Illinois Police Reports: Crash Reports, Incident Reports, and Bodycam Footage

Illinois runs a genuinely two-tier system for crash reports. The copy filed up to the state, held by the Illinois Department of Transportation, is confidential by default and usable only for statistical purposes. The copy held by the local agency that actually investigated the crash is carved back out of Illinois's general public records law enforcement exemption and must be disclosed. Illinois also runs one of the most detailed dedicated body camera statutes in the country, the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act.

This guide covers Illinois's two crash report purchase channels, the two-tier confidentiality structure behind them, the local incident report process, and the bodycam act's disclosure rules.

Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How to Get a Copy of an Illinois Crash Report

Illinois runs two separate purchase channels depending on which agency investigated. For a crash investigated by the Illinois State Police, use the ISP E-Pay portal at isp.illinois.gov/CrashReports/EPay, but only after checking that the crash report's "Investigated By" box actually says Illinois State Police; ISP itself notes that it "rarely handles traffic crashes occurring on municipal streets." ISP E-Pay charges what it calls "the statutorily set fee of $5.00" plus a service fee of 2.35 percent with a $1.00 minimum for a card transaction, allows up to 30 reports per transaction, and can take 10 or more business days to process since requests are worked in the order received. Every report sold through E-Pay is a redacted version under Illinois FOIA guidelines.

The statute behind that $5.00 figure is 625 ILCS 5/11-416, and it sets two tiers, not one. The Illinois State Police "shall be paid a fee of $5 for each such copy, or in the case of a crash which was investigated by a crash reconstruction officer or crash reconstruction team, a fee of $20 shall be paid." The same ceilings apply to everyone else: other State law enforcement agencies and law enforcement agencies of local authorities "may receive a fee not to exceed $5 for each copy," or not to exceed $20 for a reconstruction-investigated crash. So the report from a serious-injury or fatality crash, the kind a reconstruction team works, can lawfully cost $20 rather than $5.

For a crash investigated by a local agency, which is most Illinois crashes, BuyCrash is the purchase channel instead. Illinois also lets drivers involved in certain qualifying minor crashes, single-vehicle, property-damage-only, no injuries, occurring on an Interstate, US, or Illinois route, complete their crash report entirely online through isp.illinois.gov/CrashReports at no cost.

A Freedom of Information Act request to the local investigating agency is a genuine alternative to buying the report through BuyCrash, because 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(iv) requires local agencies to release crash reports. It is not automatically a free one. The Illinois FOIA fee provision, 5 ILCS 140/6(b), opens with "Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute" before granting the first 50 black and white, letter or legal sized copies at no charge, and 625 ILCS 5/11-416 is exactly such a statute, so the agency can still charge up to $5, or up to $20 for a reconstruction-investigated crash, on a FOIA request for a paper copy. What does defeat the statutory copy fee is asking for the record in electronic format: under 5 ILCS 140/6(a), "statutory fees applicable to copies of public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic format," except to the extent the General Assembly expressly provides otherwise.

Illinois's Two-Tier Crash Report Confidentiality

Illinois's crash report confidentiality runs on two levels, and understanding both explains why a "confidential" state statute and an open local report can both be true at once. Section 11-412 of the Illinois Vehicle Code makes the Department of Transportation's own central-repository copy "for the confidential use of the Department and the Secretary of State," usable to third parties only for statistical or analytical purposes, and exempt from FOIA at that level. But the Illinois Freedom of Information Act's general law enforcement exemption, 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)(iv), specifically carves crash reports back out: "the identities of witnesses to traffic crashes, traffic crash reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by agencies of local government, except when disclosure would interfere with an active criminal investigation." In short, the state's own central copy stays confidential; the local agency's copy of that same report does not.

How to Get an Illinois Police Incident Report

Incident reports unrelated to a crash are requested from the responding agency under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140. Illinois FOIA law sets the same response clock for every public body in the state, including Chicago Police Department: under 5 ILCS 140/3(d), a public body must comply with or deny a request within 5 business days of receipt, and 5 ILCS 140/3(e) allows the public body to extend that window by up to 5 more business days under specified circumstances. Chicago PD's Freedom of Information Section has reportedly accepted requests by mail, fax, or online submission, though this guide could not independently confirm those intake channels on the department's own site. Illinois's general FOIA law enforcement exemption at 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d) covers records compiled for administrative enforcement and law enforcement purposes, but, as described above, it does not shield crash reports or the identities of crash witnesses from local agencies.

Body Camera Footage in Illinois

Illinois has one of the most detailed dedicated bodycam statutes among the states, the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act, 50 ILCS 706/10-20. The default rule is that a bodycam recording is not subject to FOIA disclosure. That default flips for any recording that gets flagged, meaning it relates to a complaint, a firearm discharge, a use of force, an arrest or detention, or a death or bodily harm; a flagged recording must be disclosed, unless the subject has a reasonable expectation of privacy and is a victim or witness rather than someone arrested, in which case the agency first needs written permission from that subject or their legal representative. Separately, the subject of the encounter, their attorney, or the officer involved or their legal representative can always obtain the recording on request. Any recording disclosed under the Act must be redacted to remove bystanders who are not the officer, the subject, or otherwise directly involved. The Act also sets activation rules, including a 30-second pre-event buffer and a 10-hour minimum storage capacity requirement. For the state's fuller legal picture, see Illinois's body camera laws.

Corrections and Practical Notes

No dedicated correction process for an Illinois crash report was located for this guide. If a report contains an error, contact the investigating agency, whether ISP or a local department, directly.

Related Resources

Police Reports by State covers the full 50-state picture. See also how to file a police report, how to read a police report, are police reports public, how to request body camera footage, Illinois bodycam laws, Illinois car accident laws, Illinois public records laws, and Illinois court records.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Illinois's police report and public records process. It is not legal advice. Fees, portals, and eligibility rules change; verify current details with the agencies named above or a licensed Illinois attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and portals reflect their published status as of August 2026.