What to Do After a Car Accident: A Step-by-Step Checklist

After a car accident, check everyone for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Move drivable vehicles out of traffic and turn on your hazard lights. Call the police when your state requires it, exchange information, photograph the scene, and get a medical evaluation. Notify your insurer, then obtain the crash report from the investigating agency's channel.

What should you do first at the scene of a car accident?

What to do after a car accident starts with safety: stop your vehicle, check everyone for injuries, and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Move drivable vehicles out of traffic, turn on your hazard lights, and set out warning devices if you have them.

These first minutes are about protecting people, not assigning blame. The Insurance Information Institute advises drivers to secure the scene before exchanging any details. Work through the scene in this order:

1. Stop and stay. Stop at the scene of a crash you were involved in and do not leave until you have exchanged information and handled any report your state requires, because leaving a crash you were involved in can carry legal consequences.
2. Check for injuries. Look at yourself, your passengers, and the other party to the crash. Call 911 for any injury and let the dispatcher decide whether to send an ambulance.
3. Get out of the traffic lane. If a vehicle is drivable and it is safe to move it, pull onto the shoulder or a nearby lot. Turn on your hazard lights so approaching drivers can see the scene.
4. Warn oncoming traffic. Set out flares, cones, or reflective triangles if you carry them, especially at night or in poor weather.
5. Stay calm and wait. Once people are safe, the rest of this checklist is documentation and reporting, which you can do methodically.

State crash reports also feed the national safety data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal road-safety authority, which is one reason officers record the scene in a standardized format.

When are you legally required to call the police after a crash?

Many states require you to call the police after a crash that involves an injury, a death, or property damage above a set dollar amount. The reporting threshold varies by state, so when you are unsure whether a crash qualifies, call.

That dollar threshold, and the deadline to file a separate report with the state, differ in every state, so this is one place to check your own state's rule rather than a national number. Some states also let you, or require you to, file a driver's report with the DMV when no officer responds. A police-filed crash report gives your insurer an independent record of the collision, which is why calling is often worth it even for a moderate crash. For a state-level example of the full sequence, follow Idaho's step-by-step after-a-crash walkthrough. When you are certain no one is hurt and the damage looks minor, you still exchange information and document the scene. You simply confirm whether your state's reporting threshold applies before you decide not to call.

What information should you exchange with the other driver?

Exchange full names, addresses, phone numbers, license-plate numbers, vehicle make and model, driver-license numbers, and insurance details with every driver involved. Collect the contact information of any witnesses and the responding officer's name, badge number, and agency.

Collecting the right details at the scene saves days of back-and-forth when you file a claim. Gather each item below from every party to the crash:

• Driver and owner: the full name, address, and phone number for each driver, plus the vehicle owner if that is a different person.
• Vehicle: the make, model, year, color, and the full license-plate number and state.
• License and insurance: the driver-license number and the insurance company name and policy number shown on each driver's insurance card.
• Witnesses: names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the crash and is willing to describe it.
• Officer and case number: the responding officer's name, badge number, and agency, and the crash report or case number they assign.

Photograph each insurance card and license plate rather than copying them by hand, because a clear photo removes transcription errors. The Insurance Information Institute lists this same exchange set as the core of a well-documented claim.

How should you document the accident scene?

Photograph all vehicles, close-ups of the damage, and wide shots of the scene, road signs, and conditions. Note the date, time, and weather. Write down the crash report or case number the officer gives you, because that number is how you retrieve the report later.

Your photos and notes become the neutral record of what the scene looked like before vehicles were moved and memories faded. Capture:

• Wide shots showing both vehicles, their positions, any skid marks, and the surrounding intersection or roadway.
• Close-ups of every point of damage on each vehicle, plus any debris in the road.
• Road context: traffic signs, signals, lane markings, and anything obscured, such as a blocked sign or a burned-out light.
• Conditions: the date, time, lighting, and weather, since a wet or icy road is part of the record.
• The case number: the crash report or case number, which links every later request back to this specific investigating agency.

Keep these together with the other driver's details in one place. When the report becomes available, the case number is the key that lets you request it and check that its facts match what you saw.

Should you go to the hospital or urgent care after a car accident?

