How to Get a Police Report in Kentucky (2026 Guide)

Kentucky handles a police report through two separate channels depending on what happened. A traffic crash report comes from the investigating agency, most often the Kentucky State Police (KSP), and can be requested through a civilian self-report portal, a purchase service, or an open records request. A general incident report, covering everything from a theft to a disturbance call, comes from whichever department responded and is requested under the Kentucky Open Records Act. This page walks through both channels, the state's dedicated body camera statute, and what to do if a report needs a correction.

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

Getting a Crash Report in Kentucky

How you get a Kentucky crash report depends on who completed it. If you were involved in a minor crash that an officer did not respond to and complete a report for, you can file your own account through KSP's Civilian Collision Reporting portal at kspportal.ky.gov. That self-filed report is a different document from an officer-completed report.

For an officer-completed report, the fastest route is BuyCrash.com, which KSP lists on its own site under Crime and Traffic Data as an authorized purchase channel. You can also request the report directly from KSP through an open records request. Allow about ten days after the crash for an officer-completed report to become available, and note that KSP retains crash reports for up to two years.

Kentucky does not treat crash reports as open to the general public. Under KRS 189.635, accident reports and the information they contain are confidential and exempt from disclosure under the state's Open Records Act, KRS 61.870 to 61.884, except to the specific categories the statute lists. KRS 189.635(6)(c) makes reports available to the parties to the accident, the parents or guardians of a minor who is a party, insurers or their written designee for insurance business purposes, the attorneys of the parties to the accident, any party to litigation who files a request together with a clerk-stamped first page of a District or Circuit Court complaint naming all parties, the Department of Workplace Standards for an occupational safety and health investigation, and law enforcement agencies. Note that the statute entitles the attorneys of the parties; it does not require a lawyer to have entered an appearance as counsel of record. Separately, KRS 189.635(6)(b)1. allows a report to be produced under a properly executed subpoena or court order.

News-gathering organizations obtain reports under KRS 189.635(9), and that is a self-certification process rather than a credential the state issues. The statute defines which outlets qualify, from FCC-licensed broadcasters and qualifying newspapers to online-only publications, and requires the requester to submit a form promulgated by KSP through administrative regulation. That form names the requester and the organization, identifies the specific statutory subdivision the outlet qualifies under, states that the request complies with the section, and carries the requester's declaration as to the accuracy and truthfulness of the information provided. Reports released to a catch-all news organization under subdivision (b)1.f. must have personal information redacted first. KSP's own guidance describes reports as released to an involved party's request, consistent with that statutory framework, and states that it will not release personally identifying information, such as names, addresses, dates of birth, and vehicle identification numbers, except as the statute allows.

KSP's collision-reports page does not itself list a flat purchase fee; check the current fee schedule on BuyCrash.com or with KSP directly before requesting, since that figure was not independently confirmed on a primary KSP page. For a broader look at fault rules, deadlines, and what to do after a crash in the state, see our Kentucky car accident laws page.

Getting an Incident Report in Kentucky

A general incident report, meaning a report of a crime or other call for service that is not a traffic crash, is requested under the Kentucky Open Records Act rather than the crash-report statute. For a KSP-investigated matter, send the request to the Public Records Branch at KSP headquarters, 1266 Louisville Road, Frankfort, by mail, email, fax, hand delivery, or through the online portal at kentuckystatepolice.nextrequest.com. Local departments, such as Louisville Metro Police, handle records requests for incidents within their own jurisdiction through their own records units.

One threshold point matters before you send anything, particularly if you live out of state. Kentucky's open records right runs to residents. KRS 61.872(1) opens public records for inspection by any resident of the Commonwealth, and KRS 61.872(2)(a) lets the custodian require the written application to state how the applicant qualifies as one. The definition in KRS 61.870(10) is broader than it first sounds: it covers individuals living in Kentucky, domestic business entities with a Kentucky location, foreign business entities registered with the Secretary of State, people employed and working at a location in the state, individuals or businesses that own real property there, anyone authorized to act on behalf of one of those, and qualifying news-gathering organizations. A requester who fits none of those categories has no statutory right of inspection, although an agency may still choose to respond.

The applicable exemption is KRS 61.878(1)(h), and it is narrower than a denial letter sometimes suggests. It covers records compiled in the process of detecting and investigating statutory or regulatory violations, and only where disclosure could pose an articulable risk of harm to the agency or its investigation in one of two enumerated ways: by revealing the identity of informants or witnesses not otherwise known, or by premature release of information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action or administrative adjudication. A general concern about disclosure is not enough, and KRS 61.871 directs that the exceptions be strictly construed.

The same provision sets an end point. Unless another part of the Open Records Act applies, records exempted under it shall be open after enforcement action is completed or a decision is made to take no action. That is a mandate rather than a matter of agency habit, and a denial can be appealed to the Attorney General under KRS 61.880. One permanent carve-out is worth knowing about, because it is the denial a reader is most likely to actually receive: records compiled and maintained by county attorneys or Commonwealth's attorneys pertaining to criminal investigations or criminal litigation remain exempt even after enforcement action, including litigation, is complete.

Kentucky's Open Records Act requires an agency to determine within five business days, excluding weekends and holidays, whether it will comply with a request. Standard copying runs ten cents per page, with a separate charge, typically two to three dollars, for photos, CDs, videotapes, or diskettes. For more on Kentucky's broader open records framework beyond police reports, see our Kentucky public records laws page.

Body Camera Footage in Kentucky

Kentucky is one of the states with a dedicated, standalone body camera statute rather than a rule folded into the general records exemption. KRS 61.168 states that, except as the section itself provides, disclosure of body-worn camera recordings is governed by the Kentucky Open Records Act, KRS 61.870 to 61.884. The statute then lays out its own framework on top of that baseline: it sets discretionary categories an agency may withhold, such as footage depicting the interior of a private residence or a victim of certain crimes, and it separately requires disclosure for recordings that document a use of force by an officer, an arrest, or a complaint made against an officer, subject to redaction of some content within those categories.

A companion section, KRS 61.169, gives a criminal defendant's attorney a viewing right that runs alongside the general disclosure rules. Together, the two sections make Kentucky's body camera framework unusually detailed compared with states that handle bodycam footage as a subsection of their general law enforcement exemption.

For the request mechanics, and to see how Kentucky's approach compares with other states, see our Kentucky body camera laws page and the cluster guide on how to request body camera footage.

Corrections, Redactions, and Other Practical Notes

No formal, statewide statutory procedure for correcting a completed Kentucky crash report was located on a primary KSP page. KSP's Traffic Collision Manual does reference supplemental report forms for follow-on additions or corrections, so a driver who spots an error on a completed report should contact the investigating agency's Traffic Collision Reporting section directly rather than assume the report can be edited after the fact.

Kentucky's redaction protections for both crash and incident reports run through KRS 189.635's personally identifying information language rather than a separate juvenile- or victim-specific carve-out. If you are trying to look up a report involving someone other than yourself, treat the information the same way KSP does, as something to be used for your own personal purpose, such as an insurance claim or legal matter, not for employment or tenant screening, which is governed by separate federal law.

For the general steps involved in filing a new report, see how to file a police report; for help interpreting the codes and sections on a completed report, see how to read a police report. If a case tied to the incident proceeds through the courts, related filings are available through Kentucky court records.

Disclaimer

This article provides general legal information about public-records access in the state named above. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about a specific situation. Fees, forms, and processing times change; confirm current figures with the listed agency before relying on them.

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