Indiana’s accident reporting requirements have two parts that people often confuse. At the scene, every driver in any crash must stop, exchange name, address, and vehicle registration with everyone involved, and show a license on request. If someone is hurt or killed, you must also give notice to law enforcement or a 911 operator. Separately, if the crash caused injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more, you have 10 days to file a written crash report (the SR-21) with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Failing any of these duties can be charged as anything from a Class B misdemeanor to a Level 3 felony, plus a mandatory license suspension.
What You Must Do at the Scene
Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 requires every driver involved in an accident to stop immediately, either at the scene or as close as safely possible without blocking traffic unnecessarily.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 – Duties of Driver of Motor Vehicle Involved in Accident; Sentencing Stay until you’ve exchanged your name, address, and vehicle registration number with every other person involved, and show your driver’s license to anyone who asks.
If anyone is injured or killed, you also have to give notice as quickly as possible to one of these contacts:
- Inside a city or town, the local police department.
- Outside a municipality, the county sheriff’s office or the nearest Indiana State Police post.
- Anywhere, a 911 operator.
The statute sets no dollar threshold for the duty to stop and exchange information. It applies to every accident, no matter how minor the damage looks. The obligation to call law enforcement kicks in when someone is hurt or killed. A common misconception is that you only need to report if property damage exceeds $1,000. That figure comes from a different requirement, the written crash report filed with the BMV, covered below.
While you wait, provide reasonable assistance to anyone injured as directed by an officer, medical personnel, or the 911 operator.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 – Duties of Driver of Motor Vehicle Involved in Accident; Sentencing Collect the same information from other drivers, gather witness contacts, and photograph vehicle damage, road conditions, and traffic signals. When an officer arrives, give your account but stick to facts you’re sure of.
Hitting a Parked Car or Property
If you hit a parked car with no one inside, or damage a fence, mailbox, or other property, you still have to stop. The statute requires you to take reasonable steps to find the owner or the person in charge of the damaged property and tell them what happened.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 – Duties of Driver of Motor Vehicle Involved in Accident; Sentencing
If a reasonable effort doesn’t turn up the owner, you can’t just leave a note and drive off. Indiana law requires you to contact a law enforcement officer or agency and provide your name, address, and vehicle registration. Skipping this step exposes you to the same leaving-the-scene penalties described below.
The 10-Day SR-21 Report to the BMV
Beyond what you do at the scene, Indiana requires a separate written crash report, the SR-21, filed with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Any driver involved in an accident that causes injury, death, or total property damage of $1,000 or more must submit this form within 10 days of the crash.2City of Mishawaka. Indiana Operator’s Proof of Insurance/Crash Report (SR-21) This is the requirement most people confuse with the at-scene duty. You need to do both.
The SR-21 asks for your insurance information, details about every vehicle involved, a description of what happened, and a diagram of the crash. You can get the form from the BMV or from the responding law enforcement agency. Failing to file it can result in suspension of your driving privileges, so treat the 10-day deadline seriously. If an officer responded and filed a police report, that does not excuse you from submitting the SR-21.
Penalties for Leaving the Scene
Driving away from an accident without meeting your duties under Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 is charged as leaving the scene of an accident, and the penalties escalate sharply with the harm caused.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 – Duties of Driver of Motor Vehicle Involved in Accident; Sentencing
- Property damage only, no injury: Class B misdemeanor, up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-3 – Class B Misdemeanor
- Bodily injury: Class A misdemeanor, up to 365 days in jail and a fine up to $5,000.
- Moderate or serious bodily injury: Level 6 felony, 6 months to 2½ years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. The same charge applies if you have a prior conviction for certain serious traffic offenses within the past five years.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony
- Death or catastrophic injury: Level 4 felony, 2 to 12 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
- Leaving after a DUI crash causing serious injury or death: Level 3 felony, 3 to 16 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-5 – Level 3 Felony
The jump from misdemeanor to felony is where lives change permanently. A Level 4 or Level 3 conviction can mean years in state prison, and the felony record affects employment, housing, and gun rights long after the sentence ends. Investigators routinely track hit-and-run drivers through surveillance cameras, paint transfers, and witness descriptions. Leaving almost always makes things worse.
License Suspension and Habitual Violator Status
Beyond criminal penalties, a leaving-the-scene conviction triggers a mandatory license action through the BMV. Under Indiana Code 9-30-4-6.1, the BMV must suspend or revoke a driver’s license upon conviction for failing to stop and provide information at an accident resulting in death, injury, or property damage over $200.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-30-4-6.1 – Suspension or Revocation of Driver’s License or Driving Privileges The suspension lasts at least six months. If the accident involved a death, it runs from two to five years.
A leaving-the-scene conviction also counts toward Indiana’s habitual traffic violator designation. A driver who accumulates two or more qualifying judgments within 10 years, including failing to stop at an accident that causes death or injury, is classified as a habitual violator, which carries its own license consequences. Driving as a habitual violator is a separate felony offense.
When Someone Else Can Report for You
Indiana law recognizes that injuries may prevent immediate compliance. If a driver is physically unable to report because of injuries from the crash, the obligation shifts until they are capable. The statute also lets a passenger or bystander give notice on the driver’s behalf. For injury or death crashes, it says the driver must give notice of the accident, or ensure that another person gives notice.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 – Duties of Driver of Motor Vehicle Involved in Accident; Sentencing
If you rely on someone else to make the call, you need to show a reasonable basis for believing they actually did it. Courts look at whether you followed up, whether the third party confirmed reporting, and whether the delay was genuinely beyond your control. Assuming someone called 911 without checking is a weak defense.
Extra Rules for Commercial Vehicle Drivers
Commercial drivers face a second layer of federal reporting on top of Indiana’s state rules. A crash involving a commercial motor vehicle must be reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration if it involves a fatality, an injury requiring immediate off-scene medical treatment, or any vehicle towed from the scene.7Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Truck and Bus Crashes Reportable to FMCSA These rules apply to trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating over 10,000 pounds, vehicles seating nine or more people, and any vehicle displaying a hazardous materials placard.
Post-accident drug and alcohol testing may also be mandatory. Testing is required when the driver receives a citation and the crash involved a fatality, an injury requiring off-scene medical treatment, or disabling damage to any vehicle.8Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). What Tests Are Required and When Does Testing Occur
The stakes for a CDL holder who leaves an accident scene are especially high. A first conviction results in a one-year CDL disqualification, three years if the driver was hauling hazardous materials. A second qualifying offense means lifetime disqualification.9eCFR. 49 CFR Part 383 Subpart D – Driver Disqualifications and Penalties For a driver whose living depends on a commercial license, a single hit-and-run conviction effectively ends the career.