Get a Copy of Your NJ Accident Report — Free
Start with the law-enforcement agency that investigated the crash. The agency name may appear on the driver-information exchange, summons, case paperwork, insurance documents, or other material provided at the scene. Use NJ OPRA Portal’s guided form to identify that agency and request the NJTR-1 and any related records you need.
Quick answer
NJ OPRA Portal prepares an official OPRA request and sends it directly to the records custodian for the investigating agency. Filing through NJ OPRA Portal is free, and the request asks for electronic delivery.
Step 1: Identify the investigating agency
The correct records custodian is the agency that created or maintains the crash record. Look for:
- Police department or New Jersey State Police station
- Report, incident, or case number
- Trooper or officer name
- Crash date and approximate time
- Exact roadway, direction, milepost, intersection, municipality, and county
- A reference to the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, Atlantic City Expressway, or another authority-controlled roadway
Do not rely on the road number alone. NJSP patrols assigned highways, toll roads, and municipalities, but local and other law-enforcement agencies also investigate crashes. The agency identified on your paperwork is the best starting point.
Step 2: Choose the records you actually need
The NJTR-1 is the police crash investigation report. It does not automatically include every record created during the response. Depending on the incident, consider requesting:
- NJTR-1 crash report and supplemental reports
- Driver-information exchange
- Operations or incident report
- Crash diagram
- Scene photographs
- Body-worn-camera footage
- Mobile-video or dash-camera footage
- 911 audio
- Computer-aided dispatch event history
- Radio transmissions
- Tow or impound records
- Reconstruction records for a serious or fatal crash
Request related audio, video, photographs, and dispatch records expressly. An agency may maintain those items in different systems and may apply redactions or exemptions to some of them.
NJTR-1 versus SR-1
The NJTR-1 is used by a police agency for a crash it investigated. The SR-1 is the citizen self-reporting form for a crash that was not investigated by police. Filing an SR-1 does not produce the investigating officer’s NJTR-1 because there was no police investigation report.
Step 3: Submit a focused request
Include enough information for the custodian to identify the crash without conducting open-ended research:
- Date and approximate time
- Exact location, direction of travel, intersection, or milepost
- Names of drivers or involved persons, when useful
- Report or case number
- Investigating agency or station
- Vehicle descriptions or plate information, when useful
- A list of each record category requested
- A request for electronic delivery where available
Sample request language
Please provide the NJTR-1 crash report and any supplemental crash reports for the motor-vehicle collision occurring on [DATE] at approximately [TIME] at or near [LOCATION, DIRECTION, AND MILEPOST OR INTERSECTION]. The incident involved [NAMES OR VEHICLE DESCRIPTIONS], and the report or case number is [NUMBER], if available. Please also provide any responsive scene photographs, crash diagrams, body-worn-camera recordings, mobile-video recordings, 911 audio, CAD event history, and radio transmissions maintained by the agency. Please provide responsive records electronically where available. If any portion is withheld or redacted, please identify the specific legal basis.
Local police, NJSP, and toll-road reports
Municipal, county, or other local agency
Use the agency that responded and prepared the crash report. A municipal clerk, police records bureau, county law-enforcement agency, transit police department, campus police department, or authority police unit may be the correct custodian.
New Jersey State Police
If NJSP investigated the crash, NJ OPRA Portal can send an official OPRA request directly to the working NJSP records custodian for the NJTR-1 and related records. The same direct public-records route can be used for serious or fatal crash records, with the understanding that an ongoing investigation, reconstruction work, or legal review may affect timing.
New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Atlantic City Expressway
NJSP Troop D has responsibility for the Turnpike and Parkway regions, and NJSP identifies an Atlantic City Expressway station. NJ OPRA Portal can request an NJSP-maintained NJTR-1 and related crash records directly from the NJSP records custodian, including records from crashes on these toll roads. Use the investigating agency and roadway shown on your paperwork so the request is routed accurately.
