Accident reporting requirements by state
When you must call the police or report a car crash to the state, the damage amount that triggers a report and the deadline for a written report.
Every state requires you to stop and help after a crash. Injury or death always requires a report; the dollar amount is for property damage.
| State | Damage amount | When to call the police | Report to the state |
|---|---|---|---|
$500 | You must stop after any crash, help anyone hurt, and give your name, address and registration number and show your license to the others involved. Any crash with injury or death must be reported by the fastest means to the local police (inside a city) or to State Troopers (on a state highway). | If anyone was hurt or killed, or damage to any vehicle or property is $500 or more, and the at-fault driver had no insurance, the driver involved must send form SR-31 (Accident Claim Form) to the ALEA Safety Responsibility Unit within 30 days (P.O. Box 1471, Montgomery, AL 36102-1471, or online). Deadline for your report: 30 days | |
$2,000 | Call police right away by the quickest means if anyone is hurt or killed, or total property damage looks like $2,000 or more. Inside a city, call the local police; outside a city, call the Alaska Department of Public Safety (State Troopers). | In those same crashes, you must also send a written or electronic crash report to the Alaska Department of Administration (Division of Motor Vehicles), and to the local police if the crash was inside a city, within 10 days. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
— | If anyone is hurt or killed, you must tell police right away by the quickest means: city police inside a city, otherwise the county sheriff or the nearest Highway Patrol (DPS) office. For damage-only crashes there is no legal duty to call police, but an officer who does investigate a crash with injury, death, damage over $2,000 or a ticket must write a full report. | No separate crash report from drivers to ADOT/MVD. | |
$1,000 | If anyone is hurt, call 911. The Arkansas Insurance Department's auto brochure says your policy usually requires you to report all accidents to the police. | If anyone is hurt or killed, or any one person's property damage is over $1,000, file an Arkansas Motor Vehicle Accident Report (form SR-1) with the Safety Responsibility Section, P.O. Box 1272, Little Rock, AR 72203, phone (501) 682-7100. Deadline for your report: 30 days | |
$1,000 | Stop. Call 911 right away if anyone is hurt. Show your driver's license, registration, insurance and address to the other driver, police and anyone else involved. | Each driver must file form SR-1 (Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California) with the DMV within 10 days if anyone was injured (even slightly) or killed, or property damage is over $1,000. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
— | After you stop and exchange information, call the nearest police agency right away for any crash that hurts or kills someone or damages any property. If police tell you to, go back to the scene and wait for them. | If police do not come (for example during 'Accident Alert' in bad weather), you can file your own report through the Online Crash Reporting System; it goes to the Colorado Department of Revenue (303-205-5600). | |
— | Stop at once and help anyone hurt. Give your name, address, driver's license number and registration number to anyone hurt, to the owner of damaged property, or to a police officer or witness. | Connecticut no longer requires drivers to file their own crash report with the DMV (former § 14-108 is repealed). | |
$2,000 | Report the crash right away to the police agency for that location if anyone is hurt or killed, if the crash is on a public road and damage looks like $2,000 or more, or if a driver seems impaired by alcohol or drugs. You may also report smaller crashes. | No separate driver report to the DMV. Police complete the State of Delaware Uniform Traffic Collision Report for reportable crashes. | |
— | If anyone is hurt, call 911 (or have someone call), stay until police arrive, and give your information to police and the injured person. If you damage someone's property and the owner is not there, give your information and the crash location to police or 911. | We found no separate crash report that drivers must file with the DC DMV. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) writes the crash report (form PD-10). | |
$2,000 | Call police right away (city police, sheriff or Florida Highway Patrol) if anyone is hurt or killed. Since October 1, 2026, you must also call if damage to any vehicle or other property looks like $2,000 or more. | Police complete a long-form crash report if anyone is hurt or complains of pain, a vehicle had to be towed, there was a DUI or hit-and-run, or a commercial vehicle was involved. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
$500 | Stop right away in a safe place. Notify the nearest law enforcement agency immediately if anyone is hurt or killed, or if property damage is more than $500. | No separate driver crash report to the Department of Driver Services or Department of Revenue was found in official sources. | |
$3,000 | Call the nearest police officer right away, by the quickest means, if anyone is hurt or killed or total property damage looks like $3,000 or more. If the driver can't, another occupant must. | No separate driver report to a state agency was found in the statute; the police officer files the written report. | |
