The California SR-1: what it is and who must file
A crash with an injury or more than $1,000 in damage means a second report, to the DMV, within 10 days. Here is what that involves.
What the SR-1 is
The SR-1 (Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California) is a form you file with the California DMV after a crash. It is your own report of the crash, the vehicles and the insurance involved. It is not the police report, and it is filed whether or not police came.
Your insurance agent, broker or attorney can file it for you, but the duty to make sure it is filed is yours.
Who must file
Every driver involved in a crash in California files one when any of these is true:
- Someone was injured, however slightly, or killed.
- Damage to any one person's property, including vehicles, was more than $1,000.
It applies no matter who was at fault
The SR-1 is not an admission of anything. It applies whether or not the crash was your fault, whether or not you were insured, and even when police wrote a report at the scene. Each driver files their own.
The deadline is 10 days
The SR-1 must reach the DMV within 10 days of the crash. Do not wait for the police report; that often takes longer than 10 days to be released, and the two are separate.
Separate from the police report
The police report is written by the agency that responded and describes what happened. The SR-1 is your report to the DMV about the crash, the vehicles and the insurance. Filing one does not replace the other: the police do not file your SR-1, and the DMV does not send you the police report.
What it asks for
Have these ready before you start:
- The date, time and location of the crash.
- Each vehicle: year, make, model and license plate.
- Each driver: name, address, driver's license number and date of birth.
- The owner of each vehicle, if not the driver.
- Each driver's insurance company and policy number.
- Whether anyone was injured or killed, and what property was damaged.
- Whether police responded and, if so, which agency.
If it is not filed
The DMV can suspend your driver's license when a required SR-1 is not filed. Driving without insurance at the time of the crash carries its own suspension, and the SR-1 is how the DMV checks coverage. Filing on time, with accurate insurance details, avoids both problems.
We can walk you through it
The form comes from the DMV and you file it yourself, but you do not have to work out the answers alone. Call us and we will go through each section with you, or answer the questions and we will call you.
This service is provided by C&B Law Group LLP, a personal injury law firm in Los Angeles and Burbank. Attorney advertising.