Rochester, and Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, per the Department of Health’s trauma hospital list.
Minnesota Crash Questions
How do I get a Minnesota State Patrol crash report?
Order it from Driver and Vehicle Services on the Crash Record Request form, PS2503-20, in person at DVS in St. Paul or a full-service deputy registrar office, or by mail. A copy costs $5 and is available about three weeks after the crash. Only people recorded on the report, or someone with their signed release, can get one, and there is no online purchase.
Do Minnesota drivers have to file their own crash report?
No. Minnesota repealed the driver’s written crash report effective July 1, 2021, and DVS no longer accepts them. Drivers must still stop, exchange information, and, after a crash that injures or kills someone, notify city police, the State Patrol on a trunk highway, or the county sheriff right away. The officer then writes the report.
Is Minnesota a no-fault state?
Yes. Your own PIP coverage pays first, regardless of who caused the crash, with at least $20,000 for medical bills and $20,000 for other losses such as lost income. A claim for pain and suffering against the other driver needs more than $4,000 in medical bills, a permanent injury or disfigurement, a death, or at least 60 days of disability.
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Minnesota?
Six years for injury claims under Minnesota Statutes section 541.05. Wrongful death claims have three years from the death, and no more than six years from the crash under section 573.02. Claims against a city or county need notice within 180 days, or one year for a death under section 466.05; claims against the state need notice to the attorney general within 180 days under section 3.736.
Recent Minnesota Crash Coverage
Two-Vehicle Crash on Hwy 14 in Saint Charles, MN
Two-Vehicle Crash on Hwy 71 in Birch Cooley Twp, MN
Fatal UTV Rollover on Hwy 28 in CULDRUM TOWNSHIP., MN
Two-Vehicle Crash Injures Driver On Hwy 10 in MOTLEY, MN
Motorcyclist Critically Hurt in Crash on Hwy 218 in Austin Twp, MN
The full archive is at Minnesota accident news, and recent accident alerts follow 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.