Timing and availability
New Jersey law requires the investigating law-enforcement officer to transmit the crash report to NJDOT within five days after the officer’s investigation. That is not a promise that a report will be complete or available to a requestor five days after the collision.
For a complete non-commercial OPRA request, a custodian generally must grant or deny access as soon as possible and no later than seven business days, subject to other statutory periods, archived or unavailable records, reasonable extensions, and other provisions of law. A response may grant access, partially grant access, deny access, seek clarification, or identify an extension. It does not always mean final production is complete.
Some agencies provide a completed report sooner, sometimes the same day. Serious or fatal crashes, reconstruction records, audio, video, photographs, and records requiring legal or privacy review may take longer.
Free direct filing
Filing through NJ OPRA Portal is free. The portal prepares an official OPRA request, sends it directly to the investigating agency’s records custodian, and asks for electronic delivery. A separate purchase website is not required to submit a valid request for an NJTR-1 or related crash records.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-131 states that the information contained in motor-vehicle accident reports is not privileged or confidential. In Scheeler v. New Jersey State Police, the Government Records Council ordered NJSP to disclose an accident report concerning a Garden State Parkway crash that had been requested through OPRA.
Body camera, dash camera, and other recordings
These recordings are separate from the NJTR-1. The New Jersey Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Fuster v. Township of Chatham ordered release of a body-worn-camera recording under the circumstances before it and rejected the asserted automatic-confidentiality basis. The decision did not make every law-enforcement recording automatically public. OPRA, the Body Worn Camera Law, privacy interests, criminal-investigation issues, victim protections, and other exemptions or redactions may still affect a particular recording.
Related guides
Official sources
Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Benjamin Shore, Esq. This guide is general information about New Jersey public records, not legal advice.
- NJDOT — Police Resources and NJTR-1 (New Jersey Department of Transportation)
- NJDOT — Self-Reporting Crash Form (SR-1) (New Jersey Department of Transportation)
- P.L. 2023, c.55 — N.J.S.A. 39:4-131 amendment (New Jersey Legislature)
- Scheeler v. New Jersey State Police (New Jersey Government Records Council)
- GRC — Readable Version of OPRA (New Jersey Government Records Council)
- Fuster v. Township of Chatham (New Jersey Supreme Court)
- NJSP — Open Public Records Unit (New Jersey State Police)
- NJSP — Troop D Road Stations (New Jersey State Police)
- NJSP — Troop A Road Stations (New Jersey State Police)
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get my New Jersey accident report?
Request it from the law-enforcement agency that investigated the crash. The agency name is often shown on the driver exchange, summons, report number, or insurance paperwork. NJ OPRA Portal’s guided form helps identify and route the request.
Is an NJTR-1 the same as an SR-1?
No. The NJTR-1 is the police crash investigation report. The SR-1 is the citizen self-reporting form used when a crash was not investigated by police.
Is my accident report free?
Filing through NJ OPRA Portal is free. The portal prepares the official OPRA request, sends it directly to the investigating agency’s records custodian, and asks for electronic delivery.
How long does it take to get an NJ accident report?
A complete non-commercial OPRA request generally receives a grant-or-deny response within seven business days, subject to statutory rules and reasonable extensions. That is not a guarantee of final production. A crash report also may not be complete immediately after the collision.
Can I request body-camera footage, dash-camera video, 911 audio, or photographs?
Yes, you may list those records in the request, but they are separate from the NJTR-1. Availability, redaction, exemptions, and retention are evaluated record by record.
What if the crash was serious or fatal?
Identify the crash precisely and request the NJTR-1, supplements, photographs, reconstruction records, audio, and video you need. NJ OPRA Portal can send the official OPRA request directly to the investigating agency’s records custodian. Ongoing investigative work and legal review may affect timing and disclosure.
What if I do not know which police agency responded?
Check the driver exchange, summons, case number, tow paperwork, insurance documents, and the exact roadway and milepost. If you remain unsure, provide those details in the guided form rather than guessing from the road name alone.