The 5 steps to take after a car accident in California Do these five, in this order.

Get to safety and call 911, photograph the scene before anything moves, exchange the information the Vehicle Code requires, see a doctor the same day, and speak to an attorney before you speak to the other driver’s adjuster. Two of those steps are legal duties in California, and two of the deadlines start the moment the crash ends.

Five steps that protect your claim

1. 1
   Get safe, then call 911

   Check yourself and your passengers before you check the car. If it is drivable and it is safe, move it out of the traffic lane and put the hazards on. Then call 911 and say clearly whether anyone is hurt. That call brings paramedics and creates a record that someone reported an injury at the scene, which cannot be recreated later.

2. 2
   Document the scene before anything moves

   Photograph both cars where they came to rest, with the plates readable, then the damage close up, then a wide shot showing the lane lines, the signal or the sign, and the direction each car was traveling. Add the skid marks, the debris field, the weather, and the time. Photographs taken in the first ten minutes settle arguments that would otherwise take months.

3. 3
   Exchange information, and say nothing about fault

   California requires you to exchange your name, address, driver license number, vehicle identification number, the registered owner address, and proof of insurance. Photograph each document instead of writing it down. Be polite and be brief. Do not apologize, do not explain, and do not say you are fine, because you do not yet know whether you are.

4. 4
   Get examined the same day

   Whiplash, disc injuries, and concussions often appear two or three days later, after the adrenaline is gone. Go to an urgent care or an emergency room the same day and tell the doctor about every part of your body that hurts, not only the worst one. That visit is what links your injuries to the crash, and a delay weakens it.

5. 5
   Talk to an attorney before you talk to the other adjuster

   The other driver’s insurer will call within days, and you are not required to give it a recorded statement or a description of your injuries. A short conversation with one of our attorneys costs nothing and tells you which of the calls ahead of you matter. There is no fee unless we recover.

What California law requires of you

Some of those steps carry a legal duty behind them, and the law adds a written report. Vehicle Code section 20001 requires a driver involved in a crash that injures or kills someone to stop immediately at the scene. Section 16025 lists what every driver has to exchange: name and current residence address, driver’s license number, vehicle identification number, the registered owner’s address, and evidence of financial responsibility. Section 20008 requires a written report to the California Highway Patrol or the city police department within 24 hours when anyone is injured or killed. If the only damage is to property, section 20002 still requires you to stop and give your name and address to the owner of what you hit. If nobody is there, you must leave a written note and notify the police.

One more duty runs to the DMV. Vehicle Code section 16000 and the DMV’s accident reporting page require form SR-1 within 10 days when a crash causes injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage. It is required regardless of fault and is separate from the police report and from your insurance claim. Failing to file it can cost you your license under the state’s financial responsibility law.

The sources for the last three rows are Government Code section 911.2 for the six month government claim, Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 for the two year injury deadline, and section 338(c) for the three year property deadline.

Step 2: the photographs that matter

Most people photograph the dent and stop. The dent is the least useful picture in the set, because it tells an adjuster nothing about how the crash happened.

• Both cars where they stopped, from far enough back to show the lane, before either car is moved.
• The other driver’s license and insurance card, photographed rather than transcribed.
• The signal, the stop sign, or the crosswalk, photographed from the driver’s seat position of each car.
• Skid marks and debris, which show where the impact happened and how hard.
• Any camera you can see: a doorbell, a storefront, a bus, a parking structure. Footage is overwritten within days, and a letter asking for it has to go out fast.
• One witness name and phone number, collected before they drive away.

Step 4: why the same-day visit matters

In our cases, the fact that damages the file most often is not the severity of the crash but a gap in treatment. A person who waits four days to see a doctor has handed the other side a clean argument: whatever happened in those four days is what caused the pain.

Go the same day, list every symptom rather than the worst one, and keep going until the doctor releases you. If you cannot afford the visit, your health insurance, MedPay coverage on your own auto policy, or a provider willing to treat on a lien are all better than an untreated injury. Treating on a lien means the provider is paid out of the settlement later. Our guide to car accident injuries covers what commonly shows up late.

How to get your collision report

If the CHP investigated, a party of interest can request the report by taking a completed form CHP 190 and a copy of a photo ID to the CHP area office that handled it, or by mailing both to that office, as the California Highway Patrol describes. Drivers, passengers, vehicle owners, property owners, parents of a minor, and legal guardians all qualify. If a city police department responded, ask that department for its own report request process and note the report number the officer gave you at the scene.

When five steps are not enough

• A public entity was involved. A city bus, a county truck, a school district van, or a dangerous roadway condition puts you under Government Code section 911.2 and its six month claim deadline.
• The other driver had no insurance, or the minimum. Since January 1, 2025 the minimum California policy is $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash under Vehicle Code section 16056. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is what covers the rest, under Insurance Code section 11580.2.
• The other driver left the scene. Write down everything you remember about the car before it fades, canvass for cameras immediately, and report it to the police the same day. A hit and run claim is paid by your own uninsured motorist coverage under Insurance Code section 11580.2, and the police report matters more here than in any other kind of crash.
• A commercial truck or a work vehicle was involved. There is a second defendant, a bigger policy, and evidence that has to be preserved quickly. See our Los Angeles truck accident lawyer page.
• The other driver was on a rideshare app. Which coverage applies depends on where in the trip the driver was, which our Uber accident lawyer page explains.
• You were on a motorcycle. The claim is argued differently from the first day, as our post on motorcycle accident injuries sets out.

The five steps in order

Get safe and call 911, photograph the scene before anything moves, make the exchange the Vehicle Code requires without saying anything about fault, see a doctor the same day, and speak with an attorney before you speak with the other driver’s adjuster. File the SR-1 within 10 days, calendar the six month government claim deadline if a public entity was involved, and let your treatment finish before anyone values the claim.

If the crash already happened and some of that is behind you, start where you are: open the medical record today, write down what you remember while it is close, and request the report. Our Los Angeles car accident lawyer page explains what happens next, and there is no fee unless we recover.