Las Vegas police reports are held by whichever agency responded to your crash, not by one central office. If Metro came out, request the traffic collision report from the LVMPD Records and Fingerprint Bureau. If it happened on a freeway, the Nevada Highway Patrol has it. Henderson and North Las Vegas run their own records units. Nevada’s Public Records Act gives you the right to ask, and NRS 239.0107 gives the agency five business days to answer.
B&D Injury Law Group represents injured people across Clark County, and ordering the crash report is one of the first things our team does on a new car accident file. The report matters less as proof of fault than people assume, and far more as a directory of the other driver’s insurer, the witnesses and the vehicle data.
Which Agency Took Your Report?
This is where most requests go wrong: “Las Vegas police” is not one department. After the 1973 consolidation of the city police department and the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, LVMPD describes its charge as “all police services within the City limits of the City of Las Vegas and the unincorporated areas of the County of Clark” (which takes in much of the resort corridor, since it sits in unincorporated county, not the city).
Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City are separate cities with their own departments and records divisions. A crash at Eastern and Horizon Ridge is a Henderson report; one at Craig and Losee is a North Las Vegas report. Requesting either from Metro is a dead end, not a redirect. Freeways are a separate track: the Nevada Highway Patrol works crashes on I-15, US-95 and the 215 Beltway.
Whichever agency responds, NRS 484E.110 requires an officer who investigates a crash involving bodily injury, death, or apparent damage of $750 or more to forward a report to the Department of Public Safety within 10 days, which is why a report usually exists even when nobody gave you paperwork.
How to Request a Las Vegas Police Report
Your right to ask comes from the Nevada Public Records Act. NRS 239.010(1) provides that public records “must be open at all times during office hours to inspection by any person, and may be fully copied.” Under NRS 239.0107 the agency has five business days to produce the record, say who holds it instead, give a new date, or deny the request citing the confidentiality statute. Here is what each agency states today.
| Agency | How to request | Fee stated | Timing and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LVMPD (Metro) | Online, in person, or mail; Records & Fingerprint Bureau, 400 S. Martin Luther King Blvd. | $12.00 per traffic collision report | Allow up to 10 business days. Photo ID required; mail requests need a notarized letter, attorneys a notarized authorization. |
| Nevada Highway Patrol | Online at CRASHDOCS.org; fatal reports and photos through Southern Command | $10 per crash report; $5 for photos | Available 7 to 14 days from the crash date. Needs the crash number (beginning “NHP”), a party’s last name and the date. |
| Henderson Police | Online, or Henderson City Hall, 240 S. Water St. | $10 per report | Cards (no American Express), check, cash or money order. Reports still under investigation are withheld. |
| North Las Vegas Police | Accident reports via the LexisNexis BuyCrash portal; others online, by mail, or at 2266 Civic Center Dr. | $5 per police report; accident fees set by the portal | Mail requests need an ID copy, a notarized letter with the case number, and a return envelope. |
Have the event or case number ready; every agency keys its search on it. Without one, call the records line with the date, location and plate.
What a Nevada Crash Report Actually Contains
A crash report is a structured form plus a narrative. The form carries drivers, passengers, addresses, license and vehicle identifiers, the insurer and policy number for each vehicle, point of impact, roadway conditions and citations. The narrative is the officer’s account, usually with a diagram and contributing-factor codes. The insurance data is not incidental: NRS 484E.070(3) excuses a driver from filing a separate report when an officer investigated under NRS 484E.110 and the officer’s report lists each insurer, policy number and coverage dates. The witness section is undervalued: in a city full of visitors, names taken in the first hour are often the only proof they existed.
What the Report Proves, and What It Does Not
People are often told flatly that “police reports are inadmissible in Nevada.” The statute behind that claim is NRS 484E.070(7), and it is narrower than the shorthand suggests. Subsection 7 says a report forwarded pursuant to the provisions of that section may not be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, subject to narrow exceptions for confirming a report was filed and for charges under NRS 484E.080.
Read the words “forwarded pursuant to the provisions of this section.” NRS 484E.070 governs the report a driver or owner files with the State. That is what subsection 7 keeps out of evidence, and subsection 6 is the matching confidentiality rule, making those reports “without prejudice to the person so reporting” and “for the confidential use of the Department.” Nothing there makes the responding officer’s crash report categorically inadmissible.
