How to Get a Police Report in St. Louis, Missouri

Before you can request your report, you need to know which law enforcement agency responded to the scene. St. Louis has multiple agencies with overlapping jurisdictions, and the wrong request will delay your access to the report.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) covers all accidents within the City of St. Louis — the independent city bounded by the Mississippi River to the east and the city limits to the west, north, and south. If you were on city streets like Kingshighway, Grand, or Natural Bridge, SLMPD handled your report.

St. Louis County Police Department covers unincorporated areas of St. Louis County plus municipalities that contract with the County for police services. If your accident happened in areas like North County, South County, or West County outside of a municipality with its own police force, the County Police likely responded.

Municipal police departments — many of the 88 municipalities in St. Louis County have their own police departments. If your accident happened in a city like Chesterfield, Florissant, or University City, that city's police department may have taken the report. Check your citation or any paperwork from the scene for the agency name.

Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) investigates accidents on state highways and interstates, including I-70, I-64, I-44, and I-55 in the St. Louis area. If a trooper responded, your report is with MSHP, not SLMPD or the County Police.

Online: Submit a request through the SLMPD Public Records portal at slmpd.org/records. You will be notified when your records are ready for pick-up. This method avoids long wait times at the Records Service Center.

In person: Visit the Records Service Center at 1915 Olive St., 1st Floor, St. Louis, MO 63103. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bring a valid photo ID and payment. The center processes crash reports, background checks, and general police reports.

You will need to provide the date of the accident, the approximate location, and the names of the parties involved. If you have a report number from the officer's card or citation, include it — this speeds up the search significantly.

Fees are assessed under the Missouri Sunshine Law: $0.10 per page for copies and up to $15 per hour (prorated to the nearest quarter hour) for staff time to search and retrieve the records, if the search exceeds 15 minutes. Most single-accident crash reports cost just a few dollars. Cash and check are accepted for in-person requests.

In person: Visit the Bureau of Central Police Records at Police Headquarters, 7900 Forsyth Blvd., Room B-013, Clayton, MO 63105. The fee for each crash report is $6.50. Cash is accepted for in-person requests.

Online or by mail: You can submit a records request through the St. Louis County public records portal at recordsrequest.stlouiscountymo.gov, or mail your request to: St. Louis County Police, Records Division, 7900 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, MO 63105. Include the date and location of the accident, the parties involved, and any report number you have.

If a municipal police department within St. Louis County took your report, you must contact that specific department directly. The St. Louis County Police Records Division only maintains reports for incidents they investigated. Contact the municipality where the accident occurred to find the correct police records office.

If your accident occurred on a state highway or interstate in the St. Louis area, the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) likely investigated. Request your report online at mshp.dps.missouri.gov through their online crash report request system, or by phone at (573) 526-6178.

MSHP also partners with BuyCrash.com, where you can search for and purchase crash reports online using the date, location, or your name. Reports are typically available within 5 to 10 business days after the accident. The fee is set by statute and is typically around $6 to $10 per report.

For accidents on I-70, I-64/US 40, I-44, I-55, or I-270 in the St. Louis metro area, MSHP is the most likely investigating agency unless the accident occurred within a city's jurisdiction and that city's police department responded first.

A Missouri Uniform Accident Report includes: the date, time, and exact location of the accident; a diagram of the collision; weather, road, and lighting conditions; the names, addresses, and contact information of all drivers and passengers; vehicle descriptions and license plate numbers; insurance information for all parties; witness names and contact information; the investigating officer's narrative describing what happened; any traffic citations issued; and the officer's assessment of contributing factors.

For your personal injury claim, the report serves several critical functions. It establishes a factual record created by a neutral third party at the scene. It identifies the at-fault party — if the other driver was cited for running a red light or following too closely, that is strong evidence of negligence. It preserves witness contact information that you may need later. And it documents conditions (rain, ice, poor visibility) that may explain how the accident happened.

Insurance adjusters will request a copy of the police report early in the claims process. If you file a lawsuit, the report becomes part of the evidence. Under Missouri's pure comparative fault system (RSMo 537.765), the report can help establish each party's percentage of responsibility. Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault but is never completely barred, even if you were mostly at fault.

Police reports sometimes contain factual errors — wrong street names, incorrect vehicle descriptions, misspelled names, or an inaccurate description of how the accident happened. If you find errors in your report, you have options.

For factual errors (misspelled names, wrong vehicle colors, incorrect dates), contact the investigating agency's records division and request a correction or amendment. Provide the report number, identify the specific error, and explain the correct information. Most agencies will issue a supplemental report with the corrected details.

For narrative errors — where the officer's description of how the accident happened does not match what actually occurred — you generally cannot change the officer's account. Instead, your attorney can address this through witness statements, photographs, surveillance footage, or accident reconstruction evidence during the claims process or at trial. Do not delay your personal injury claim because of a narrative disagreement in the police report.

SLMPD crash reports, arrest reports, and non-criminal police reports are typically available within 10 business days of submitting your request. Criminal police reports, evidentiary materials, and non-standard requests can take up to 30 business days.

St. Louis County Police crash reports are generally available within a few business days for in-person requests. Online and mail requests may take 5 to 10 business days depending on volume.

If your personal injury claim has a tight deadline — for example, the other driver's insurance company is pressuring you for a quick settlement — do not wait for the report to make decisions. Consult an attorney who can request the report on your behalf and advise you while the request is being processed. The 5-year statute of limitations (RSMo 516.120) gives you time, but evidence preservation and witness memories do not wait.

If you were involved in an accident in St. Louis and need help understanding your next steps, take our free 2-minute assessment. You will answer a few quick questions about your accident and injuries, and we will give you a personalized report that includes Missouri's filing deadline for your specific claim, how the police report factors into your case, and whether connecting with a personal injury attorney makes sense for your situation.

Getting a police report is just one step. Understanding what the report means for your claim is where the real value lies. Our assessment is free, confidential, and gives you the information you need to decide what comes next.