When you must report a crash, state by state
Most of these thresholds were set decades ago and have not kept pace with repair costs, which is why an ordinary fender bender clears the bar in most states. A few states use no dollar figure at all.
51 jurisdictions. Click a column heading to sort by it; click a state to see the law behind its figure.
| North Dakota | $4,000 | Immediately | Local police, the county sheriff, or the Highway Patrol |
| Hawaii | $3,000 | 1 day | Your county chief of police |
| Vermont | $3,000 | 3 days | Vermont DMV — Driver Control |
| Virginia | $3,000 | — | Law enforcement — immediately if anyone is hurt |
| Indiana | $2,500 | Immediately | Local police, county sheriff, state police post, or 911 |
| Oregon | $2,500 | 3 days | Oregon DMV |
| Utah | $2,500 | 10 days | Nearest law enforcement agency; Department of Public Safety only on request |
| Alaska | $2,000 | 10 days | Alaska DMV, plus the local police department if the crash was inside a municipality |
| Delaware | $2,000 | Immediately | The police agency with jurisdiction where the crash happened |
| Florida | $2,000 | 10 days | Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles |
| Maine | $2,000 | Immediately | State, county or municipal police where the crash happened |
| Nebraska | $2,000 | 10 days | Nebraska Department of Transportation |
| Idaho | $1,500 | — | Local police, the county sheriff or the nearest Idaho State Police office — immediately, and no form afterwards |
| Illinois | $1,500 | — | Local police, county sheriff, or Illinois State Police |
| Iowa | $1,500 | 3 days | Law enforcement first; Iowa DOT if no agency investigated |
| Tennessee | $1,500 | 20 days | Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security |
| Arkansas | $1,000 | 30 days | Nearest law enforcement agency, then the Office of Driver Services |
| California | $1,000 | 10 days | California DMV (form SR 1) |
| Connecticut | $1,000 | 5 days | Investigating police officer files with the Connecticut Department of Transportation |
| Kansas | $1,000 | Immediately | The nearest police authority |
| Massachusetts | $1,000 | 5 days | Registry of Motor Vehicles and local police |
| Michigan | $1,000 | Immediately | Nearest police station or police officer |
| Montana | $1,000 | 10 days | Call local police, the county sheriff or the highway patrol at once; the written report goes to the Department of Justice |
| New Hampshire | $1,000 | 15 days | New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles |
| New York | $1,000 | 10 days | New York State DMV |
| North Carolina | $1,000 | — | Nearest law enforcement agency |
| Ohio | $1,000 | 5 days | Investigating law enforcement agency |
| Rhode Island | $1,000 | 21 days | Division of Motor Vehicles, on its own motorist accident report form |
| South Carolina | $1,000 | 15 days | SCDMV |
| South Dakota | $1,000 | Immediately | The nearest law enforcement officer — the officer files the report, not you |
| Texas | $1,000 | 10 days | Local law enforcement |
| Washington | $1,000 | 4 days | Local law enforcement |
| West Virginia | $1,000 | Immediately | Local police if in a municipality, otherwise the county sheriff or the nearest State Police office |
| Wisconsin | $1,000 | 10 days | Police immediately; WisDOT if police did not report |
| Nevada | $750 | 10 days | Nevada DMV |
| Georgia | $500 | — | Local police, county sheriff, or State Patrol |
| Kentucky | $500 | 10 days | Department of Kentucky State Police |
| Louisiana | $500 | Immediately | Local police, sheriff, or State Police |
| Mississippi | $500 | — | Local police, the sheriff, or the Highway Patrol |
| Missouri | $500 | 30 days | Missouri DOR Driver License Bureau (Form 1140) |
| New Jersey | $500 | 10 days | New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission |
| New Mexico | $500 | 5 days | New Mexico Department of Transportation |
| Oklahoma | $300 | — | Oklahoma Department of Public Safety |
| Alabama | $250 | 30 days | Alabama Law Enforcement Agency |
| Arizona | — | Immediately | Local police, county sheriff, or highway patrol |
| Colorado | No dollar threshold | Immediately | Nearest police authority |
| District of Columbia | No dollar threshold | — | Metropolitan Police Department (911) — never DC DMV |
| Maryland | No dollar threshold | 15 days | Maryland MVA |
| Minnesota | No dollar threshold | Immediately | Local police, the State Patrol, or the county sheriff |
| Pennsylvania | No dollar threshold | 5 days | PennDOT Bureau of Operations, Crash Unit |
| Wyoming | No dollar threshold | Immediately | Local police inside a municipality, otherwise the highway patrol or the county sheriff |