Whether the officer’s report reaches a Nevada civil jury is decided under the ordinary rules of evidence, and it is case-specific. NRS 51.155 provides that records and reports of public agencies are not inadmissible under the hearsay rule if they set forth the agency’s activities, matters observed pursuant to a duty imposed by law, or, in civil cases, factual findings from an investigation made pursuant to authority granted by law, unless the sources or circumstances indicate a lack of trustworthiness. That is where these fights happen. Treat any confident blanket claim in either direction with caution, and ask your own attorney about your report.
What is not in doubt is the practical point: the officer’s view of fault binds nobody. It does not bind the other driver’s insurer, which runs its own investigation. It does not bind a jury, which under NRS 41.141(2) returns a general verdict for total damages and a special verdict assigning each party a percentage of negligence. And NRS 41.141(1) permits recovery only where your comparative negligence is not greater than that of the parties you sue. A favorable report is leverage; an unfavorable one is not the end of your claim.
Your Own Duty to Report, and What to Do If No Report Was Taken
Nevada puts duties on you at the scene regardless of what police do. Under NRS 484E.030 a driver must give their name, address and vehicle registration number, exhibit their license on request, and render reasonable assistance to anyone injured; if no officer is present, the driver shall forthwith report the crash to the nearest office of a police authority or the Nevada Highway Patrol. Violating that section is a misdemeanor. NRS 484E.070(2) adds a filing duty: a report to the State within 10 days when a crash causes bodily injury, death, or property damage of $750 or more, unless an officer already captured the insurance details. Under NRS 484E.080, willfully failing to report can cost you driving privileges.
If no officer came out, report to the agency covering the location, then build your own record: photograph the vehicles and scene, write down what you remember, collect the other driver’s details and any witness numbers, and see a doctor.
The Deadlines That Make Ordering the Report Early Worth It
NRS 11.190(4)(e) sets a two-year limitations period for an action to recover damages for injuries to a person, or for the death of a person, caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. That sounds generous until you subtract the months spent treating and negotiating.
If a government vehicle, a public bus or a road condition is involved, a second framework applies. NRS 41.031 waives the State’s immunity and consents to have its liability determined under the same rules applied to civil actions against natural persons and corporations. NRS 41.036 requires a tort claim against the State to be filed with the Attorney General within two years of accrual, and one against a political subdivision with that subdivision’s governing body in the same two years, though subsection 3 provides that filing is not a condition precedent to suit. NRS 41.035(1) caps such an award at $200,000 per claimant, exclusive of post-judgment interest, and bars punitive damages.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a Las Vegas police report?
It depends. LVMPD asks requesters to allow up to 10 business days; the Nevada Highway Patrol states crash reports are available 7 to 14 days from the crash date. Henderson publishes no fixed turnaround but withholds reports on crashes still under investigation. NRS 239.0107 requires a response within five business days, though that response can be a date.
What should I do if no police report was taken after my crash?
Report it yourself to the agency covering the location. NRS 484E.030 requires a driver to report the crash forthwith to the nearest office of a police authority or the Nevada Highway Patrol when no officer is present, and NRS 484E.070(2) may require a report to the State within 10 days. Then create your own evidence: photographs, a written account, contact details and prompt medical care.
Can I use a Las Vegas police report to prove the other driver was at fault?
Not the way people expect. The officer’s conclusion about who caused the crash does not bind the other driver’s insurer, and it does not bind a Nevada jury, which under NRS 41.141(2) assigns its own percentages of negligence by special verdict. Whether the report is admitted turns on the ordinary rules of evidence, including NRS 51.155 and its trustworthiness limitation.
Is a Nevada crash report confidential?
Partly. NRS 484E.070(6) makes the report a driver or owner files with the State without prejudice to the person reporting and for the confidential use of the Department, though the State may still identify another involved person and that person’s insurer to you or your carrier. The officer’s crash report is different: agencies release it through their records units under the Public Records Act.
How much does a Las Vegas crash report cost?
As of August 2026, LVMPD lists $12.00 for a traffic collision report, the Nevada Highway Patrol $10 per crash report plus $5 for photos, Henderson $10 per report, and North Las Vegas $5 for a police report, with accident reports bought through its LexisNexis portal. Confirm before paying; NRS 239.011 lets a requester challenge an excessive fee in district court.
If you were hurt in a crash in Clark County, our team can order the report and tell you what it changes about your claim. See how we handle car accident claims, see our Las Vegas personal injury practice and our wider personal injury practice, or contact us for a free case review.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. If you have been injured, speak with a licensed attorney about your specific situation.