After a car crash there can be two separate duties: notify the police right away, and send a written crash report to a state agency. 40 of the 51 jurisdictions on this page have a rule for telling the police, and 26 require drivers to file a written report in at least some crashes, usually within days. This page lists both duties for all 50 states and the District of Columbia as of September 28, 2026, taken from each state's vehicle code, and the checker below tells you what your state requires for your crash.
Estimate the total damage to all vehicles and property. A repair estimate or the insurer's appraisal is the best guide.
The two duties a driver has after a crash in each state, as of September 28, 2026: when to notify the police right away, and when to send a written report to a state agency and by what deadline.
| State | Tell the police when | Driver's written report | Deadline | Send it to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Injury or death | Only if the at-fault party was uninsured: injury, death or $500 or more in damage (SR-31) | 30 days | ALEA Safety Responsibility Unit (SR-31) |
| Alaska | Injury, death or $2,000 or more in total damage | Same triggers, unless an officer investigated | 10 days | Department of Administration (DMV) and local police |
| Arizona | Injury or death | None; the officer reports (a city may require one) | - | - |
| Arkansas | Injury, death or over $1,000 in damage | Injury, death or over $1,000 damage to one person's property, regardless of fault | 30 days | DFA Office of Driver Services (SR-1) |
| California | Injury or death (written report to the CHP or city police within 24 hours) | Injury, death or over $1,000 damage to one person's property; police reports do not count | 10 days | DMV (form SR 1) |
| Colorado | Any crash with injury, death or property damage | None; repealed (supplemental report only on request) | - | - |
| Connecticut | Only if you cannot give your information to the people involved or an officer | None; repealed (the officer reports) | - | - |
| Delaware | Injury, death, $2,000 or more in damage on a highway, or an impaired driver | None; the police report (the state may ask for a supplement) | - | - |
| District of Columbia | Another person injured (stay until police arrive) | None; repealed in 1982 | - | - |
| Florida | Injury, death or $500 or more in damage ($2,000 from October 1, 2026) | Property damage crash with no police report | 10 days | Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles |
| Georgia | Injury, death or over $500 in damage | None found for drivers | - | - |
| Hawaii | Injury, death or $3,000 or more in total damage | None; the officer reports | - | - |
| Idaho | Injury, death or over $1,500 damage to one person's property | None; the officer reports | - | - |
| Illinois | No officer present and injury, death or over $1,500 in damage ($500 if a car was uninsured) | None; repealed in 2021 | - | - |
| Indiana | Any crash, as soon as possible (driver's manual) | None found for drivers | - | - |
| Iowa | Injury or death | Injury, death or $1,500 or more in total damage, unless police investigated | 72 hours | Iowa Department of Transportation |
| Kansas | No officer at the scene and injury, death or $1,000 or more in damage | Only if the Division of Vehicles asks | - | - |
| Kentucky | No separate rule found | Damage over $500, if no officer investigated | 10 days | Kentucky State Police |
| Louisiana | Injury, death or over $500 in damage (72 hours in evacuation or emergency areas) | None; the police report | - | - |
| Maine | Injury, death or $2,000 or more in damage (public way) | None; the officer reports | - | - |
| Maryland | Only if no officer is present and no one can take your information | Injury or death, unless police reported | 15 days | Motor Vehicle Administration |
| Massachusetts | No separate rule found | Injury, death or over $1,000 damage to one vehicle or other property | 5 days | Registry of Motor Vehicles and local police |
| Michigan | Injury, death or $1,000 or more in total damage | None; the police report (UD-10) | - | - |
| Minnesota | Injury or death of another person | None; repealed in 2021 (the officer reports) | - | - |
| Mississippi | Injury, death or over $500 in damage | None found for drivers | - | - |
| Missouri | No general call-the-police statute found (see the leaving-the-scene rule) | Only if a driver was uninsured: injury, death or over $500 damage to one person's property | 30 days | Director of Revenue (Form 1140) |
| Montana | Injury, death or $1,000 or more in damage | Injury, death or over $1,000 damage to a person's property, unless an officer investigated and reported | 10 days | Department of Justice |
| Nebraska | Unattended vehicle or property only | Injury, death or $2,000 or more to one person's property ($1,500 before July 18, 2026), if police did not investigate | 10 days | Department of Transportation |
| Nevada | Any crash (driver handbook) | Injury or $750 or more in damage, if police did not investigate (SR-1) | 10 days | Nevada DMV |
| New Hampshire | Only if the people involved cannot receive your information | Injury, death or over $1,000 in damage, unless a police officer investigated | 15 days | Division of Motor Vehicles |
| New Jersey | Injury, death or any vehicle or property damage | Injury or over $500 in damage, if no police report is filed | 10 days | Motor Vehicle Commission |
| New Mexico | Injury, death or $500 or more in damage | Injury, death or $500 or more in total damage | 5 days | Department of Transportation |
| New York | Another person injured (identify yourself to a police officer) | Injury, death or over $1,000 damage to one person's property | 10 days | DMV Commissioner |
| North Carolina | Injury, death or $1,000 or more in total damage | None; repealed in 1995 | - | - |
| North Dakota | Injury, death or $4,000 or more in damage | None; the officer reports | - | - |
| Ohio | Only if an injured person cannot take your information | None (optional uninsured-driver report within 6 months) | - | - |
| Oklahoma | Injury or death | Injury, death or over $300 in damage, if not settled within 6 months | After 6 months without a settlement | Department of Public Safety |
| Oregon | No separate rule found | Injury, death or over $2,500 in damage; needed even if the police report | 72 hours | Oregon DMV |
| Pennsylvania | Injury, death or a vehicle towed | Injury, death or a towed vehicle, if the police did not investigate (AA-600) | 5 days | PennDOT |
