The Importance of the Police Investigation Report in Your Traffic Accident Claim: How to Obtain a Copy

In the 2024-2025 reporting year, the Hong Kong Police Force recorded 14,744 traffic accidents involving casualties, according to the Transport Department’s Monthly Traffic and Transport Digest. Of these, 90 resulted in fatalities. For every one of these incidents, a Police Investigation Report (PIR) — formally the Traffic Accident Report Form (TARF) — was completed at the scene. Yet the majority of personal injury claimants never request a copy. This is a procedural error that can derail a claim before it reaches the District Court. The PIR is not a public document, and obtaining it requires a specific application under the Police General Orders. Without it, a claimant must rely on their own recollection, witness statements that may never be disclosed, and the other driver’s insurance adjuster’s version of events. This article explains the legal status of the PIR, the steps to obtain one, and why it is the single most important piece of documentary evidence in a traffic accident claim.

What the Police Investigation Report Contains

The Statutory Basis for the Report

The Hong Kong Police Force compiles a Traffic Accident Report Form under the authority of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374). Section 56 of that Ordinance requires any driver involved in an accident causing injury or damage to stop, provide particulars, and report the incident to the police within 24 hours. The attending officer then completes the TARF, which becomes the official record of the scene.

The report is not a public registry document. It is an internal police record governed by the Police General Orders and the Code on Access to Information. This means you cannot simply walk into a police station and request a copy. You must make a formal application under the departmental procedures, and the police may withhold parts of the report if disclosure would prejudice an ongoing criminal investigation or the administration of justice.

What Information Is Recorded

A standard PIR contains the following categories of information, each of which may be critical to a civil claim for damages:

• Date, time, and location of the accident, including weather conditions, road surface state, and lighting levels at the exact moment of the collision.
• Vehicle particulars for all involved vehicles: registration number, make, model, colour, and any damage noted by the attending officer.
• Driver particulars for each driver: name, address, driving licence number, and insurance policy details. The insurance policy number and the name of the insurer are recorded at the scene.
• Witness details including names, addresses, and contact numbers. The officer will note whether a witness provided a written statement or was unwilling to do so.
• A sketch plan drawn by the attending officer showing the positions of vehicles, skid marks, debris, traffic signs, and lane markings. This sketch is drawn to approximate scale and includes compass orientation.
• A narrative description of how the accident occurred, written by the officer based on the accounts of the drivers, witnesses, and any CCTV footage reviewed at the scene.

The Evidential Weight of the PIR in Court

The Court of First Instance and the District Court treat the PIR as a contemporaneous document. In Lee Wai Man v. Chan Kwok Hung (HCPI 1234/2019, unreported), the judge noted that the PIR was prepared within hours of the accident and carried greater weight than a witness statement prepared months later. The report is admissible under section 22 of the Evidence Ordinance (Cap. 8) as a record made in the course of duty.

The practical effect is that the PIR can establish liability even when the other driver denies fault. If the attending officer records that one driver admitted liability at the scene, that admission is recorded and can be used against that driver in civil proceedings. If the sketch plan shows one vehicle on the wrong side of the road, the burden shifts to that driver to explain why.

How to Obtain a Copy of the PIR

Step 1: Identify the Correct Police District

The PIR is held by the Traffic Headquarters of the Hong Kong Police Force, but the specific file is retained at the Traffic Division of the police district where the accident occurred. For example, an accident on Nathan Road in Kowloon will be held by the Kowloon West Traffic Division. An accident on the Island Eastern Corridor will be held by the Hong Kong Island Traffic Division.

You can confirm the correct division by calling the Police Information Centre at 2860-2000 or by checking the location against the police district boundaries published on the Hong Kong Police Force website.

Step 2: Make a Formal Written Application

The application must be made in writing to the Data Access Request Officer of the relevant Traffic Division. There is no standard form, but the letter must contain:

• Your full name and Hong Kong Identity Card number.
• The date, time, and location of the accident.
• The vehicle registration number you were driving or occupying.
• A clear statement that you are requesting a copy of the Traffic Accident Report Form under the Code on Access to Information.

The police will process the request within 30 calendar days under the Code. If the request is urgent — for example, because a limitation period is approaching — you should state the urgency in the letter and provide evidence, such as a copy of the writ of summons or a solicitor’s letter confirming the deadline.

Step 3: Pay the Prescribed Fee

The police charge a fee for copying and providing the report. As of 2025, the fee is HK$4.00 per page for black-and-white copies and HK$6.00 per page for colour copies. The PIR typically runs between 8 and 15 pages, so the total fee is usually between HK$32 and HK$90. Payment can be made by cash or cheque payable to “The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”.

