Washington hit and run laws require any driver involved in a collision to stop at the scene, share identifying information, and give reasonable aid to anyone injured. The rules sit in two statutes: RCW 46.52.020 covers crashes involving people or occupied vehicles, and RCW 46.52.010 covers parked cars and other unattended property. Walking away turns an accident into a crime that ranges from a misdemeanor to a Class B felony, and a conviction involving an occupied vehicle or an injury also costs you your license for a year.
What You Must Do After Hitting a Person or Occupied Vehicle
RCW 46.52.020 kicks in any time an accident involves injury, death, or damage to a vehicle someone is driving or sitting in. You have to stop immediately at the scene, or as close to it as you can get without blocking traffic more than necessary, and stay there until you’ve done everything the statute requires.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.020 – Duty in Case of Personal Injury or Death or Damage to Attended Vehicle or Other Property – Penalties
Once stopped, you must give the other driver or any injured person:
- Your name and address
- Your insurance company and policy number
- Your vehicle license plate number
- Your driver’s license, which the statute requires you to physically show, not just recite
Showing the license is not optional and not limited to situations where a police officer asks. The statute requires you to exhibit it to anyone struck, injured, or involved in the collision.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.020 – Duty in Case of Personal Injury or Death or Damage to Attended Vehicle or Other Property – Penalties
If someone is hurt, you also owe reasonable assistance. In practice that means calling 911 or helping get the injured person to a hospital when medical treatment is obviously needed or when they ask for a ride. Leaving before you’ve done these things is what converts a traffic accident into a criminal case.
What You Must Do After Hitting a Parked Car or Other Property
When the collision involves a parked car, a fence, a mailbox, or any other unattended property, RCW 46.52.010 applies. You still have to stop immediately, but the information exchange works differently because no one else is there.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.010 – Duty on Striking Unattended Car or Other Property – Penalty
Your first job is to try to find the owner. If you clipped a car in a shopping center lot, that might mean going inside to ask. If you can’t locate the owner after a reasonable effort, leave a written note in a visible spot on the vehicle or property. The note needs your name and address, plus the name and address of the vehicle’s owner if you were driving someone else’s car.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.010 – Duty on Striking Unattended Car or Other Property – Penalty
This statute does not require you to include insurance information or a plate number, but putting them in the note anyway makes it easier for the owner to file a claim without hunting you down.
The Written Accident Report
Separate from anything you do at the scene, Washington requires a written accident report any time someone is injured or killed, or when property damage looks like $500 or more. You have four days from the accident to file it.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.030 – Report to Be Filed After Accident
The report goes to local police for crashes inside city limits, or to the county sheriff or Washington State Patrol for crashes on county roads and state highways. You don’t need to file one yourself if a responding officer already prepared a report, but confirm that happened rather than assuming.
Criminal Penalties
Penalties escalate sharply with what the accident involved:
- Hitting unattended property under RCW 46.52.010 is a misdemeanor, carrying up to 90 days in county jail and a fine up to $1,000.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.010 – Duty on Striking Unattended Car or Other Property – Penalty
- Hitting an attended vehicle with property damage only is a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to 364 days in county jail and a fine up to $5,000.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.020 – Duty in Case of Personal Injury or Death or Damage to Attended Vehicle or Other Property – Penalties
- Injuring another person is a Class C felony, carrying up to five years in a state correctional facility and a fine up to $10,000.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.020 – Duty in Case of Personal Injury or Death or Damage to Attended Vehicle or Other Property – Penalties
- Causing someone’s death is a Class B felony, carrying up to ten years in a state correctional facility and a fine up to $20,000.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.20.021 – Maximum Sentences for Crimes Committed
The step from gross misdemeanor to Class C felony is where the stakes change most. A felony conviction means state prison, a permanent felony record, and loss of rights like firearm possession. Whether the other person suffered any injury at all can decide which side of that line you land on.
Automatic License Revocation
A criminal sentence is not the only consequence. Under RCW 46.20.285, the Department of Licensing must revoke your license for one year on conviction for failing to stop, share information, or render aid after an accident involving death, personal injury, or damage to an attended vehicle.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.20.285 – Mandatory License Revocation
The revocation is mandatory once the conviction is final. The judge has no discretion to waive it, and it runs on top of any jail or prison sentence. It does not apply to the misdemeanor version involving unattended property, so scraping a parked car and leaving without a note brings criminal penalties but not automatic revocation.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges
Washington’s general statute of limitations under RCW 9A.04.080 sets the deadlines:6Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.04.080 – Prosecution of Offenses – Statute of Limitations
- One year for the misdemeanor involving unattended property
- Two years for the gross misdemeanor involving an attended vehicle with property damage only
- Three years for the felony versions involving injury or death
If you were in a hit and run months ago and police haven’t contacted you, that does not mean the case is closed. Prosecutors can file right up to the deadline.
If You Were the One Hit
Washington is one of the few states that requires every auto insurance policy to include uninsured motorist coverage specifically for hit and run drivers. Under RCW 48.22.030, every policy sold or renewed in the state must cover you against damages caused by hit-and-run vehicles and “phantom vehicles,” meaning cars that cause a crash without physical contact, like a driver who swerves into your lane and forces you off the road.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 48.22.030 – Underinsured and Hit-and-Run Coverage
Phantom vehicle claims carry two extra requirements. The facts have to be corroborated by something beyond your own testimony, such as a witness, dashcam footage, or physical evidence at the scene, and the accident must be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 48.22.030 – Underinsured and Hit-and-Run Coverage
If a driver flees after hitting you, file a police report right away and contact your own insurer. Uninsured motorist coverage is the most reliable path to compensation when the other driver is never identified, and the sooner you document the crash, the stronger your claim will be.