$1,500 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or damage to any one person's property is more than $1,500, you must tell the police right away by the fastest way you can. Inside a city, call the city police. | No separate driver report is required by state law. | |
$1,500 | Illinois State Police says each driver must file a crash report if the crash caused a death, an injury, or more than $1,500 of property damage when all drivers are insured ($500 if any driver has no insurance). If no officer comes to the scene, file a report with police as soon as possible, within 10 days. | Drivers no longer send IDOT a written Motorist Report. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
— | Stop, stay at the scene, give your name, address and plate number to anyone involved, and show your driver's license. If anyone is hurt or killed, help as directed and make sure police (city police inside a city; otherwise the sheriff or nearest State Police post) or 911 are told right away. | Drivers do not file their own crash report. | |
$1,500 | If anyone is hurt or killed, tell the sheriff, the nearest State Patrol office or another nearby peace officer right away, by the quickest means. | If anyone is hurt or killed, or total property damage looks like $1,500 or more, send a written report to the Iowa DOT within 72 hours. Deadline for your report: 3 days | |
$1,000 | If no officer is at the scene, you (or an adult passenger) must report the crash right away, by the quickest means, to the nearest police authority if anyone is hurt or killed, damage looks like $1,000 or more, or the other people involved can't receive your information. At the scene, give your name, address, plate number, insurance company and policy number to the other people involved and to police. | Kansas has no standing driver crash report form. | |
$500 | Stop, help anyone hurt, and give your plate number and names and addresses of the owner, occupants and driver if asked. Call 911 or police right away if anyone is killed or visibly hurt, or a vehicle cannot be driven. | If anyone was hurt or killed, or total property damage is $500 or more, and no officer investigated, you must file a written report with the Kentucky State Police within 10 days. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
$500 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or property damage is over $500, you must tell the police right away. Inside a city or town, call the city police. | No separate driver report to the state is required by this law. | |
$2,000 | Report the crash right away (State Police, sheriff or city/town police) if it happens on a public way and anyone is hurt or killed or damage looks like $2,000 or more. Damage means the market cost of needed repairs, not just the car's value. | No separate driver report. | |
— | If anyone is hurt or killed and police did not investigate, each driver must send a written report to the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) within 15 days, with proof of liability insurance (insurer name and address, policy number, agent). No driver report is needed if a police officer investigated and filed a report with the State Police. | Written report to the MVA within 15 days for crashes with injury or death, unless police investigated and filed a report. Deadline for your report: 15 days | |
$1,000 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or damage to any one vehicle or property is over $1,000, send a copy of your written crash report to the police department where the crash happened. (Police must also accept a report from you if your car was damaged by a hit-and-run driver.) | Within 5 days, send a written Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report to the Registrar (RMV) and a copy to the local police. Deadline for your report: 5 days | |
$1,000 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or total property damage looks like $1,000 or more, you must report the crash right away at the nearest police station or to the nearest police officer. Michigan State Police says crashes not reported right away may or may not get a report, at the agency's discretion. | No separate driver report to the Secretary of State. The police agency completes the Traffic Crash Report (UD-10) and sends it to the Michigan State Police. | |
— | Stop and give your name, date of birth, mailing or email address and plate number to the other driver; help anyone hurt. Give your insurer's name and agent within 72 hours if asked. | No separate driver report. | |
$500 | Stop and help anyone hurt; call 911 if needed. Report the crash right away to the proper law enforcement agency if anyone is hurt or killed or property damage looks like more than $500. | No separate driver report is described in the official manual. | |
— | Call 911 if anyone is hurt. If a crash injures or kills someone or damages another person's property, you must stop and give your name, address, license plate number and driver's license number to the other party or a police officer; if no officer is nearby, give it to the nearest law enforcement agency. | If the crash involves an uninsured driver and anyone is hurt or killed or any one person's property damage is over $500, or if you yourself had no insurance, you must send a written report to the Missouri Department of Revenue within 30 days. Deadline for your report: 30 days | |