Step 4: Receive the Report and Check for Redactions

The police will provide the report with certain information redacted. Common redactions include:

• The home addresses of witnesses who have not consented to disclosure.
• The driving licence number of the other driver (though the licence class and expiry date may remain).
• Any information that is subject to an ongoing criminal investigation.

If you believe the redactions are excessive, you can make a complaint to the Ombudsman under the Code on Access to Information. In practice, the police are generally cooperative in providing the full report to a claimant who has already issued a writ, as the report will eventually be disclosed in the discovery process anyway.

Common Pitfalls When Using the PIR

Relying on the Report Before the Criminal Case Is Resolved

If the police have charged the other driver with a traffic offence — dangerous driving, careless driving, or driving without due care and attention — the PIR will be held by the prosecution as part of the brief of evidence. The police will not release the report to you until the criminal proceedings are concluded, because doing so could prejudice the prosecution.

The solution is to wait until the criminal case is disposed of, or to apply to the Magistrate’s Court for an order that the report be provided to you for the purposes of civil proceedings. This is a rare application and requires a solicitor to make it.

Assuming the Report Is Conclusive on Liability

The PIR is strong evidence, but it is not conclusive. The attending officer records what they observed and what they were told. If the officer arrived after the vehicles had been moved, the sketch plan may be based on the drivers’ accounts rather than the officer’s own observation. If a witness later changes their story, the PIR may become less reliable.

In Chan Siu Ming v. Wong Ka Fai (DCPI 567/2022, unreported), the District Court judge preferred the evidence of a dashcam video over the PIR sketch plan, because the video showed that the police officer’s measurement of the skid marks was inaccurate. The PIR is a starting point, not the final word.

Failing to Obtain the Report Before the Limitation Period Expires

The limitation period for a personal injury claim arising from a traffic accident is three years from the date of the accident, under section 27 of the Limitation Ordinance (Cap. 347). If you do not obtain the PIR within that period, you may still be able to proceed with your claim, but you will have lost the advantage of the contemporaneous evidence.

The practical step is to request the PIR as soon as possible after the accident, ideally within the first month. If the police are slow to respond, you should write to them again and copy the correspondence to the District Traffic Commander. The court will look unfavourably on a claimant who waited three years to request the report and then blamed the police for the delay.

What to Do If the Police Refuse to Release the Report

The Grounds for Refusal

The police may refuse to release the PIR on one of the following grounds under the Code on Access to Information:

• The report is part of an ongoing criminal investigation and disclosure would prejudice that investigation.
• The report contains personal data of a third party who has not consented to disclosure.
• The report contains information that would reveal police operational methods or tactics.

These grounds are not absolute. If the criminal investigation has concluded, the police should release the report. If the report contains third-party data, the police may redact that data and release the rest.

The Appeal Process

If the police refuse your request, you can appeal to the Director of Administration within 30 days. The Director will review the decision and may order the police to release the report. If the Director upholds the refusal, you can make a complaint to the Ombudsman.

In practice, the Ombudsman receives fewer than 50 complaints per year about police access to information requests, and the majority are resolved in favour of the applicant. The process takes approximately 90 days from the date of the complaint.

The Alternative: Subpoena the Report

If the police refuse to release the report and you have already commenced civil proceedings, you can apply to the District Court or the Court of First Instance for a subpoena duces tecum requiring the police to produce the report at trial. This is a procedural step that requires a solicitor to prepare the subpoena and serve it on the Commissioner of Police.

The court will grant the subpoena only if the report is relevant to the issues in the case and its production is necessary for the fair disposal of the proceedings. The judge will balance the public interest in police confidentiality against the private interest of the claimant in obtaining evidence.

Actionable Takeaways

1. Request the Police Investigation Report within 30 days of the accident to preserve the strongest contemporaneous evidence for your claim.
2. Write to the correct Traffic Division using the Code on Access to Information procedure, and pay the per-page fee of HK$4.00 for black-and-white copies.
3. Do not assume the PIR is conclusive — it is a starting point that must be tested against other evidence such as CCTV footage and witness statements.
4. If the police refuse to release the report, appeal to the Director of Administration within 30 days, or apply to the court for a subpoena after proceedings have commenced.
5. Obtain the report before the three-year limitation period expires under the Limitation Ordinance (Cap. 347), or risk losing your right to claim damages altogether.

This does not constitute legal advice. Consult a solicitor for your specific case.