# Report an injury accident to the police in California

A driver in an accident that injured or killed anyone makes a written report within 24 hours to the California Highway Patrol or, inside a city, to the CHP or the city police.

## At a glance

| Detail | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Kind | Notification |
| Authority | [California Highway Patrol, or the city police department](https://www.chp.ca.gov/) |
| Where it applies | us, us-ca |
| Last verified against its sources | 2026-10-04 |
| Version | 1 |

## Where this sits

**Level 2.** [Property & casualty insurance claims](/a/vertical-property-casualty-insurance-claims) › [A motor vehicle accident](/a/motor-vehicle-accident) › **Report an injury accident to the police in California**

**Beside it:** [Report an accident to the California DMV (SR-1)](/a/california-dmv-sr-1-accident-report)

**Starts from:** [A motor vehicle accident](/a/motor-vehicle-accident)

**Related:** [Report an accident to the California DMV (SR-1)](/a/california-dmv-sr-1-accident-report)

## Rules

**Requirement:** Required when the accident injured or killed any person. *(checked as: (whether anyone was injured = true or whether anyone died = true))*

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**Not eligible if:** A common carrier vehicle reports differently: its owner or driver reports to the CHP on or before the 10th day of the month following the accident. *(checked as: whether the vehicle is a common carrier vehicle = true)*

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## Deadlines

**Written report:** Within 24 hours after the accident.

## How it is filed

**What an agent may do:** authorized representative. The driver makes the written report, or causes it to be made.

## What this page does not know

- How the written report is delivered (at an office, on a form, online) is not stated in the section read.