Why is there no police report?
Because the law does not ask for one after every crash. Each state sets a line. Above it, the officer who investigates must write a full report and file it. Below it, the officer may write something shorter, hand the drivers a form, or write nothing that the state keeps.
| State | A full report is required when | Below that line |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | The crash causes an injury, a death, or damage to one person's property of $1,000 or more | No officer's report is required. The state no longer keeps reports that drivers fill in themselves |
| Arizona | There is bodily injury, a death, damage to one person's property of more than $2,000, or a citation | The officer completes a portion of the written report |
| Florida | There is a death, an injury or any complaint of pain, certain violations, a vehicle that had to be removed by a wrecker, or a commercial vehicle | The officer completes a short form, or gives the drivers an exchange of information form |
| Washington | There is $1,000 or more of damage to any one unit, or an injury | The officer may give an exchange of information and direct the drivers to complete a citizen report |
| Maine | There is an injury, a death, or property damage that appears to be $1000.00 or more | The crash is called non reportable and is not kept in the state's crash system |
Read in Texas Transportation Code 550.062 as described by TxDOT, Arizona Revised Statutes 28-667, Florida Statutes 316.066, and the Washington State Patrol and Maine State Police pages.
So a parking lot bump or a low speed tap with no one hurt can fall under the line in every one of these states. That is not a mistake by the officer and it does not mean the crash did not count.
Which of three situations are you in?
An officer came and wrote something short
In Florida this is the short form crash report. In Arizona it is a portion of the written report. A short report is still a police record of the crash, and the agency that wrote it can tell you how to get a copy.
An officer came and told you to report it yourself
Washington State Patrol describes this plainly. If the officer judges that the damage is under $1,000, the officer typically gives the drivers an exchange of information and directs them to complete a citizen report.
No officer came at all
This happens most in bad weather. Colorado has a name for it, accident alert, which it defines as those times when weather conditions are so severe that troopers and police officers cannot respond to the large volume of crashes. While it is in effect, officers come only in these cases:
- Vehicles are disabled by the damage.
- Someone was killed, or hurt badly enough to need medical attention.
- Alcohol or drugs are involved.
- The crash is an alleged hit and run.
- Public property other than wildlife is damaged, such as a highway guardrail.
For any other crash during an alert, Colorado says the drivers involved are required to exchange information.
What might you have instead of a full report?
More than you think. Go through whatever you were handed and compare it with this list.
| Paper | Where it is used | What it carries |
|---|---|---|
| Short form crash report | Florida | The officer's shorter record of a crash that did not need the long form |
| Driver exchange of information form | Florida | Completed by all the drivers and passengers involved |
| Driver Report Form | Maine | Driver, vehicle, crash location and investigating agency information. An officer with a printer in the car may print it at the scene |
| Collision information exchange form | Delaware | The State Police ask for a copy of it with any request for the report |
| Incident Report form | Colorado | The tow company's information, when the State Patrol called the tow truck |
| Your own online collision report | Washington | The report you completed, with a report number issued immediately |
Maine adds a point that applies widely. A crash report is not handed out at the scene. What the officer gives the drivers there is the information each one needs about the other, and the report itself is completed and sent in afterwards.
What about your insurance?
The official pages that speak to this say the same thing in different words. Tell your insurer, and give it what you have.
| Agency | What it says |
|---|---|
| Colorado State Patrol | Notify your insurance company or agent whether you received a citation or another party did. Where a report exists, it will generally be sufficient for your insurance needs |
| Washington State Patrol | The collision report a driver completes online, with its report number, is what most insurance companies will need to process a claim |
| Maine State Police | The state does not enter fault on a record. The insurance company determines fault. The police establish the factors that contributed to the crash |
| Florida Statutes 316.066 | Each party to a crash must give the officer proof of insurance, and it is written into the crash report |
Two smaller points from Colorado are easy to miss. If you did not show a trooper current insurance at the scene, you have ten days to fill in a financial responsibility form. And if a child seat was occupied in your vehicle at the time, the patrol says to tell your insurer, because the seat may need to be replaced.
