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Florida Driver Guide

Do You Have to Call the Police After a Car Accident in Florida?

The crash reporting threshold rose from $500 to $2,000 on October 1, 2026. What the law requires now, what every driver must still do, and what leaving the scene can cost.

Last reviewed: October 2026

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The $2,000 figure took effect October 1, 2026, under SB 488. The rules come from Fla. Stat. §316.061, §316.062, §316.063, §316.065, §316.066, §316.027 and §627.736. Statute text: §316.065 at leg.state.fl.us.
What Changed At the Scene After the Crash Leaving the Scene Quick Answers
What Changed

The Crash Reporting Threshold Rose From $500 to $2,000

SB 488 changed one number, and the rest of the crash rules stayed in place.

The new figure

Fla. Stat. §316.065(1) requires a driver to notify police of a crash that injures or kills anyone, or that causes damage to a vehicle or other property in an apparent amount of at least $2,000. The figure was $500 until SB 488 took effect on October 1, 2026.

Injury and death are unchanged

A crash with an injury or a death must be reported at any damage amount. The dollar threshold applies to property damage alone.

The duty to stop did not change

Every driver in a crash must stop, stay, and exchange information under Fla. Stat. §316.061 (property damage only), §316.027 (injury or death) and §316.062, whatever the damage. Leaving the scene is still a crime.

Below the threshold, the driver reports in writing

When the damage to attended property stays under $2,000 and nobody is hurt, no police call is required. Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(e) covers a property damage crash that does not require a law enforcement report and puts a written report to the state on the driver, due within 10 days after the crash. An unattended vehicle is different: see §316.063 below.

Situation
Notify police?
What else the law requires
Injury or death
Yes, immediately, at any damage amount
Stop, stay, exchange information, give reasonable help. Fla. Stat. §316.065, §316.062, §316.027
Apparent damage of $2,000 or more
Yes, immediately
Stop, stay, exchange information. Fla. Stat. §316.065, §316.061, §316.062
Apparent damage under $2,000 to attended property, no injury
No
Stop, stay, exchange information, and file the driver's written report within 10 days. Fla. Stat. §316.061, §316.062, §316.066(1)(e)
Nobody able to receive your information
Report to the nearest police office
Submit the information in §316.062(1). Fla. Stat. §316.062(2)
Unattended vehicle or property, any damage
Yes, without unnecessary delay
Find the owner or leave a written note with name, address and registration number. Fla. Stat. §316.063(1), a second-degree misdemeanor

Summary of Fla. Stat. §316.061, §316.062, §316.063, §316.065 and §316.066. SB 488 (2026) amended §316.065 only. A violation of the notice and report duties is a noncriminal traffic infraction.

The figure is an estimate made at the scene. The statute says apparent amount and does not define it, so measure the damage you can see at the scene, not a later repair bill. Read what to do next in what to do after a car accident in Florida.
At the Scene

What Every Driver Must Do, Whatever the Damage

These duties apply at any damage amount.

Stop and stay

Fla. Stat. §316.061(1) requires you to stop immediately at the scene or as close as possible and to remain until you have met the requirements of §316.062. If your vehicle blocks traffic, make a reasonable effort to move it or have it moved.

Give your information

Give your name, address, and vehicle registration number, and show your driver license, if available, to an injured person, the driver or occupant of a damaged vehicle, or a person attending damaged property. Give the officer proof of insurance when one is present.

Help anyone who is hurt

Fla. Stat. §316.062(1) requires reasonable assistance, including arranging transport to medical treatment when it is apparent that treatment is needed or the injured person asks.

Report to the police if no one can receive your information

If no one is in a condition to receive your information and no officer is present, report the crash to the nearest police office and submit the information in §316.062(1). If the property is unattended, §316.063 requires a written note with your name, address, and registration number, and notice to police without unnecessary delay.

Write down what you saw

Photograph the vehicles, plates, damage, and road. Collect witness names and the other driver's insurance company and policy number. No statute requires these steps. Photographs and witness names support an insurance claim.

After the Crash

Reports, Insurance, and Deadlines

Two deadlines run from the crash: the driver's 10-day report, when no officer report is made, and the 14-day PIP treatment window.

The driver's written report

Where no officer report is made, Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(e) gives the driver 10 days after the crash to submit the department's form. Failing to file is a noncriminal traffic infraction.

Medical treatment within 14 days

Personal injury protection benefits under Fla. Stat. §627.736(1)(a) require initial medical services within 14 days of the crash. See insurance disputes if a claim is denied.

Statements to insurers

What you tell an officer for the crash report cannot be used as evidence at trial under Fla. Stat. §316.066(4), which protects statements to an officer for the crash report, not a recorded statement to an adjuster. Read our post on recorded statements to adjusters before giving one.

The time limit to sue

The deadline to file an injury lawsuit is a separate rule, covered in the statute of limitations guide.

Leaving the Scene

The Penalties for Driving Away

The grade of the offense rises with the injury: none, injury, serious bodily injury, death.

Property damage, no injury

Failing to stop and stay is a second-degree misdemeanor under Fla. Stat. §316.061(1).

Injury or serious bodily injury

Under Fla. Stat. §316.027, willfully leaving the scene of a crash with injury is a third-degree felony, and with serious bodily injury a second-degree felony. The court must order restitution absent clear and compelling reasons.

Death

Leaving the scene of a crash with a death is a first-degree felony under Fla. Stat. §316.027 with a four-year mandatory minimum, which a court may depart from only in narrow circumstances unless the driver was under the influence, and conviction requires a license revocation of at least three years.