| Rhode Island | Injury, death or damage to any vehicle | Injury, death or over $1,000 damage to one person's property | 21 days | Division of Motor Vehicles |
| South Carolina | Injury or death | Injury, death or $1,000 or more in total damage, if no officer investigated | 15 days | South Carolina DMV |
| South Dakota | Injury, death, or $1,000 to one person's property ($2,000 in total) | None; the officer reports | - | - |
| Tennessee | Injury, death or over $50 in damage | Injury, death or over $400 damage to one person's property | 20 days | Department of Safety and Homeland Security |
| Texas | Injury, death or vehicles that cannot be moved (driver handbook) | None; repealed in 2017 (officers report) | - | - |
| Utah | Injury, death or $2,500 or more in damage | Only if the Department asks (due 10 days after the request) | - | - |
| Vermont | No separate duty (give your information to any officer at the scene) | Injury, death or $3,000 or more in total damage (VC-004) | 72 hours | DMV Driver Control |
| Virginia | Injury or death | Optional (you may file one with the DMV) | - | - |
| Washington | Only if no officer is present and no one can receive your information | Injury, death or $1,000 or more damage to one person's property, unless an officer reports | 4 days | Local police, county sheriff or State Patrol |
| West Virginia | Injury, death or $1,000 or more in total damage | None; the officer reports | - | - |
| Wisconsin | Injury, death or $1,000 or more damage to one person's property | Same crashes, unless law enforcement reports | 10 days | Department of Transportation |
| Wyoming | Injury, death or a vehicle that cannot be driven safely | None; the officer reports | - | - |
Two clocks can run after a crash. Where a state requires you to tell the police, the rule usually says to do it immediately or by the quickest means of communication; California instead requires a written report to the CHP or city police within 24 hours when someone is hurt or killed. A written report to a state agency is due within:
In 25 jurisdictions we found no routine written report required from drivers; in most of them the investigating officer files the report: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Most written-report rules are triggered by any injury or death, or by property damage above a dollar amount. Some states count the total damage in the crash and others the damage to any one person's property. The amounts that trigger a driver's written report:
Pennsylvania uses no dollar amount: its report is triggered by an injury, a death or a vehicle that had to be towed. Florida's driver report covers property damage crashes that do not need a police report, with no dollar amount.
In 14 jurisdictions the driver's written report is not needed when a police officer investigated or filed a report: Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin. That is why the checker asks whether an officer came.
The rules we found for the other states with a driver report give no such exception: Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont. California's DMV says reports filed by the police, the CHP or an insurance company do not satisfy the SR 1 filing requirement, and Oregon's DMV says you still need to file even if law enforcement files a report.
Calling the police and filing a state report are legal duties, and they are separate from telling your own insurance company about the crash, which is governed by your policy. Keep the police report number and a copy of any report you file; you may need them for an insurance claim.
If pain or other symptoms show up days later, see delayed injury symptoms after a car accident. The deadline to file an injury lawsuit is a separate and much longer clock, covered in the personal injury statute of limitations by state. Before you talk with the other driver's insurer, read whether to give a recorded statement, and use the car accident settlement calculator to estimate what the claim is worth.
For each state and the District of Columbia we read the reporting sections of the vehicle code and recorded the exact words that set each duty. Where the code could not be read from our server, we used the state motor vehicle agency, the state police or the official driver manual, or an archived copy of the same official page. Every figure in the table appears in that wording; the sources are listed below.
The table shows the rules as of September 28, 2026, including Florida's change on October 1, 2026 and Nebraska's on July 18, 2026 (the checker uses the rule in force on the crash date). Next scheduled review: January 1, 2027.
It depends on the state and on the kind of report. Where a state requires you to tell the police, it is due right away; statutes say "immediately" or "by the quickest means." A written report to a state agency, where required, is due in 72 hours in Iowa, Oregon and Vermont, 4 days in Washington, 5 days in Massachusetts, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, 10 days in states such as California, New York and Wisconsin, 20 days in Tennessee, 21 days in Rhode Island and 30 days in Arkansas.
Only if the damage reaches your state's amount or another trigger applies. A driver report is required, for example, in Iowa at $1,500 or more in total damage and in California when damage to any one person's property is more than $1,000. Some states have no driver report at all. Enter your numbers in the checker above.
In 14 jurisdictions the driver's written report is not needed when an officer investigated or reported the crash. In others you still file: California's DMV says police, CHP or insurance company reports do not satisfy the SR 1 requirement, and Oregon's DMV says to file even if law enforcement files a report.
It is the name several states use for the driver's crash report. In California, each driver must file form SR 1 with the DMV within 10 days when anyone is hurt or killed or damage to any one person's property is more than $1,000. Arkansas and Nevada also use the name SR-1.
No. The police call and the state report are duties under state law, while notice to your insurer is set by your policy. California's DMV, for example, says the SR 1 must be made in addition to any report filed with an insurance company.
We found no routine driver report in 25 jurisdictions, including Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas, several of which repealed it; the investigating officer files the report instead. You may still have to call the police.