The following information is a step-by-step guide to help you obtain a free police report from the City and County of Durham. There are four options for acquiring a police report: By Phone, By Fax, By Mail, and In-Person. Please note that perusing reports at the Durham Police Department is not permitted so the following steps will help you retrieve your report successfully.
Steps For Obtaining Your Report
By Phone
- Call the Durham Police Department Records Division at (919) 560-4423.
- Listen to the phone recording and press option 0 (to obtain police report).
- Once the operator picks up, you will need to supply him/her with one of the following: driver’s name, driver’s license number, location (street address) of accident, report number or the phone number of the person who called-in the accident.
- Once the report is located, you have the option of picking it up in-person, having it faxed to you, or having it mailed to you. (Please see the following three options below for instructions).
** Supplying the date of loss is valuable too, but you must have one more piece of information from the list above to go along with the date of loss.
** The DMV’s database is set up with the drivers’ information. If you are trying to obtain a police report for a passenger, you will need to supply the report number.
By Fax
- Include the following information in a letter or fax cover page to the Durham Police Department, Records Division: driver’s name, driver’s license number, location (street address) of accident, report number, or the phone number of the person who called-in the accident.
- On your letter/fax cover page, include your fax number (for the DPD to fax the report back to you).
Fax your request to the Durham Police Department at (919) 560-4987.
By Mail
- Send the following information in a written/typed letter to the Durham Police Department, Records Division: driver’s name, driver’s license number, location (street address) of accident, report number, or the phone number of the person who called-in the accident.
- Include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Mail your request and self-addressed stamped envelope to: Durham Police Department, Records Division, 505 W. Chapel Hill Street, Durham 27701. (The report will be mailed back to you within 5-7 business days).
In-Person
- Go to the Durham Police Department, located at 505 W. Chapel Hill Street, Durham 27701. (Building shown above).
- If arriving by vehicle, park in the Visitors Parking Lot.
- Enter into the main entrance of the Durham Police Department.
- In the main entrance, turn to your right and enter the Records Department Office.
- On the counter you will see an Accident Report slip containing the following requests: Report #; Date of Accident; Location of Accident; and Name of Driver(s). Fill out this form and hand it to the Records Department assistant.
- If all information is provided, the Records Department assistant will supply you with a copy of the police report you are requesting.