See a medical professional even if you feel fine, because injuries like whiplash or a concussion can surface hours or days later. Call 911 or go to the emergency room for severe symptoms, and use urgent care or your own doctor for minor aches.

A large part of what to do after a car accident for your body is simply getting checked, because adrenaline can mask pain at the scene. Severe or worsening symptoms, such as chest pain, trouble breathing, numbness, a severe headache, or confusion, are reasons to call 911 or go to an emergency room. For soreness, stiffness, or a mild headache, an urgent-care clinic or your regular doctor can examine you and start a record. That medical record also documents the timing of any injury, which matters if you later file a claim. This is general information, not medical advice, and a licensed clinician decides what care you need.

When and how should you notify your insurance company?

Notify your own insurer as soon as possible after a crash, regardless of who was at fault. Report the basic facts, provide the other driver's details, and ask which documents and proof-of-claim forms they need. Prompt notice protects your coverage.

What happens after a car accident with insurance follows a predictable path once you make that first call. Your insurer opens a claim, assigns a claim number, and tells you what to send: photos, the other driver's information, and, when one exists, the crash report. What to do after a car accident with insurance on the other driver depends on the situation; when the other driver caused the crash, you may deal with their insurer directly, a process covered in filing a claim with the at-fault driver's insurer. Notice is usually required promptly, and the exact deadline is set by your policy and your state, not by a single national number, so read your policy or ask your agent. Reporting the crash is not the same as admitting fault; it is how the facts get on record while they are fresh. The Insurance Information Institute notes that insurers use the crash report and your own documentation to investigate and settle the claim.

How and when do you get the police or crash report afterward?

A crash report usually becomes available within a few days to about two weeks after the officer completes it. Agencies release reports through LexisNexis BuyCrash, Carfax crashdocs.org, a state DOT or DMV portal, or directly, and you find yours using the report or case number.

Getting the report is the follow-up task after a car accident that most drivers overlook, yet it is the document your insurer and any attorney rely on. The report itself is written first, then posted. In Florida, for example, the long-form crash report is due within 10 days of the crash under Florida Statute 316.066, and LexisNexis BuyCrash states that authorized parties can access reports within 24 to 48 hours of the report's completion. The channel is set by the investigating agency, not by you. Access to a crash report also varies by state; some states restrict early release to the parties involved and provide only a redacted copy to others, such as Florida's 60-day confidentiality window and Texas's interested-party rule under Transportation Code 550.065.

Report channel	Typical availability	Typical fee	How you find your report
LexisNexis BuyCrash	24 to 48 hours after the officer completes the report	About $10 to $20, set by the agency	Search by report or case number, crash date, and agency
Carfax crashdocs.org	Commonly about 5 to 14 business days, varies by agency	Free to about $15, varies by agency	Order online as an interested party
State DOT or DMV portal	Varies by state	Set by the state (Texas CRIS charges $6, or $8 certified)	Look up by name, crash date, or report number
Direct from the agency	Varies by agency	Often low or no fee under the state public-records law	Request in person, by mail, or from the records division

To pull yours, start with the report or case number from the officer, then find your agency's crash-report channel in the county directory and follow the deep link. If you want the full request process, see how to request a copy of your report.

What should you avoid doing after a car accident?

Do not admit fault or apologize at the scene, do not leave before exchanging information, and do not skip a medical evaluation. An officer's note about fault is an observation, not a legal finding of guilt.

A few avoidable mistakes can complicate an otherwise clear claim. Steer clear of these:

• Admitting fault. Fault is decided by insurers or a court after they review the evidence, not by an apology at the scene. Even an officer's contributing-factor note is an observation, not a binding finding of guilt.
• Leaving too soon. Exchange information and, when required, wait for the police before you leave, because leaving a crash you were involved in can carry legal consequences.
• Skipping medical care. Delayed symptoms are common, and an untreated injury is harder to connect to the crash later.
• Posting about it. Details you share publicly can be read out of context by an insurer or the other party.

If the other driver caused the crash, the steps shift toward protecting your claim against their insurer, which the guide on if the other driver caused the crash walks through. Whatever the situation, keep your account factual and let the report and photos speak.

Your last step, once the scene is handled and your insurer is notified, is to get the report. When it is ready, use your case number to find it in the accident-reports directory, confirm the facts match what you saw, and send a copy to your insurer. That single document ties the whole file together.