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Public Information Requests

The staff of the Houston Police Department / Office of Legal Services / Open Records Unit welcomes you to our section of this web site. In order to assist you with your search on how to submit an Open Records request, we suggest that you find the type of document you are seeking in the list below, click on the heading and follow the instructions on how to obtain that document.

• To purchase a copy of an Accident / Crash Report Online please follow this link: https://policereports.lexisnexis.com/ui/report/search?state=TX&jurisdiction=Houston%20Police%20Department
  
• Local, State and Federal agencies, including law enforcement agency, municipal or district attorney office, please see Interagency Requests for information on how to submit your request.
  
• Information on how to request documents from other City Departments (other than HPD) https://www.houstontx.gov/pia.html
  
• The Texas Attorney Generals website: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/
  
• Accident Calls for Service Log

Below is a list of the most common types of requests. Please click on the item you are requesting for information on how / where to submit your request.

Dispatch transcripts are maintained for one year, 911 audio tapes are maintained for six (6) months. Requests for 911 tapes and dispatch information are handled by the Houston Emergency Center, and can be submitted via:

• Email - hecrecords@houstontx.gov
• Fax - 713-884-3943
• US mail - Houston Emergency Center, PO Box 1562, Houston, TX 77251-1562
• For HPD Offense Reports click here

This is the Texas Peace Officers' Accident Report form (CRB3) filled out by a Houston Police Officer and filed with the Texas Department of Transportation. Accident reports require 5 to 8 days processing time before they are available to the public. Accident reports are handled by the Records Division, 713.308.8585. You must provide at least two of the following in order to obtain an accident report:

• Date of accident
• Location of accident
• Name(s) of driver(s) / party(s) involved
• Please provide the incident number if available.

These are the options on how to obtain an accident report:

1. Crash Reports can be purchased online from the Texas Department of Transportation at https://policereports.lexisnexis.com/, https://policereports.lexisnexis.com/search?AGENCY=TXHPD0000.
2. Send a check / money order for $6.00 (made payable to the City of Houston) plus a self addressed stamped envelope with your request to HPD, Records Division, 1200 Travis, Houston, TX 77002 We will also need for the H. B. 2633 form English | Spanish to be printed, completed, and sent in with your request or
3. In person at the Edward A. Thomas Building at 1200 Travis St. Houston, Texas 77002 on the 1st floor.

Full copies can only be purchased in person or via mail with the accompanying H. B. 2633 form English | Spanish. The H. B. 2633 requirements must be met for online purchase under penalty of perjury, via questionnaire.

This is the computer record of the blotter, the form an arresting officer fills out when a prisoner is booked into one of our holding facilities. To order a copy of the jail arrest record, you must provide:

• The month, day and year of the arrest
• The full name(s), DOB, TDL and/or SSN of the individual
• If you have the offense report number and/or type of offense, please provide them with your request. To obtain this report, please submit an Open Records request

To obtain the location of the vehicles to be auctioned and / or information regarding the vehicles, you must call the Houston Police Auto Auction line at 713 247-5812.

See UCR (Uniform Crime Report)

Calls for Service / Location Inquiry Calls for service records are maintained for two years only. You must provide the:

• specific address such as 123 Smith or 1200 Smith or 1200 Smith through 1400 Smith
• specific time frame such as January 15, 2008 or January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2008

Information regarding citations / traffic violations are maintained by the City of Houston, Municipal Courts, Erlinda Gamez, 713 247-5479 and can be submitted via :

• Email - court.record-request@houstontx.gov
• Fax - 713 247-4775
• US mail - Municipal Courts Administration, Director's Office, 2nd Floor N203, 1400 Lubbock, Houston, TX 77002
• In person at 1400 Lubbock, 2nd floor.

Effective August 2021, the HPD Identity Verification Unit no longer processes Clearance Letters. Individuals needing their criminal histories for employment, immigration, or other purposes will be referred to the Texas Department of Public Safety. (TX DPS) For the TX DPS Criminal History Requests: https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/crime-records/crime-records-general-information

See Accident / Crash Report

Crime statistics can be obtained by beat, month and year via the following link: https://www.houstontx.gov/police/cs/beatpages/beat_stats.htm . Crime statistics include the block number, street name and type of crime. Crime stats are available from January, 1984 through the last full month. If you need citywide crime statistics, please submit an Open Records requests and provide the time period / date range.

