Indiana Accident Report: SR-21, 10-Day Deadline, and Penalties

An Indiana accident report has to be filed any time a crash causes injury, death, or at least $1,000 in property damage to one person’s property. If a law enforcement officer investigates the crash, the officer files the report with the Indiana State Police within 24 hours. If no officer responds, you as the driver must complete an SR-21 form and mail it to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles within 10 days.¹

When a Report Is Required

The threshold is written into the SR-21 form and set by Indiana Code 9-26-3-4: injury, death, or total property damage of $1,000 or more to any one person’s property.¹ Below that threshold, no written report is required.

Who does the paperwork depends on whether police investigate. When an officer responds to the scene, the officer handles the report. When no officer shows up — a common outcome for minor collisions in parking lots or on private property — the responsibility shifts to you. If your injuries make it impossible to complete the form, any other occupant of your vehicle is required to file it in your place.¹

The 10-Day Deadline and What Happens If You Miss It

You have 10 days from the date of the crash to submit an SR-21 when no officer investigated. Missing the deadline, or refusing to file, can lead to suspension or revocation of your driver’s license and vehicle registration, and the state treats the failure as a misdemeanor.¹

There’s a second suspension risk tied to the same form. The BMV uses the SR-21 to verify that you had insurance at the time of the crash. If the coverage information doesn’t match what your insurer has on file, the BMV can send an insurance verification request, and an unresolved request within 90 days triggers a separate suspension.² Double-check the policy number and carrier name before you mail the form.

How to Complete the SR-21

The SR-21 is officially the “Indiana Operator’s Proof of Insurance/Crash Report.” It collects two things at once: proof that you had insurance and the basic facts of the crash.

You’ll need your driver’s license number, insurance company, policy number, and the year, make, model, and plate number of your vehicle. The form asks for the same information from every other driver involved, so collect it at the scene if you can. Reconstructing it later is difficult.¹

Location details matter too: the road where the crash occurred, the nearest intersecting road, and the direction and distance from that intersection.¹

Where to Send It

A lot of outdated guidance sends people to the Indiana State Police. The form itself contradicts that in bold print: “Send form to Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Do not send to Indiana State Police.”¹ Mail it to:

Bureau of Motor Vehicles
PFR/Crash Report Section
P.O. Box 7169
Indianapolis, IN 46207

Processing typically takes a few weeks. Once the BMV enters the information, it becomes part of the state’s crash records.

When Police File the Report Instead

If an officer investigates, that officer must forward a written report to the Indiana State Police within 24 hours of finishing the investigation. The report includes the names and addresses of vehicle owners and operators, plate numbers and vehicle descriptions, the time and location of the crash, and the names and addresses of anyone injured, killed, or who witnessed the collision.³ The officer also notes whether a driver’s medical impairment may have contributed to the crash.

When an officer files this report, you generally do not need to submit a separate SR-21. Confirm with the responding officer at the scene that a report will be filed, and get the case or incident number before you leave.

How to Get a Copy of the Crash Report

The Indiana State Police keeps the central repository for crash reports statewide and makes them available online through BuyCrash at www.BuyCrash.com.⁴ BuyCrash is operated by LexisNexis and lets drivers, insurance carriers, and law enforcement search for and buy police reports.⁵

You can also request a copy in person from the local police department or state police post that investigated. Indiana law sets a statutory minimum fee of $5 per report, and each agency’s governing body can set a higher amount.⁶ Most agencies charge somewhere between $5 and $15; online pricing through BuyCrash may differ.

Order the report as soon as it’s available. Insurance adjusters will ask for it, and the report’s description of how the crash happened often drives fault determinations later. Indiana follows a modified comparative fault rule that bars any recovery if you were more than 50% at fault, so the details in the report can matter a great deal.⁷

Fixing Errors on the Report

Crash reports do contain mistakes: wrong plate numbers, misspelled names, incorrect street names, missing insurance information. For straightforward factual errors, take proof of the correct information to the agency that filed the report. The officer will usually issue a supplemental report reflecting the correction.

Injuries that only surfaced days later can also be added. Contact the investigating officer, explain what happened, and ask for an amended report noting the delayed symptoms and any medical documentation.

You cannot force a change to another party’s or witness’s account of the crash. What you can do is add your own version to the record. Ask the investigating agency to append a supplemental statement in your name. The original report stays intact; corrections and additions sit alongside it in the file.

Duties at the Scene Before Any Paperwork

Before the report question even arises, Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 spells out what you have to do at the scene. Stop at the crash site or as close as possible without blocking traffic, stay there, and give your name, address, and vehicle registration number to the other people involved. Show your driver’s license to anyone who asks.⁸

When someone is hurt, you also have to provide reasonable assistance under the direction of law enforcement, medical personnel, or a 911 operator, and you have to notify police as quickly as possible: local police inside a city or town, the county sheriff or nearest state police post outside a municipality, or 911.⁸

If you hit a parked car or damage property other than a vehicle, you have to make a reasonable effort to find the owner. When you can’t, contact law enforcement and provide the same information you would give another driver.

Leaving the scene without meeting these duties is a separate criminal offense with penalties that rise sharply based on injury severity, ranging from a Class B misdemeanor with no injuries up to a Level 3 felony for fleeing while intoxicated with serious injury or death.⁸

Commercial Vehicle Crashes Add Federal Reporting

If a commercial motor vehicle is involved, federal rules layer on top of Indiana’s. Under 49 CFR 390.5, a crash is DOT-recordable when it involves a commercial vehicle on a public road and results in a fatality, bodily injury requiring immediate medical treatment away from the scene, or disabling damage that requires a vehicle to be towed.⁹ Incidents that occur only during boarding, alighting from a stationary vehicle, or loading and unloading cargo don’t count.

The motor carrier is responsible for the federal reporting through FMCSA. The state crash report and the federal DOT record are separate documents, and if you’re pursuing a claim against a commercial carrier, both can be relevant.

1
City of Mishawaka. Indiana Operator’s Proof of Insurance/Crash Report
2
Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Common Traffic Violations
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-26-2-2 – Accident Reports
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Indiana State Police. Indiana State Police – Crash Reports
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BuyCrash. BuyCrash – Home
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Justia. Indiana Code 9-26-9 – Accident Reports and Fees
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-51-2 – Compensatory Damages
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Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 9 Motor Vehicles 9-26-1-1.1 – Duties of Driver Involved in Accident; Sentencing
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eCFR. 49 CFR 390.5