October 8, 2026 · By John C. Hubbard, Attorney
The crash report is the first document every insurance adjuster reads and the first one the firm asks for. Which agency has yours depends on who responded to the wreck, and that is usually obvious from the officer’s uniform or the report number you were handed at the scene. Here is where to get it in the Birmingham area, what it costs, and what to do with it once you have it.
Which agency wrote your report
Inside the Birmingham city limits, Birmingham Police responds and keeps the report. On I-65, I-20/59, I-459 and the state highways outside city limits, it is usually an Alabama State Trooper, and the report goes to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). In Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Homewood, Mountain Brook and the other suburbs, the city police department responds and keeps its own copy. Whatever agency wrote it, nearly every Alabama crash report is also filed with ALEA, so the state portal is the fallback if you are not sure who responded.
ALEA (state troopers, and most reports statewide)
Crash reports can be purchased online through ALEA’s driver license portal at alabamadl.alea.gov or in person at any ALEA Driver License Office. The fee is $15. Ala. Code § 32-10-7 limits who may buy a report to the people involved and their representatives, so expect to identify yourself as a driver, passenger, owner or injured person. Reports typically appear in the system several days after the wreck; if a search comes back empty in the first week, wait and try again before assuming the report was never filed.
Birmingham Police
Birmingham Police reports can be accessed and paid for online through the department’s report portal, linked from the Birmingham Police Department page on the city website, or in person from the Records Division at 1710 1st Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203, weekdays 8:00 to 5:00. The department’s main number is (205) 254-1700. Have the report number from the scene if you were given one, and otherwise the date, location and your name.
Vestavia Hills Police
Records are at 1032 Montgomery Highway, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216, weekdays 8:00 to 4:30, at $5 per copy. Call 205-978-0124 or email policerecords@vhal.org. Vestavia reports are also available through the ALEA portal above. Hoover, Homewood and Mountain Brook each have a records window at their police department; call before you go, because hours and fees differ, and all three also file with ALEA.
What to look at when you get it
Read the diagram and the narrative first, then the box that lists the contributing circumstance for each driver and any citation issued. If the officer got the lane, the direction of travel or the point of impact wrong, tell the firm immediately; the adjuster will treat the report as settled fact even though it is not evidence in court. Note the names and numbers of any witnesses, which are often listed nowhere else, and the name of the other driver’s insurer, which is the company that will be calling you. Getting the report is not the same as agreeing with it. A citation against you is not the end of your claim, because the officer did not see the wreck and the report is not admissible at trial (Ala. Code § 32-10-11).
If you would rather the firm pull it
The firm obtains the report for every client as part of the first week’s work, along with the 911 recording and the preservation letters for camera footage. If you have been hurt and want to talk before you do anything else, call 205-378-8121 or leave your number below. If you only need the report for a property damage claim, the links above will get you there without a lawyer.
Related guides
- What to do after a car accident in Birmingham
- Disputed liability wrecks: how fault gets proven
- Alabama Rules of the Road: which traffic laws decide fault
Practice pages: car wreck lawyer, Birmingham personal injury lawyer, Vestavia Hills, Hoover.
Agency addresses, hours and fees are as published by each agency in October 2026 and can change; check the agency’s page before you go. This post is general information about Alabama law, not legal advice, and contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. No representation is made that the quality of legal services is greater than that of other lawyers.