Los Angeles crash reports: LAPD on city streets, CHP on the freeways

Inside the City of Los Angeles, the kind of road you crashed on points to the agency that holds the report. This page covers how each one releases copies, what it asks for, and what the city's own traffic data shows.

General information · Sources checked October 31, 2026

Short answer

A collision on a City of Los Angeles street is reported by LAPD. A crash on a freeway or state highway belongs to the California Highway Patrol, which took those roads over from LAPD in 1969. CHP West Valley Area Order an LAPD copy online through LexisNexis (reports issued since February 1, 2016) or by mail to LAPD's Records and Identification Division, after waiting at least 45 days. LAPD: Request a traffic report CHP copies come through the CHP Crash Portal or form CHP 190. Meanwhile, LegalMax can put your report, photos and insurer letters in order and get you ready for adjuster calls, in English or Spanish.

Street or freeway: why it decides who has your report

LAPD covers the collisions it reports on city streets. CHP's West Valley Area office says it took over responsibility for the region's freeways and highways from the Los Angeles Police Department in 1969. CHP (580) West Valley Area In central Los Angeles that means the I-5, I-10, US-101, SR-60, SR-110, SR-2 and I-110; on the Westside, the I-405 and the I-10. CHP (590) Central Los Angeles Area CHP (565) West Los Angeles Area

If an officer handed you a card or a report number, the agency printed on it is where you ask. If not, think about where the cars stopped: a surface street inside the city points to LAPD, a freeway or state highway points to CHP.

Ordering an LAPD traffic collision report

Route	What it covers	Cost
Online through LexisNexis, with an English and a Spanish search page	Reports issued on or after February 1, 2016, with no arrest, fatality or juvenile involved	LAPD's page does not show the online price. Check the current fee with LAPD.
By mail with the Traffic Collision Report Request form to LAPD Records and Identification Division, Document Processing Unit, P.O. Box 30158, Los Angeles, CA 90030	Any report. It is the only route for reports involving an arrest, a fatality or a juvenile, or issued before February 1, 2016.	As of October 31, 2026, per LAPD: $19.00 by check or money order payable to the LAPD. No cash.
Public counter	Not offered. LAPD does not provide traffic reports at its public counter.	None

LAPD releases traffic reports to authorized persons: victims, their representatives, and the people listed in Vehicle Code 20012. Allow a minimum of 45 days from the date of the collision. LAPD: Request a traffic report LAPD Records and Identification Division

A mailed request lists the report type; your name, address and phone; the DR or incident number if you know it; your date of birth; the names of the parties; the date, time and location; each vehicle's plate and state; your interest in the report, with release forms or proof of relationship; and a signed declaration.

The three CHP Area offices covering Los Angeles

Office	Address and phone	Roads and areas it names
Central Los Angeles (590)	777 West Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015 · (213) 815-2000	52 miles of freeway, including the East LA Interchange (I-5, I-10, US-101, SR-60) and the Four-Level Interchange (US-101/SR-110)
West Los Angeles (565)	6300 Bristol Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230 · (424) 577-8700	I-405 and I-10, with Venice, Santa Monica, Culver City and Marina del Rey among the communities named
West Valley (580)	5825 De Soto Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 · (747) 373-3000	About 400 square miles, including San Fernando Valley residents of the City of Los Angeles

To get a CHP copy, use the CHP Crash Portal or fill out form CHP 190 and bring or mail it to the nearest Area office. Only a proper party of interest qualifies: a driver, bicyclist, pedestrian or passenger, a minor's parent or legal guardian, a vehicle or property owner, a legal representative, or an insurer with a valid claim or policy number. The form asks for the crash date (approximate is fine), the location, a driver or owner, one party-of-interest box, your name and address, and your signature. CHP does not post a price there and tells you to contact the Area office for the exact amount, so check the current fee with the CHP Area office. CHP: Request a crash report

What LADOT and OTS count on Los Angeles streets

304 recorded traffic deaths in the City of Los Angeles in 2024. LADOT's fiscal-year 2024-25 annual report says that year saw the first decline in traffic deaths in several years. LADOT annual report FY 2024-25
Collisions that killed or severely injured someone rose from 1,472 in 2017 to 1,658 in 2021, about 13%, and pedestrians were involved in 38% of them, per LADOT's Vision Zero Safety Study of January 2024. LADOT Vision Zero Safety Study
For 2023, California's Office of Traffic Safety counted 8,116 people killed or injured in the city, 1,432 of them pedestrians. Against the 15 California cities over 250,000 residents, OTS ranks Los Angeles 15th on the total and 12th for pedestrians; 1st is the worst. OTS 2023 rankings: Los Angeles

The two sources measure different things. OTS leaves out crashes CHP reports on shared roads, weights its ranks by population and miles driven, and calls them only indicators of potential problems, so read each figure on its own terms.

Car towed by an LAPD official police garage?

The city's MyLA311 page lists the LAPD-contracted Official Police Garage (OPG) tow yards by LAPD Area, with addresses, hours and phone numbers, and 3-1-1 operators can transfer you to the right yard. The list changed this year: one Rampart-area yard stopped OPG towing on April 15, 2026, and Rampart and Olympic tows now go to other yards, so check the current page rather than an old receipt. MyLA311: Official Police Garage tow

LAPD's Records and Identification Division, the unit that keeps and releases department records, runs around the clock, but traffic report requests still reach it by mail. LAPD Records and Identification Division

How many Angelenos speak Spanish at home

About 39.3% of Los Angeles residents age 5 and older, 1,439,364 people, speak Spanish at home, according to the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey (table S1601). Census ACS S1601: Los Angeles city LAPD's online vendor has a Spanish search page for reports, and LegalMax intake works in Spanish or English from the first call.

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