In Person/US Mail – This is a service that HPD no longer provides. The release of criminal history information generated is prohibited by common law privacy, (See Houston Chronicle Publishing Company v. City of Houston, 531 S. W. 2d at 188 (Tex. Civ. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1975). Criminal History Information includes arrests handled by the Houston Policy Department (HPD) only. Please note HPD no longer processes criminal history requests. You can make a request for a person's Arrest Record for HPD only; however, you must provide the required information to do so. See/refer to the Arrest Record / Jail Booking Blotter.

• Class C misdemeanor pro se expunction
• Class B’s and above or any case in a Harris County Court

• Hate Crimes Report www.houstontx.gov/police/department_reports/hate_crime/HateCrimes_AnnualReport_Final200615.pdf
• If you need additional information , please submit an Open Records request

• • For more information about charges for copies of public information, please see the Texas Attorney General’s website at: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/og/charges-for-public-information
  • Responsive documents are not emailed or faxed. You must provide a mailing address on all requests.
  • Please submit your request only once via the designated e-mail, on-line portal, fax, U.S. Mail or in person.
  • Please type or write legibly the information you are seeking when using the designated method you choose to submit your request for information.
  • Please allow at least ten (10) business days for a response.
  • Requests submitted by an individual presently incarcerated in a city, state or federal institution will not be processed.
  • On-line: Submit a request using the new Houston Public Information Request Center at https://www.houstontx.gov/publicinformation/index.html or by using - GovQA Portal
  • Email - HPD.OpenRecords@houstonpolice.org
  • Fax - 713 308-9150
  • U. S. mail - Houston Police Department
    Edward A. Thomas Building
    Office of Legal Services
    1200 Travis – 10th Floor
    Houston, Texas 77002
    
  • In person (Drop Box)- Houston Police Department
    Edward A. Thomas Building
    1200 Travis – 1st Floor
    Houston, Texas 77002
    
  • ATTENTION: Requesting HPD Information behalf of a local / state / federal agency, including a law enforcement agency or a municipal or district attorney's office, - these are not considered TPIA requests. The HPD Criminal Justice Liaison handles these types of requests. Please refer see Interagency Requests for information on how to submit that type of request.
  • Information on how to request documents from other City Departments (other than HPD) https://www.houstontx.gov/pia.html
  • The Texas Attorney Generals website; https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov

  For more information about charges for copies of public information, please see the Texas Attorney General’s website at: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/og/charges-for-public-information

  • The Texas Attorney Generals website; https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov

  Costs/Retrieval of Responsive Information:

  Responsive information WILL NOT BE CERTIFIED NOR WILL ANY SURVEY OR AFFAIDVIT BE COMPLETED BY Open Records Personnel that is sent in with any Texas Public Information Act request.

  With the launch of the new Houston Public Information Request Center, all requests are entered into the system and all messages along with responsive information can be retrieved AFTER payment is made on-line. Please note when payments made through our on-line system, the release of documents in our portal is not automatic, the personnel handling the request has to go in to make the change/release during that employee’s normal business hours. Once your notification of your payment has been received, it is best to wait 12-24 hours and re-log into the Houston Public Information Request Center and go to the "View Files" to access the responsive information. There will be a processing convenience fee; however, the fees are to the processing center and do not go to the Houston Police Department.

  You can opt to get your responsive items by US Mail, however, payment plus postage costs (regardless of the amount) have to be made first prior to mailing any responsive information. Payments can be made online in the GOVQA portal or they can be accepted by check or money order will be made to the City of Houston, please reference the Open Records OR# or P-number assigned to the request. Once you've paid the invoice, we will send you the responsive documents. Please note that volumonus requests can take additional time to complete if the materials being requested are releasable. Additionally if the total will be over $40 (forty dollars), we will send you a cost estimate for your approval before we proceed with the work. If the estimated total will be over $100 (one hundred dollars), we will send you a cost estimate and require a deposit before we proceed with the work. When you are invoiced, please submit payment by check or money order only according to the instructions given in your invoice. Please DO NOT PRE-PAY or pay before you have received an invoice or cost estimate. Pre-payment will not increase the processing time for your request.

  Items to Note:

  Should you have any additional questions, please call the Open Records Unit at 713-308-9178.

  Immigration / Clearance Letters - see Clearance / Immigration Letters:

  
  See Clearance / Immigration Letters