Can an attorney obtain a crash report when the person involved in the accident cannot get one because of privacy restrictions?

Why an Attorney May Receive Information That a Partner Cannot

A government agency may treat a request for records other than the law-enforcement crash report differently depending on the requester’s authority. Unless the partner has written authorization or another recognized legal authority, the agency may have no basis to release private information belonging to the people named in a nonpublic record.

An attorney representing an involved person can make a request in connection with that person’s injury claim. But an attorney-client relationship or claim-related purpose is not required to obtain a law-enforcement crash report that is public under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1. The exact requirements may differ for records other than the crash report held by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, the investigating police department, the sheriff’s office, or another agency.

This does not mean attorneys have unrestricted access to every record associated with a collision. Records other than the public law-enforcement crash report may be subject to separate disclosure rules or require authorization.

North Carolina’s Rules for Crash Reports and Personal Information

North Carolina law generally treats reports prepared by investigating law enforcement officers as public records available for inspection. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1 also provides that the Division of Motor Vehicles must give a certified copy of one of these reports to a member of the general public who requests a copy and pays the fee set by law.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-43.1 requires the Division of Motor Vehicles to handle personal information in motor vehicle records consistently with federal driver-privacy restrictions. That provision does not change § 20-166.1’s requirement that law-enforcement crash reports be public and that the Division provide certified copies to members of the public who request them and pay the required fee.

Accordingly, an attorney does not need to establish a claim-related purpose for access to a public law-enforcement crash report. The agency holding other records related to the collision makes disclosure decisions under the applicable law and its procedures.

What the Attorney’s Office May Need to Submit

A useful request should clearly identify the crash and the record sought. Depending on the agency, the attorney’s office may need to provide:

• The full name of a person involved in the crash.
• The date and approximate time of the collision.
• The road, intersection, city, and county where the crash occurred.
• The names of other drivers, if known.
• The investigating agency, officer’s name, or report number, if available.
• The agency’s required form, identification, certification, or fee.

The report may be requested from the investigating law enforcement agency or through the North Carolina DMV. A request directed to the wrong records custodian can cause delay, so identifying which agency prepared and maintains the desired version is important.

What an Unredacted Report May Help Clarify

A complete report may contain information needed to identify the drivers, vehicle owners, insurers, passengers, or witnesses. It may also include the officer’s diagram, vehicle movements, contributing circumstances, citations, and basic insurance information collected during the investigation.

Even a DMV-349 crash report is only one part of the evidence. It may not include all photographs, body-camera recordings, dispatch records, witness statements, measurements, or later investigative materials. Those items may be stored separately and may require additional requests. Some investigative records may remain restricted, particularly while a criminal investigation is pending.

The report also should not be treated as the final decision about legal responsibility. Officers usually prepare it from the information available shortly after the collision. Physical evidence, photographs, witness accounts, vehicle data, and later statements may add context or conflict with information recorded on the form.

How This Applies to the Report Request

Here, the agency reportedly declined to give an unredacted report to the accident victim’s partner because the document included private information about other people. The agency also indicated that an attorney’s office could submit a request.

If the requested document is a law-enforcement crash report covered by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1, the partner may request a certified copy from the DMV as a member of the general public upon payment of the required fee. An attorney may also make that request, but the attorney’s representation of an involved person is not a condition of access to that public report. A partner’s relationship alone may not permit access to separate nonpublic records.

The request should identify the collision and the record sought. If the agency refuses disclosure of a law-enforcement crash report, the requester can ask for the reason in writing and consider requesting a certified copy from the DMV or a copy from the investigating department.

Practical Steps to Take Now

1. Save the agency’s response. Keep the email, letter, portal message, or notes from the conversation explaining why the report was withheld and how an attorney may request it.
2. Gather identifying information. Locate the crash date, location, names of involved drivers, report number, and investigating agency.
3. Preserve the redacted copy. It may contain the report number and other details needed for a follow-up request.
4. Keep related evidence. Save photographs, insurance correspondence, witness contact information, medical records, bills, and vehicle-damage documents.
5. Handle personal information carefully. If a fuller report is obtained, it should be handled carefully.

If an injury claim may be involved, do not assume that repeated records requests extend any legal deadline. Obtaining a report and preserving a lawsuit deadline are separate matters.