Impairment makes it worse

A driver who leaves a fatal crash while under the influence has no motion to depart from the four-year mandatory minimum (§316.027(2)(c), (g)). Read DUI and leaving the scene of an accident and what happens when you are pulled over for DUI.

Quick Answers

Common Crash Reporting Questions

Do I have to call the police after a car accident in Florida?+
Yes, when the crash injures or kills anyone, or when damage to a vehicle or other property is apparently $2,000 or more. Fla. Stat. §316.065(1) requires the driver to notify the local police inside a municipality, or the county sheriff or the Florida Highway Patrol elsewhere, immediately. Failing to notify is a noncriminal traffic infraction.
What is the crash reporting threshold in Florida now?+
$2,000 in apparent property damage. SB 488 raised it from $500 effective October 1, 2026, and Fla. Stat. §316.065 now reads "in an apparent amount of at least $2,000." The statute says "apparent amount" and does not define it. Measure the damage you can see at the scene, not a later repair bill. It also does not say whether the $2,000 is counted per vehicle or across all property, so when in doubt, call.
Does the $2,000 threshold apply when someone is hurt?+
No. The threshold governs property damage. A crash that injures or kills anyone must be reported under Fla. Stat. §316.065(1) at any damage amount.
What if the damage is under $2,000 and nobody is hurt?+
For attended property, the driver does not have to call the police. The driver must still stop, stay, and exchange information, and Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(e) requires the driver of a vehicle in a property damage crash that does not require a law enforcement report to submit a written report to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles within 10 days after the crash, on the department's form. Failing to file is a noncriminal traffic infraction. A crash under $2,000 with no injury is the usual example.
What must I do at the scene however small the crash?+
Stop immediately at the scene, or as close to it as possible, and stay until you have met the requirements of Fla. Stat. §316.062. That section requires you to give your name, address, and vehicle registration number, to show your driver license, if available, to an injured person, the driver or occupant of a damaged vehicle, or a person attending damaged property, and to give reasonable help to anyone injured, including getting the person to medical treatment when treatment is apparently needed or the person asks. Fla. Stat. §316.061(1) governs the duty to stop and stay in a crash with property damage and no injury, and §316.027 governs a crash with injury or death.
What if the other driver or the owner is not there?+
Under Fla. Stat. §316.062(2), if no person is in a condition to receive your information and no police officer is present, you report the crash to the nearest police office and submit the information in subsection (1). For an unattended vehicle or property, Fla. Stat. §316.063(1) requires you to find the owner or leave a written note with your name, address, and registration number, and to notify police without unnecessary delay, at any damage amount. Failing to do so is a second-degree misdemeanor.
Is leaving the scene of a crash a crime in Florida?+
Yes. Failing to stop and stay in a crash with property damage and no injury is a second-degree misdemeanor under Fla. Stat. §316.061(1). Under Fla. Stat. §316.027, willfully leaving the scene of a crash with injury is a third-degree felony, with serious bodily injury a second-degree felony, and with a death a first-degree felony carrying a four-year mandatory minimum prison term, which a court may depart from only in narrow circumstances unless the driver was under the influence, and a driver license revocation of at least three years. See our post on DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.
Will an officer write a crash report?+
An officer who investigates completes a long-form report when the crash involves a death, an injury or any complaint of pain or discomfort, a violation of Fla. Stat. §316.061(1) or §316.193, a vehicle that needs a wrecker, or a commercial motor vehicle. For other crashes under Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(c) the officer can complete a short-form report or hand the drivers an exchange-of-information form that all drivers and passengers fill out.
Do I have to show proof of insurance to the officer?+
Yes. Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(d) requires each party to give the officer proof of insurance, and failing to do so is a noncriminal traffic infraction unless injuries or other special circumstances prevent it.
Can what I say at the scene be used against me?+
Under Fla. Stat. §316.066(4), a crash report and statements made to an officer for the purpose of the report cannot be used as evidence at any trial, civil or criminal. At a criminal trial an officer can still testify about a statement you made, as long as your privilege against self-incrimination is not violated, and breath, urine, and blood test results are outside that protection under Fla. Stat. §316.1934(2). You also have no duty under Fla. Stat. §316.062(3) to give information that would violate that privilege. See our post on recorded statements to insurance adjusters.
Who can see my crash report?+
Fla. Stat. §316.066(2) makes personal information in a crash report confidential for 60 days after filing, except to the parties, their lawyers and insurers, and others listed in §316.066(2)(b). The exemption is set to expire October 2, 2027 unless the Legislature reenacts it.
Does skipping a police report hurt an injury claim?+
Fla. Stat. §627.736(1)(a) conditions PIP medical benefits on initial treatment within 14 days and says nothing about a police report. Personal injury protection benefits require initial medical services within 14 days of the crash, and the time limit to sue is covered in our statute of limitations guide. An officer's report is one source of fault evidence, and photographs, witness names, and the other driver's insurance details are others.
Should I call the police for a minor crash anyway?+
The law lets you call at any damage amount. Call whenever someone complains of pain, a driver appears impaired, a vehicle cannot be moved, a commercial vehicle is involved, or the other driver will not share information. An officer who investigates writes a long-form report for several of those circumstances under Fla. Stat. §316.066(1)(a).
Speak With Andre

Hurt in a Crash, or Facing a Leaving the Scene Charge?

One crash can bring an injury claim, a traffic citation, and a criminal charge, and the same facts drive each. Initial consultations are free and confidential, with no obligation to retain.

See what to do after a car accident in Florida, our car accident practice page, and the contingency fee guide. Charged after a crash? Read DUI and leaving the scene of an accident and what to do right after an arrest.

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