To file a police report for a hit and run, call 911 from the scene as soon as you and your passengers are safe, give the dispatcher the direction the other vehicle went and every detail you noticed about it, and stay put until officers arrive to take your statement. The officer will generate an initial report and give you a report number before leaving. That number is what your insurance company will ask for first, and it’s the anchor for any later investigation.1AAA Foundation. Understanding the Increase in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crashes
Call 911 From the Scene
Check yourself and any passengers for injuries first. If it’s safe, move your vehicle out of traffic. Then call 911, even if the damage looks minor and nobody seems hurt. That call creates a time-stamped record police and insurers will rely on later.
Do not chase the other driver. Pursuit puts you and other people on the road at real risk, and it doesn’t help your claim. Tell the dispatcher which direction the vehicle was heading and any details you noticed. Officers who respond quickly have the best chance of catching a fleeing driver while they’re still nearby. Stay at the scene until police arrive or the dispatcher tells you it’s safe to go.
Filing When You Return to a Damaged Parked Car
Hit and runs don’t always happen while you’re behind the wheel. If you walk out to fresh damage on a parked vehicle, look for a note first. If there isn’t one, check whether nearby businesses or homes have security cameras pointed toward your parking spot, and ask any bystanders whether they saw what happened. Then call the non-emergency police line to report the incident and file.
You still need a report number for your insurance claim, and the report documents that another driver caused the damage rather than something you hit yourself.
What to Tell Police and Gather Before They Arrive
The single most valuable piece of information is the license plate number. Even a partial plate narrows a police search dramatically. Beyond the plate, note the vehicle’s make, model, color, and anything distinctive: bumper stickers, a roof rack, aftermarket wheels, existing body damage.
If you saw the driver, write down a general description: gender, approximate age, hair color, clothing. Memory degrades fast under stress, so put everything into your phone’s notes app or a voice memo while it’s fresh.
Photograph your vehicle’s damage from several angles, the overall scene, any skid marks, and debris in the road. Widen your frame to catch landmarks, street signs, or mile markers that fix the location. Note the time and date if your photos don’t capture that automatically.
Paint Transfer and Debris
Look closely at the point of impact. Collisions often leave paint from the other car smeared or chipped onto yours, and that paint can be forensically matched to a specific make, model, and year. If you see transferred paint, don’t wash your car or touch the area. Photograph it up close with good lighting. The same goes for fragments of glass, plastic, or headlight housing left at the scene. Point these out to the responding officer so they can be collected properly. A broken side-mirror cover on the road has led to identified drivers in cases that otherwise had no leads.
Witnesses and Cameras
Ask anyone who saw the collision for their name and phone number. Witness statements carry real weight, especially when they include details you missed, like a plate or the direction the car turned. Scan the area for traffic cameras, ATM cameras, doorbell cameras, and business security systems. You can’t access that footage yourself, but telling police exactly which cameras might have caught the incident gives investigators a head start. Many surveillance systems overwrite footage within days.
Dashcam Footage
If you have a dashcam, don’t assume the clip saved itself. Check it before you leave and lock or save the relevant footage so it isn’t overwritten. Dashcam video that captures a plate or a clear shot of the other vehicle can turn a dead-end case into a solved one. Tell the responding officer you have it and ask how they’d like it delivered.
If No Officer Came: Filing in Person or Online
When 911 sends an officer to you, they’ll take your statement, talk to witnesses, examine the scene, and generate the initial report on the spot. You’ll get a report number before they leave. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe, because your insurer will ask for it almost immediately.
If no officer was dispatched, or you couldn’t wait at the scene, go to the nearest police station or sheriff’s office to file in person. Bring your driver’s license, vehicle registration, insurance card, photos, and your witness contact list. The more organized you are, the faster the process moves and the more useful the report will be.
Many departments now accept online reports for non-emergency incidents. This option generally applies only to hit and runs involving property damage with no injuries. You fill out a digital form and receive a report number when you submit it. Online filing works well for parked-car incidents with no witnesses and minimal evidence. If you have injuries or a strong lead on the other driver, file in person so you can walk an officer through everything.
How Soon You Need to File
File the same day the hit and run happened. Ideally, call 911 from the scene so the report is opened in real time. If that wasn’t possible, don’t let more than 24 hours pass before getting to a station. Deadlines vary by jurisdiction. Some states give you a narrow window, sometimes as short as 24 hours for crashes involving injuries, while others allow several days for property-damage-only incidents where no officer responded.
The practical deadline is tighter than the legal one. Surveillance footage gets overwritten. Witnesses forget details or become hard to reach. Paint transfer and debris get cleaned up or washed away. Every hour that passes reduces the chance of identifying the other driver. Filing quickly also keeps your insurer from questioning whether the damage really came from a hit and run.
Getting the Report Number and a Full Copy
Get the report number before you leave the station or hang up. You’ll also want a full copy of the finalized report once it’s available, which can take a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the department. Many agencies let you request copies online, by mail, or in person, usually for a small fee. Your insurance company will want this document, so don’t skip it.
What Happens After You File
If the hit and run involved serious injuries or a fatality, police will dedicate real investigative resources: pulling surveillance footage, canvassing repair shops, running partial plates through DMV databases, and reconstructing the scene. Cases with injuries get priority, and detectives may stay on them for months.
Property-damage-only cases get far less attention. The report goes on file, and if a strong lead exists, like a full plate or clear surveillance footage, officers may follow up. If all you have is “dark-colored SUV heading east,” the case will likely sit unless new evidence surfaces. That doesn’t make filing pointless. You still need the report for insurance, and if the other driver is later identified through an unrelated traffic stop or another incident, your report connects them to your case.
Using the Report With Your Insurer
Call your insurance company as soon as possible after the hit and run, ideally the same day. Most auto policies require prompt notification of any accident, and waiting too long can give your insurer grounds to reduce or deny your claim. Have the report number ready when you call, along with your photos.
Which coverage applies depends on your policy and your state. Uninsured motorist coverage is built for situations where the other driver can’t be identified, and in many states its bodily injury portion helps pay medical bills and lost wages. Some states also offer uninsured motorist property damage coverage, though not all states make it available, and some that do specifically exclude hit-and-run accidents from property-damage claims. Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your vehicle regardless of fault; you owe your deductible upfront. Collision is often the more reliable option for vehicle damage in a hit and run because it doesn’t depend on identifying the other driver and doesn’t have the state-by-state exclusions that uninsured motorist property damage coverage does.
If the other driver is eventually found and their insurer pays out, your company can recover what it spent, including your deductible, through subrogation. Don’t count on it. Most hit-and-run drivers in property-damage cases are never identified, so plan around the coverage you already carry.
Quick Reference Checklist
- At the scene: check for injuries, move to safety, call 911, do not chase the other driver.
- Evidence: license plate (even partial), vehicle description, driver description, photos of all damage and the scene, witness names and numbers, nearby cameras.
- Physical evidence: don’t wash your car or touch paint transfer at the impact point. Photograph it and point it out to the officer.
- File the report: same day, in person or online for property-damage-only incidents. Get the report number.
- Insurance: call your insurer the same day. Provide the report number and photos.
- Follow up: request a full copy of the finalized report for your insurance file.