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Winston-Salem Police put crash reports online in their own eCrash database and hand out copies at the Public Safety Center at no charge. Here is how to get yours and what to do with it.
When a Winston-Salem Police officer investigates a crash inside the city, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1 requires a written report within 24 hours and requires the department to forward it to the Division of Motor Vehicles within 10 days. The Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) also publishes that report through its own online database and at its records counter, and the city’s guidance says a copy is free.
This page of our North Carolina crash report guide covers the eCrash portal, the Records Division at the Public Safety Center, who can request the report, when you need the certified state copy instead, and what the report means for an injury claim in a state where being even 1% at fault can bar recovery. Joshua E. Palmer, Attorney at Law handles car accident claims across North Carolina, including Forsyth County, and the crash report is the first document we read for every client.
The Winston-Salem Police Department maintains its own crash-report database, the eCrash system at winston-salem.ecrash.interplat.com. The city’s Accident Reports page says you can search it by report number, date of the crash, driver’s name, or the street where the crash occurred. That is more search flexibility than most departments offer, which helps if you lost the driver exchange slip from the scene.
Reports appear after the officer’s report has been reviewed, so allow a few business days before searching. If you cannot find it, the city directs drivers to call the Records Division at 336-773-7922 for guided assistance. Note that eCrash is for crash reports only; other police reports (incidents, thefts, and so on) are on the department’s separate Police-2-Citizen site.
The Records Division is in Room 130 of the Vivian H. Burke Public Safety Center, 725 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The city’s instructions are simple: tell the officer at the front desk that you are requesting a copy of an accident report, and bring your report or incident number to speed things up. The city’s FAQ states there is no charge for a copy. Bring a photo ID as well; the report contains other people’s personal information and Records will want to confirm you are entitled to it.
| Route | Where | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online | eCrash database (search by report number, date, driver’s name or street) | The city’s page quotes no online fee; the portal shows any charge before download | Speed; sending a PDF to your insurer or lawyer |
| In person | Records Division, Room 130, Public Safety Center, 725 N. Cherry St., Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. | No charge for a copy, per the city | Help locating the report; questions for Records |
| Certified copy | NCDMV by mail (form TR-67A) or the Raleigh or Huntersville counters | $6.50 under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-42 | Court filings; a copy admissible without further certification |
Records Division phone: 336-773-7922.
Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1 an officer’s crash report is a public record, but the personal information on it (names, addresses, license numbers, insurance) is protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, which N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-43.1 applies to North Carolina motor vehicle records. In practice the people who get the full report are the drivers, passengers and vehicle owners involved, and the attorneys and insurers representing them.
Every crash report reaches the Division of Motor Vehicles, and since January 1, 2013 the DMV issues only certified copies. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-42, a certified crash report costs $6.50 and is admissible in any court in the same manner as the original, without further certification. If the report will be filed in a lawsuit, that is the copy to have. For an insurance claim, the free WSPD copy is almost always enough.
To order it, print form TR-67A (it is not fillable), fill in the driver’s name, license number, date and county of the crash, sign it, and mail it with a check or money order payable to NCDMV to the Crash Reports Unit, 3106 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27697-3106, allowing 10 business days from receipt. In person, the two counters are the Raleigh Central Services License Plate Agency at 4121 New Bern Ave. and the Huntersville License Plate Agency at 12101 Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road, where five or fewer records are handed over immediately; from Forsyth County, Huntersville is the nearer of the two, and most people simply mail the form. Individuals cannot order online and receive a redacted copy with other parties’ personal details hidden; attorneys and insurers with a permissible use can obtain the unredacted version. The Crash Reports Unit answers questions at 919-861-3068.
The DMV-349 lists the drivers, owners and passengers, the location, the officer’s account of how the crash happened and what contributed to it, any citations, each driver’s insurance, and a narrative and diagram. It is not a fault ruling. The form itself says determinations of fault belong to insurers and the courts, and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1 makes an officer’s report usable as evidence only as the rules of evidence allow. Adjusters still read the narrative first and build their first offer from it.
In North Carolina that first read is decisive more often than it should be, because the state’s contributory negligence rule bars recovery if you were even 1% at fault. A narrative that puts any part of the crash on you is the other insurer’s entire defense. If the report is inaccurate or blames you, our page on what to do when the crash report blames you explains how to respond, the guide to reading a DMV-349 shows where each field lives, and our contributory negligence guide covers the rule and its exceptions.
Send a copy to your own insurer, keep the original with your medical records, and note the report number. Then watch the deadlines: your policy requires prompt notice of the crash, an injury lawsuit must be filed within three years under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52, and uninsured-motorist and hit-and-run claims carry their own notice conditions. Our page on deadlines after a North Carolina crash lists every clock, and the FAQ on what to do after a car accident that was not your fault covers the first two weeks.
If a State Highway Patrol trooper worked your crash on I-40, US-52 or Business 40, the report is not a WSPD report; see our Highway Patrol crash report page. For the Triad’s other big city and the rest of the state, see Greensboro crash reports, Charlotte crash reports and Raleigh crash reports.
Getting the report in Winston-Salem is easy; reading it the way an insurer will is not. Joshua E. Palmer, Attorney at Law concentrates in personal injury law and represents people hurt in crashes across North Carolina. We obtain the report and the unredacted version when the claim needs it, compare the narrative to the physical evidence, reach witnesses while they still remember, and handle the adjusters so nothing you say becomes a contributory negligence defense. The consultation is free and there is no fee unless we win.
Joshua E. Palmer
Managing Partner · Joshua E. Palmer, Attorney at Law
Attorney Palmer concentrates in personal injury law and trained in North Carolina law at North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham. Contributory negligence is the defense he prepares every North Carolina case to defeat, from the first call with an adjuster to the courtroom.
Hurt in a Winston-Salem crash? Call for a free case review. We will pull the report, explain what it says under North Carolina law, and tell you honestly where the claim stands.
Responsible attorney: Joshua E. Palmer, Managing Partner · 106 Moran Dr #5106, Bonaire, GA 31005 · (478) 887-3734. Attorney advertising. This page is general legal information about North Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation; contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
We will tell you what the report says, what it means under North Carolina law, and whether the insurer can use it against you. Free case review, and no fee unless we win.
Each case is different. Any results, settlement figures, or benefit amounts described on this page depend on the specific facts of that case and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in yours. Statutes and benefit rates cited are current as of November 2026; confirm current law with an attorney before relying on it.
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