If you were involved in a car accident in Covington, Kentucky, you may need a copy of the official police collision report when dealing with an insurance claim, vehicle damage, or a personal injury case.
If the Covington Police Department (CPD) investigated the crash, you can obtain the accident report in person or online. The information below is based on current guidance from the City of Covington and Kentucky law.
Quick Facts — Covington, KY Accident Reports
- Agency: Covington Police Department
- In-person fee: $5
- Online fee: $10
- In-person location: 1 Police Memorial Drive, Covington, KY 41014
- Accident report pickup hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Records Unit phone: 859-292-2230
- Online access: BuyCrash
- Payment in person: Cash, check, or money order
- Credit cards: Not accepted for in-person accident report purchases
- Online payment: Credit card
Covington Police does not currently publish a specific number of days after a collision when every accident report will be available. If your report cannot be found online, contact the Records Unit for assistance.
Who Can Request a Covington Collision Report?
Kentucky accident reports are confidential and are not generally available to anyone who requests them.
Under KRS 189.635, accident reports must be made available to certain authorized people and entities, including:
- Parties to the accident
- Parents or guardians of a minor who was a party to the accident
- Insurers or their written designees handling insurance business involving a party named in the report
- Attorneys representing parties to the accident
- Certain parties to litigation who provide the documentation required by Kentucky law
- Certain other entities specifically authorized by the statute
Covington Police’s current accident-report instructions specifically identify the following as eligible to receive copies:
- Driver
- Vehicle owner
- Insurance company
- Attorney for an involved party
Kentucky law generally makes vehicle accident reports confidential and exempt from ordinary disclosure under the Kentucky Open Records Act except when release is specifically authorized by KRS 189.635.
Step-by-Step: How to Get Your Covington Accident Report
Step 1 — Gather the Information You’ll Need
The information required depends on whether you request the report online or in person.
For an In-Person Request
Covington Police instructs requesters to bring:
- Report number
- Picture ID
- $5 payment
Accepted in-person payment methods are:
- Cash
- Check
- Money order
Covington Police does not accept credit cards for an in-person accident report purchase.
For an Online Request
To search for an accident report through BuyCrash, you will need:
- Report number
- Date of the accident
- Your last name
The online report fee is $10, payable by credit card.
If the officer gave you paperwork or an information card at the crash scene, check it for the report number before starting your request.
Step 2 — Check Whether the Report Is Available
Covington Police’s current website does not provide a specific availability period for accident reports.
This is worth distinguishing from incident reports, which the department says are generally available three to four days after filing. That timeframe should not automatically be applied to vehicle collision reports.
If you cannot find your accident report online or are unsure whether it is ready, contact the Covington Police Records Unit at 859-292-2230.
Records Unit phone assistance is available Monday through Friday.
Step 3 — Choose How to Get the Accident Report
Covington Police currently provides two primary methods for obtaining a collision report.
Option A: Request the Report Online
Covington Police directs online accident report requests to BuyCrash, the electronic report service used by law enforcement agencies in Kentucky.
Online portal:
https://buycrash.lexisnexisrisk.com/
You will need:
- Report number
- Date of the incident
- Your last name
- Credit card for payment
Fee: $10
The report must be available in the electronic system before you can retrieve it.
If you cannot locate the report, confirm that the report number, accident date, and last name were entered correctly before contacting the Covington Police Records Unit.
Option B: Get the Report in Person
You can obtain a collision report directly from Covington Police at:
Covington Police Department
1 Police Memorial Drive
Covington, KY 41014
Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fee: $5
Bring:
- Your report number
- Picture ID
- Cash, check, or money order
Credit cards are not accepted for an in-person accident report purchase.
For questions, contact the Records Unit at 859-292-2230.
What if You Don’t Know Your Report Number?
Both Covington’s in-person instructions and BuyCrash search instructions call for the accident report number.
If you do not know it, first check any paperwork the investigating officer gave you at the scene.
