Guide
Report a hit and run: who to call and what to write down
Report a hit and run to police right away. Florida puts every hit and run crash with police, never on a driver's own form. In New York, a claim against a driver who cannot be identified depends on a report made within 24 hours (Insurance Law 5208). Then write down the plate, the car and the time while you still remember them.
| Report it to | Police, at once |
|---|---|
| Florida | A hit and run crash must go to law enforcement (FLHSMV crash reports page) |
| New York | A report within 24 hours keeps a claim against an unidentified driver (Insurance Law 5208) |
| Massachusetts | Police must accept a report from an owner whose vehicle was hit by a driver who left (M.G.L. c. 90 s. 26) |
| A driver's duty | Stop, stay and give name, address and registration number (9 state rules read) |
| A parked car | Find the owner or leave a written notice |
Who do you report a hit and run to?
The police, and the police of the place where it happened. Inside a city that is the city's police department. Outside one it is the county sheriff or the state's highway patrol.
The state rules we have read name those same offices for any crash police must be told about. Florida's section 316.065 gives the local police department inside a municipality, "otherwise, to the office of the county sheriff or the nearest office or station of the Florida Highway Patrol". Texas names the local police, the sheriff, or the nearest office of the Department of Public Safety (Transportation Code 550.026).
Call from the scene if you can. If anyone is hurt, call 911.
What should you write down straight away?
Everything about the other vehicle, before the details fade. A plate with one character missing still gives police something to search.
- The plate. Every character you are sure of, and the state. Mark the ones you are guessing.
- The vehicle. Make, model, colour and body type, and any damage you saw on it.
- Which way it went. The street and the direction.
- The time and the exact place. A cross street, an address number or a mile marker.
- Witnesses. A name and a phone number for anyone who saw it.
- Photos. Your vehicle, the road, and anything the other car left behind.
Write it in order and leave guesses out, the same way you would for any crash. The builder's page has a short lesson on writing what happened.
Can you report a hit and run on a driver's own form?
Not in place of the police. A driver's own report is built for a crash where both sides swapped details.
- Florida says so directly. Its list of crashes that must go to law enforcement includes "A hit and run crash", and only a crash outside that list may be self reported (FLHSMV crash reports page).
- Massachusetts comes at it from the other side, and tells police what to do: the police department "shall accept a report filed by an owner or operator whose vehicle has been damaged in an accident in which another person has unlawfully left the scene of such accident" (M.G.L. c. 90 s. 26).
In a state that has a driver's report, no section we read excuses the driver who was hit. If the crash meets the state's test, the report is still due, and the boxes for the other driver take what you know. The call to police comes first.
What must a driver do before leaving a crash?
Stop, stay, and say who you are. Every rule we have read starts with those three, and a driver who skips them has left the scene.
| State | The duty, in short | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Stop at once at or near the scene. Stay until you have given your name, address and registration number, shown your license on request, and given reasonable help to anyone injured | A.R.S. 28-661 to 28-663 |
| Connecticut | Stop at once and give your name, address, operator's license number and registration number. If you cannot give them, report to police immediately | Conn. Gen. Stat. 14-224 |
| Delaware | Stop immediately at the scene, give your name, address and registration number, and show your license | 21 Del. C. 4201 and 4202 |
| Florida | Stop immediately, stay, and give your name, address and registration number. Show your license on request | Sections 316.061 and 316.062 |
| Missouri | Give your information to the other party or to a law enforcement officer. If neither is near, to the nearest law enforcement agency | RSMo 577.060 |
| New York | Stop, show your license and insurance card, and give your name, address, insurer, policy details and license number | Vehicle and Traffic Law 600 |
| South Carolina | Stop at once, stay, and give your name, address and registration number | S.C. Code 56-5-1210 to 56-5-1240 |
| Texas | Stop at once, or return at once, and stay. Give your name, address, registration number and liability insurer, and help anyone injured | Transportation Code 550.021 to 550.023 |
| Washington | Stop at once. Give your name, address, insurance company, policy number and plate, show your license and give aid | RCW 46.52.020 |
Florida and Washington add a rule for the worst case. When nobody at the scene is in a condition to take the driver's details and no officer is present, the driver "shall forthwith report" the crash to the nearest police office (section 316.062, Florida Statutes, and RCW 46.52.020).
What if you hit a parked car and nobody is there?
You may not drive away because nobody saw. The rules we have read share one idea: find the owner, or leave a note they cannot miss.
- Florida: locate the owner, or "attach securely in a conspicuous place in or on the vehicle or other property a written notice giving the driver's name and address and the registration number of the vehicle he or she is driving", and then notify police "without unnecessary delay" (section 316.063).
- Texas: find the owner, or leave a written notice with the name and address of the operator and of the vehicle's owner "and a statement of the circumstances of the collision" (Transportation Code 550.024).
- Arizona and Washington: find the owner or leave a written notice (A.R.S. 28-664 and RCW 46.52.010).
- North Carolina: report the collision to the owner. The report "may be made orally or in writing, must be made within 48 hours of the accident", and a written report not handed over at the scene goes to the owner by certified mail, with a copy to the Division (G.S. 20-166.1).
