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How Many Days Do You Have to Report a Car Accident in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts gives a driver five days. M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 26 requires every operator involved in a crash in which anyone is killed or injured, or in which there is damage in excess of one thousand dollars to any one vehicle or other property, to report in writing to the Registrar within five days on an approved form, and to send a copy to the police department with jurisdiction over the way where the crash happened.
The report the police do not file for you
The most common way this deadline gets missed is not carelessness. It is a reasonable assumption. Police responded, a report was taken at the scene, information was exchanged, everyone went home. It feels handled.
Section 26 places a separate duty on the operator. The officer’s report is the officer’s report. The written report to the Registrar is the driver’s, and the five days run whether or not anyone mentioned it at the scene.
Three triggers, and one number that goes stale in print
The duty attaches where any person is killed, where any person is injured, or where there is damage in excess of one thousand dollars to any one vehicle or other property.
That thousand dollar threshold is worth checking against anything you read elsewhere. Older articles, and some printed material still in circulation, carry a five hundred dollar figure. The current section says one thousand.
Two destinations
The report goes to the Registrar, and a copy goes to the police department with jurisdiction over the way where the crash happened. Filing in one place and not the other is the failure the statute is most often tripped up by, because it feels like the obligation has been met.
The consequence, stated the way the statute states it
Section 26 provides that the Registrar may revoke or suspend the license of a person who violates it. That is discretionary language. It describes an administrative exposure, not a result that follows automatically from a missed filing.
When the driver cannot file
Where the operator is unable to file the report, section 26 shifts the duty to the owner of the vehicle.
Full transcript of this video
Jim Glaser: Police came, you traded info, you went home.
Jim Glaser: You did everything right. You still owe your own report.
Voice over: Injury, or over a thousand dollars to one vehicle.
Voice over: Five days, to the Registry and your local police.
Jim Glaser: Chapter 90, Section 26. Skip it, and the Registry may suspend your license. Look it up at jimmyknows.ai.
Voice over: Send this to the friend who just went home.
The actual law
M.G.L. c.90 s.26 on malegislature.gov
Every operator involved in a crash in which anyone is killed or injured, or in which there is damage over one thousand dollars to any one vehicle or other property, must report in writing to the Registrar within five days on an approved form, and must send a copy to the police department with jurisdiction over the way where the crash happened. If the operator is unable to file, the duty falls to the owner.
Every person operating a motor vehicle which is involved in an accident in which any person is killed or injured or in which there is damage in excess of one thousand dollars
Penalty as written: The Registrar may revoke or suspend the license of a person who violates the section.
Common questions
Does a police response at the scene satisfy the reporting duty?
No. Section 26 places the duty on the operator, separate from anything the responding officer files. A driver who called the police, exchanged information and went home still owes the written report.
What is the damage threshold?
Damage in excess of one thousand dollars to any one vehicle or other property. Older articles and some printed materials still carry a $500 figure, which is out of date; the number in the current section is $1,000.
Where does the report go?
Two places. The written report goes to the Registrar on an approved form, and a copy goes to the police department with jurisdiction over the way where the crash happened. Filing only with the police is the common failure.
What happens if the report is not filed?
The section provides that the Registrar may revoke or suspend the license of a person who violates it. The word is may, so this is a discretionary administrative consequence rather than an automatic one.
What if the driver cannot file the report?
Where the operator is unable to file, section 26 places the duty on the owner of the vehicle.
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This video and the text on this page are general legal information, not legal advice, and do not create an attorney-client relationship. Massachusetts law is fact-specific; telephone Jim Glaser Law about your particular situation. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Attorney advertising under Mass. R. Prof. C. 7.1 to 7.5. Responsible attorney: Jim Glaser, admitted in MA only, of counsel to Keches Law. Principal office: 77 Pond St., Sharon, MA. Most cases referred to other jurisdictionally licensed lawyers for principal liability. This video uses an AI-generated likeness and voice of Attorney Jim Glaser, with his permission.