On a crash report, “97” almost always means “Not Applicable.” That is the value assigned by the national coding standard most states follow, and it simply tells you the field in question didn’t apply to the person, vehicle, or situation being described. If the “97” you’re looking at is actually “10-97” in a radio log or dispatch entry, it means something different: “Arrived at Scene.” So what 97 means on a police report depends entirely on where it appears, and those are the two meanings to check against.
“97” in a Crash Report Field
Traffic crash reports use the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC), a national standard developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that defines how states collect and code crash data.1NHTSA. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria MMUCC assigns “97” as the “Not Applicable” value across more than 25 separate data elements, and most state crash forms follow the convention.2CEE Transportation Portal – University of Wisconsin-Madison. MMUCC Guideline: Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria, Fifth Edition
The fields where you’ll typically see a “97” are ones that have nothing to record for the person or vehicle involved:
- Helmet use for a driver in an enclosed passenger car.
- Airbag deployment for a pedestrian or cyclist.
- Ejection status for someone who wasn’t a vehicle occupant.
- Drug or alcohol test results when no test was administered.
- Hazardous materials class for a standard car carrying no hazardous cargo.
Two neighboring values show up in the same fields and are worth recognizing: “96” means “None,” and “99” means “Unknown.” Once you know those three, most coded entries on a crash report become readable without a reference sheet. “97” is a neutral entry. It doesn’t suggest fault, impairment, or any contributing factor. It only tells you the category didn’t apply.
“10-97” in Radio Codes and Dispatch Logs
If the “97” you’re reading sits inside a narrative line, a dispatch entry, or a timeline, and it’s written as “10-97,” it comes from the police radio code system rather than the crash data standard. In the 10-code system, “10-97” means “Arrived at Scene” or “Arrived at Assignment.” An officer noting “10-97 at 14:32” is recording the time they reached the location of the call. A related code, “11-97,” refers to a routine time or security check on a patrol vehicle.
Radio codes aren’t nationally standardized. The same number can mean different things in different departments, which is one reason the Department of Homeland Security has pushed agencies toward plain language for multi-agency incidents.3Office of Justice Programs. End of 10-Codes4CISA. Plain Language Guide Frequently Asked Questions “10-97” meaning “arrived at scene” is one of the more consistent entries, but if a code on your report doesn’t match what you’d expect, the issuing agency is the one to confirm it with.
Why a “97” Entry Can Matter for a Claim
Fields coded “97” are generally neutral because they just mean a category didn’t apply. The reason to check them anyway is that insurance adjusters work from the coded data on the report, not only the narrative, when they evaluate fault and process a claim. Codes for contributing factors, driver condition, and manner of collision all feed into those decisions.
An incorrect code can quietly cut against you. If a field that should read “97” instead shows a value suggesting impairment or a contributing factor, that error can influence how an insurer assigns liability before you ever speak with them. Reviewing every coded field, not just the written narrative, is the point of knowing what these numbers mean in the first place.
Confirming or Correcting a Code on Your Report
If you want to verify what a specific “97” or any other code means on your report, call the records division of the agency that issued it. Ask for the meaning of the specific entry and, if available, a copy of the agency’s code reference sheet. Many departments will walk you through the entries over the phone. Your state’s department of transportation sometimes maintains a separate retrieval system for crash reports apart from the police department’s.
If a code is wrong, the correction doesn’t happen by rewriting the original. Agencies handle corrections through a supplemental report that attaches to the original and becomes part of the official record. For a clear factual error, bring your identification and documentation showing the correct information to the records division or the officer who wrote the report. If the error is clear-cut, the officer writes a supplement with the correction.
Subjective disagreements are harder. If you disagree with the officer’s narrative or fault assessment rather than a data entry, the department is unlikely to change the original language, but you can usually ask that your version of events be documented in a supplemental statement attached to the report. For insurance or legal purposes, having your account on file as part of the record is better than leaving the original unchallenged.
One boundary worth naming: the MMUCC convention of “97” meaning “Not Applicable” governs crash reports specifically. On a general incident or arrest report that isn’t using the crash-data form, a “97” written on its own is unusual, and radio-code meanings or agency-specific shorthand are more likely explanations. When in doubt, the issuing agency’s records division can tell you which system the number came from.