So if you return to your parked car and find a note under the wiper, that note is the other driver doing what the law asks. Photograph it where it sits before you take it.
What does the law do to a driver who leaves?
These are the statutes' own words, state by state.
- Florida. Leaving a crash with damage to an attended vehicle: "commits a misdemeanor of the second degree" (section 316.061). Leaving a crash with an injury: "commits a felony of the third degree" (section 316.027).
- Texas. A collision with an injury: "imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for not more than five years or confinement in the county jail for not more than one year", "a fine not to exceed $5,000", or both. Damage to a vehicle only: "a Class C misdemeanor, if the damage to all vehicles is less than $200", and a Class B misdemeanor at $200 or more (Transportation Code 550.021 and 550.022).
- Delaware. Property damage: "fined no less than $230 nor more than $1,150 or imprisoned not less than 60 days nor more than 6 months". Injury: "an unclassified misdemeanor", with a fine of "not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000" (21 Del. C. 4201 and 4202).
- New York. Where the injury is a serious physical injury: "a class E felony, punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars" (Vehicle and Traffic Law 600).
- Connecticut. Property damage: "class A misdemeanor for a first offense" and "class D felony for any subsequent offense" (Conn. Gen. Stat. 14-224).
What about insurance after a hit and run?
Your policy decides what it covers and how soon it must hear from you. We do not read policies.
New York is the one state where we have read a number. A claim for death or bodily injury against a driver who cannot be identified depends on the crash being "reported within twenty-four hours after the occurrence to a police, peace or judicial officer in the vicinity or to the commissioner", and on an affidavit filed within ninety days (Insurance Law 5208). The section softens the first deadline when "it was not reasonably possible to make such a report".
That is one more reason the police report comes first. It is the record every later step leans on.
What if something goes wrong?
- You did not get the plate. Report it anyway. Give police the vehicle, the colour, the direction and the time.
- You found the damage hours later. Report it when you find it. Note where the car was parked and between which hours.
- A witness left before police came. Write down what they told you and anything that identifies them.
- You were the one who left. The duties in the table above include returning. Texas says so in terms: a driver who did not stop must "immediately return to the scene of the collision" (Transportation Code 550.021). This page is not legal advice, and a lawyer in your state is the person to ask.
- Someone was hurt. See a doctor and keep every record. A report records the crash. It does not put a value on an injury.
How the builder handles a driver who left
One of its questions is "Did the other driver leave the scene?" Answer yes, and the box for the other driver reads Left the scene until you add what you saw: a plate, a colour, a make.
For a Florida crash the paper is then stamped GOES TO POLICE, because Florida does not take a hit and run on its self report form. In every state you still get a Crash Record: one page in your own words for the officer who takes your report, for your insurer and for your files.
Questions about reporting a hit and run
How do you report a hit and run?
Call the police of the place where it happened: the city police inside a city, the county sheriff or the highway patrol outside one. Give them the plate, the vehicle, the direction it left in, the time and the place. If anyone is hurt, call 911.
Do I need a police report for a hit and run?
A hit and run goes to police. Florida's department lists a hit and run crash among those that must go to law enforcement. In New York, a claim against a driver who cannot be identified depends on a report made within 24 hours, under Insurance Law 5208.
What should I write down after a hit and run?
The plate and its state, the make, model and colour, any damage on the other vehicle, which way it went, the time, the exact place, and a name and phone number for each witness. Take photos of your vehicle and the road.
Can I report a hit and run without the plate number?
Yes. Report it with what you have: the vehicle, the colour, the direction and the time. A partial plate is still worth giving.
What if someone hit my parked car and left?
Report it to police when you find the damage. In the states we have read, a driver who hits an unattended vehicle must find the owner or leave a written notice, so look for a note first. Massachusetts requires police to accept a report from an owner whose vehicle was damaged by a person who left the scene.
What must a driver do after hitting a parked car?
Find the owner, or leave a written notice in plain view. Florida's section 316.063 requires the driver's name, address and registration number on the notice and a report to police without unnecessary delay. Texas section 550.024 also requires a statement of what happened.
Is leaving the scene of an accident a felony?
It can be. In Florida, leaving a crash with an injury is a felony of the third degree under section 316.027. In Texas, leaving a collision that caused a death is a felony of the second degree under Transportation Code 550.021.
Can I self report a hit and run in Florida?
No. Florida's department lists a hit and run crash among those that must go to law enforcement, so it cannot go on the driver's self report form. You can still write your own Crash Record for your insurer and your files.
Related pages
- When police must be calledThe crashes each state sends to police, read at the source.
- Free car accident report formThe builder, with its box for a driver who left the scene.
- How long do you have to report an accident?Immediately to police, and each written deadline by state.
- Report an accident to the DMVThe driver's own report, where a state asks for one.
- Florida: the self report formWhy a hit and run cannot go on form HSMV 90011S.
- Texas: the blue form is goneThe duties at the scene under Transportation Code chapter 550.
Facts on this page were last checked on . This page is not legal advice. Not a government website.