What your own insurer asks for is set by your policy and by the insurer. This site does not know that, and no police page can tell you. Ask your insurer directly what it wants to see when there is no full report.
What should you keep?
- Every paper from the sceneA slip, a card, a short form or an exchange form. TxDOT tells drivers who were given a driver's crash report form, or a similar local form, to keep it for their own records, because the state does not store it.
- The other driver's detailsName, address and insurance company. Florida's long form records the names of the insurance companies for each party, which shows what an insurer expects to find.
- The officer's name and agency, if one cameFlorida's report carries the name, badge number and agency of the investigating officer. Without a report, write those down yourself.
- Any number you were givenA case number, an incident number or the number from an online report you completed.
- The tow paperworkIn Colorado the tow company's details are on the Incident Report form when the State Patrol called the truck.
- A copy of anything you filedIf you completed a report yourself, save it. Washington's online system gives you the report and its number at once.
Can you still report the crash?
In some states the drivers must report a crash themselves when no officer does. Washington is one. That is a different form from a police report, with its own rules and deadlines, and this site does not cover it.
If an officer did come to your crash, start by asking that agency what it wrote. A short form or a partial report may exist even though no full report does.
How do you check whether a report exists after all?
Sometimes a report was written and you were not told. Before you assume there is none, search.
- In Texas, search TxDOT's purchase system by name. If nothing is found, the system offers a Certified Letter of No Crash Record at no charge, which is written proof that the state holds no matching report.
- In Maine, a report can be missing because the investigating agency has not yet sent it in. The State Police say to try again in a few days, because reports are loaded daily. A crash with under $1000 in combined damage and no injury is not in the system at all.
- Anywhere else, the state finder shows where each state's reports are searched, and the guide to report numbers shows how to search without a number.
The bottom line
- A small crash with no injury often falls below the line where an officer must write a full report.
- You may still have a short form, an exchange of information form, or a report you completed yourself.
- Notify your insurer in any case, and ask what it wants to see.
- Keep every paper from the scene, the names and insurance details, and any number you were given.
- If you need proof that no report exists, ask the state. Texas issues a letter saying so at no charge.
Questions about a crash with no police report
Do I need a police report for a minor car accident?
Not always. An officer is required to write a full report only above a set line, such as an injury or $1,000 or more in damage in Texas. Below it there may be a short form, an exchange of information form, or nothing. In some states the drivers are then expected to report the crash themselves.
Can I make an insurance claim without a police report?
Official pages point the same way: tell your insurer in any case. Colorado State Patrol says to notify your insurance company whether or not a citation was issued. Washington State Patrol says the report a driver completes online is what most insurance companies will need to process a claim. Ask your insurer what it wants to see.
What happens if the police do not come to an accident?
It depends on the place and the day. Colorado has a status named accident alert, used when weather is so severe that officers cannot respond to every crash. During it, officers come only in set cases, such as an injury, a disabled vehicle or an alleged hit and run, and the drivers are required to exchange information.
What is a short form crash report?
In Florida it is what an officer completes when the long form is not required. The long form is for crashes with an injury or a complaint of pain, certain violations, a vehicle that had to be removed by a wrecker, or a commercial vehicle. For other crashes the officer completes a short form or gives the drivers an exchange of information form.
How do I prove there is no police report?
Ask the state office that holds the reports. In Texas, when a search finds nothing, TxDOT will issue a Certified Letter of No Crash Record at no charge. It states that no crash report matching your search exists in the state's system.
What should I keep after a minor accident with no report?
Any slip, card or form you were handed at the scene, the other driver's name, address and insurance details, the officer's name and agency if one came, and a copy of anything you filed yourself. TxDOT tells drivers who were given a driver's crash report form to keep it for their records.
Who decides fault when there is no police report?
The insurers do, with or without a report. Maine's State Police say their role is to establish the factors that contributed to a crash, that the state does not enter fault on a record, and that the insurance company determines fault.