$1,000 | Call police right away (city police inside a city; otherwise the county sheriff or nearest Highway Patrol office) if anyone is hurt or killed, you hit a deceased person, or property damage looks like $1,000 or more. | If someone is hurt or killed or property damage is over $1,000, the driver must send a written report to the Department of Justice within 10 days, unless a law enforcement officer investigated and reported the crash. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
$2,000 | Nebraska law doesn't say you must call police for every crash. You must stop, give your name, address, phone and license number to the other driver or property owner, and help anyone hurt (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 60-696, 60-697). | If no law enforcement officer investigated, and anyone was hurt or killed or any one person's property damage is $2,000 or more, every driver involved must file a Driver's Motor Vehicle Crash Report with the Nebraska Department of Transportation within 10 days. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
$750 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or the crash happened on a highway, and no officer is at the scene, report it right away to the nearest police office or the Nevada Highway Patrol. If you hit a parked car or other unattended property, you must leave a note with your name and address and also tell police right away. | If anyone is hurt or killed, or damage to any vehicle or property looks like $750 or more, send form SR-1 (Report of Traffic Crash) to the Nevada DMV within 10 days. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
New Hampshire New Hampshire motor vehicle agency | Not covered yet | ||
$500 | Call the police right away (local police, county police or State Police) if anyone is hurt or killed or damage to any one person's property is over $500. If the driver can't, a passenger who can must do it. | By law the driver must also send a written report within 10 days, unless a police officer files a report of the crash. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
$500 | Call 911 if anyone is hurt. | If anyone is hurt or killed or total property damage looks like $500 or more, the driver must send a written crash report to the New Mexico Department of Transportation within 5 days. Deadline for your report: 5 days | |
$1,000 | Before leaving, stop, show your license and insurance card, and give your name, address, insurer and policy details to the other party. If you damage property and the owner is not there, report it to the nearest police station as soon as you can. | File a Report of Motor Vehicle Accident (MV-104) with the DMV within 10 days if anyone is hurt or killed, or if damage to any one person's property (including your own) is over $1,000. Deadline for your report: 10 days | |
$1,000 | Call police right away if anyone is hurt or killed, or total property damage is $1,000 or more (a 'reportable crash'). In a city or town, call the city police. | No separate driver report. | |
$4,000 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or property damage looks like at least $4,000, you must tell police right away: the local police department inside a city, otherwise the county sheriff or the State Highway Patrol. Not doing so carries a $50 fine, and NDDOT may suspend your license until you comply. | No separate driver crash report form. Deadline for your report: 5 days | |
— | Stop and give your name, address and plate number (and the owner's name and address if you are not the owner) to anyone hurt, the driver or owner of any damaged vehicle, and any police officer at the scene. If an injured person cannot understand and record that information, call the nearest police and stay until an officer arrives (unless an ambulance or emergency vehicle takes you away). | No required driver crash report to the state. | |
$300 | If anyone is hurt or killed, you must tell the police right away by the fastest way you can: the city police inside a city, or else the county sheriff or the nearest Oklahoma Highway Patrol office. In any crash with injury or damage to an attended vehicle, give your name, address and plate number, show your license and insurance verification form if asked, and help anyone hurt. | Except for crashes on private property, if anyone was hurt or killed or damage to one vehicle or other property is clearly over $300, the driver must send a written report to the Department of Public Safety if the crash has not been settled within 6 months. | |
$2,500 | Notify police right away (use a non-emergency number unless it's an emergency) if anyone is hurt or killed, any vehicle has more than $2,500 damage, other property has more than $2,500 damage, or a vehicle must be towed from the scene. For a serious injury or death, calling 911 meets the duty. | In the same crashes, each driver must also send an Oregon Traffic Collision and Insurance Report to DMV within 72 hours, even if police made a report. Deadline for your report: 3 days | |
— | Call the nearest police right away if anyone is hurt or killed, or if any vehicle is too damaged to be driven and needs towing. The officer must give each driver a signed statement that the crash was reported. | If police were required to investigate (injury, death or a tow-away) but did not, each driver must send a written crash report to PennDOT within 5 days. Deadline for your report: 5 days | |