If you still cannot locate the report number, contact the Covington Police Records Unit at 859-292-2230 and have as much information about the crash as possible available, such as:
- Date of the collision
- Approximate time
- Location or intersection
- Names of the drivers involved
These details may help Records staff identify the correct report.
If Kentucky State Police Handled the Crash in Kenton County
Not every collision in Kenton County is investigated by the Covington Police Department.
Kentucky State Police Post 6 serves Kenton County along with Boone, Bourbon, Bracken, Campbell, Grant, Harrison, Nicholas, Pendleton, and Robertson counties.
KSP Post 6 is located at:
Kentucky State Police Post 6
4265 US Highway 25
Dry Ridge, KY 41035
Phone: 859-428-1212
If a Kentucky State Police trooper investigated your accident, obtain the report through KSP rather than Covington Police.
KSP states that eligible accident reports can be obtained through BuyCrash:
An eligible requester may also submit a written request for an accident report to the Kentucky State Police Official Custodian of Records.
KSP accepts records requests by its online request system as well as by mail, email, fax, or hand delivery according to its current instructions.
Kentucky’s eligibility restrictions under KRS 189.635 still apply to these reports.
What if Police Did Not Investigate the Accident?
Getting a copy of an officer’s collision report is different from filing a collision report yourself.
Under KRS 189.635, if an accident results in more than $500 in property damage and the accident is not investigated by a law enforcement officer, an involved driver generally must file a written accident report with the Kentucky State Police within 10 days of the accident.
Kentucky State Police provides an online civilian collision reporting system for qualifying accidents that were not investigated by law enforcement.
If Covington Police, KSP, or another law enforcement agency investigated the crash and prepared the required collision report, the separate civilian reporting requirement generally does not apply to that same accident.
Why Your Covington Accident Report Matters
A police collision report can contain useful information about the accident and the responding officer’s investigation, including:
- Names of the drivers and other parties
- Vehicle information
- Date, time, and location of the collision
- Insurance information documented at the scene
- Reported injuries and vehicle damage
- Witness information, when available
- Officer observations
- Citations issued, when applicable
- Other circumstances documented during the investigation
The report may be useful when:
- Reporting the accident to an insurance company
- Handling a vehicle damage claim
- Identifying drivers, owners, and insurers
- Investigating how the collision occurred
- Pursuing a personal injury claim
- Handling a rideshare, commercial vehicle, truck, or multi-vehicle accident
A police accident report can be an important part of investigating a claim, but the report itself does not necessarily make the final legal determination about who was at fault.
If you were injured, keep a copy of the collision report with your other accident-related records, including photographs, medical documentation, repair estimates, insurance correspondence, and receipts.
Injured in a Covington Car Accident?
Obtaining the police report is one part of documenting what happened after a serious collision.
If you were injured in a crash, a Covington car accident attorney from Morrin Law Office can review the circumstances of the collision, available insurance coverage, your injuries, and other evidence involved in your claim during a free case evaluation.
Related Morrin Law Resources
- Covington Car Accident Attorney
- Covington Truck Accident Attorney
- Covington Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorney
- Covington Pedestrian Accident Attorney
- Kentucky Rideshare Vehicle Accidents
- Kentucky Uber Accident Lawyer
- Kentucky Lyft Accident Lawyer
- Kentucky Car Accident Guide
Sources
- City of Covington — Police Crime Information / Get a Police Report:
https://www.covingtonky.gov/government/departments/police/crime-information - City of Covington — Police Contact Information:
https://www.covingtonky.gov/government/departments/police/connect-with-us - Kentucky Revised Statutes — KRS 189.635, Vehicle Accident Reports:
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54793 - Kentucky Administrative Regulations — 502 KAR 15:010, Traffic Collision Reports:
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/502/015/010/ - Kentucky State Police — Post 6:
https://www.kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov/post6 - Kentucky State Police — Open Records Requests:
https://www.kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov/open-records-requests
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