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Glossary

Preservation letter

A letter asking a person or company to keep specific evidence, such as driving logs, video or vehicle data, because a claim is likely.

Last reviewed By the Editorial team 2 min read

General information, not legal advice. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state.

Quick answer

A preservation letter asks a person or company to keep specific evidence, such as driving logs, video or vehicle data, because a claim is likely. It is also called a spoliation letter or litigation hold letter.

In a car accident claim#

Evidence after a crash can disappear quickly. Store and traffic cameras often record over old footage, phones are replaced, and vehicles are repaired or scrapped. Some records have legal retention periods, but they are short: a trucking company must keep drivers' hours-of-service records for 6 months, and a truck's inspection, repair and maintenance records for 1 year, and for 6 months after the vehicle leaves the carrier's control.

Other evidence, such as dash-camera video, the truck's engine and crash data, dispatch messages and phone records, may not be covered by any keeping rule. A preservation letter lists those items and asks the recipient to keep them. Destroying evidence after such a request can be treated as Spoliation of evidence. Destroying, losing or altering evidence that should have been kept for a likely claim. Courts can penalize it, for example by telling the jury it may assume the evidence was unfavorable. Glossary, and courts can penalize it. Under the federal rules, for example, a court that finds a party destroyed electronic data to keep it from the other side can tell the jury to presume it was unfavorable. Once a lawsuit is filed, the same evidence can also be sought through Discovery. The stage of a lawsuit in which each side must share documents and answer questions under oath. Glossary or a Subpoena. A court order that requires a person to appear and testify, or to hand over documents. Witnesses who are not parties are usually brought to a deposition with a subpoena. Glossary. Letters usually go to the other driver, their insurer, an employer or carrier, and businesses with cameras nearby. Our guides to truck accidents and company vehicle accidents list the evidence that matters most.

Example#

Questions people ask

Is a preservation letter legally required?

No law requires you to send one. It puts the other side on clear notice that a claim is likely, which makes it harder for them to say later that they did not know to keep the evidence.

Who sends a preservation letter?

Often the injured person's lawyer, but anyone with a likely claim can send one. It usually names the specific evidence and the dates it covers, so there is no doubt about what to keep.

Sources

  1. Cornell LII, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 37 — lost electronic evidence and the measures a court can take
  2. eCFR, 49 CFR 395.8 Driver's record of duty status — retention of hours-of-service records
  3. eCFR, 49 CFR 396.3 Inspection, repair, and maintenance — retention of maintenance records

Last reviewed October 29, 2026 by the Accident Claim Facts editorial team. Found an error? Tell us.

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