$1,000 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or you hit a car that someone is driving or sitting in, you must stop, give your name, address and registration number, show your license, help anyone hurt, and immediately tell the local or state police by the quickest means (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-26-1 to 31-26-3). If you hit a parked, unattended car, find the owner or leave a written note, and immediately notify the police (§ 31-26-4). | If anyone is hurt or killed, or any one person's property damage (including your own) is over $1,000, send a written report to the Division of Motor Vehicles within 21 days, on DMV forms. Deadline for your report: 21 days | |
$1,000 | If anyone is hurt or killed, you must tell police right away by the quickest means: the city police inside a city, otherwise the county sheriff or the nearest Highway Patrol office. | Insurance proof is due to the SCDMV within 15 days. Deadline for your report: 15 days | |
$1,000 | Notify the nearest law enforcement officer right away, by the quickest means, if anyone is hurt or killed, or damage looks like $1,000 or more to any one person's property or $2,000 for the whole crash. Not doing so is a Class 2 misdemeanor. | No separate driver report to a state agency was found; the investigating officer's report goes to the Department of Public Safety. | |
$1,500 | Stop at the scene. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. | If the crash caused death or injury, more than $1,500 in property damage, or more than $400 in damage to state or local government property, the owner or driver must file an Owner Operator Report with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security within 20 days. Deadline for your report: 20 days | |
— | Call police right away by the quickest means if anyone is hurt or killed, or a vehicle is too damaged to be driven normally and safely: city police inside a city (or within 100 feet of it), otherwise the sheriff or Texas DPS. Officers who investigate must file a report if anyone is hurt or killed or any one person's property damage looks like $1,000 or more. | No. Drivers no longer file their own written crash report (CR-2) with the state; officers file the CR-3 electronically with TxDOT within 10 days. | |
$2,500 | Call the nearest law enforcement agency right away if anyone is hurt or killed, or if property damage looks like $2,500 or more. Exchange name, address, plate number and insurance (with the agent's or company's phone number) with the others involved. | No automatic driver report. | |
$3,000 | If anyone is hurt or property other than your own vehicle is damaged, you must stop, help as needed, and give your name, address, license number and the owner's name to the injured person, the property owner and any police officer. Leaving the scene can bring a fine of up to $2,000 or up to 2 years in prison. | If anyone is hurt or total property damage is $3,000 or more, send a written crash report (form VC-004, Crash Report, Operator: Motor Vehicle) to the DMV Commissioner within 72 hours. Deadline for your report: 3 days | |
— | After any crash where someone is hurt or killed, or an attended car or other attended property is damaged, you must stop and right away give your name, address, driver's license number and registration number to the State Police or local police, or to the injured person, the other driver or an occupant, or the property owner. If you were hurt and could not, report to police as soon as reasonably possible. | No required driver report to the DMV. A police officer who investigates a crash with injury, death or apparent property damage of $3,000 or more sends a written report to the DMV within 24 hours after finishing the investigation. | |
$1,000 | Call police if anyone is hurt; the Insurance Commissioner advises not to leave the scene without calling police, even if the crash seems minor. If no officer makes a report, you must send your own written report within 4 days when anyone is hurt or killed or any one person's property damage looks like $1,000 or more: to city police inside a city or town, or to the county sheriff or State Patrol outside cities. | The driver's written report goes to city police inside a city or town, or to the county sheriff or State Patrol outside cities (not to the DOL directly); it is forwarded to the State Patrol, which shares it with the Department of Licensing. Deadline for your report: 4 days | |
$1,000 | If anyone is hurt or killed, or the total damage looks like $1,000 or more, you must tell the police right away by the fastest way you can (call 911 or the local number). Inside a city, call the city police. | No separate driver report is required by state law. | |
$1,000 | A crash must be reported if anyone is hurt or killed, damage to any one person's vehicle or property is $1,000 or more, or damage to government property (other than vehicles) is $200 or more. | If police don't file a report, each driver must complete the Wisconsin Driver Report of Crash (DT4002) with WisDOT, online or on paper. | |
— | Call police right away (city police inside a city; otherwise the Highway Patrol or county sheriff) if anyone is hurt or killed or a vehicle is too damaged to drive normally and safely. | No separate driver report. |
How long do you have to sue? Count the days with the calculator.
Deadline calculator