There is no AA01 accident code on a UK driving record. No government source, police database, or sentencing guideline uses that code. The accident-related endorsements that actually appear on a UK driving licence start with “AC,” and if someone has told you an AA01 was placed on your record, the code you’re looking at is almost certainly AC10, AC20, or AC30. Those are the ones that matter, and knowing which applies tells you what you were convicted of, how many points you’re carrying, and how long it stays.
The Codes That Actually Apply
Three endorsement codes cover accident offences in the UK:
- AC10: failing to stop after an accident.
- AC20: failing to give your details or report an accident within 24 hours.
- AC30: undefined accident offences that don’t fit AC10 or AC20.
Each carries between 5 and 10 penalty points and stays on your driving record for four years from the date of the offence.1GOV.UK. How Long Endorsements Stay on Your Driving Record These are the codes courts hand down, the DVLA records, and insurers ask about.
How to Check What’s Really on Your Record
If you’ve seen “AA01” written somewhere, check your actual licence summary through the DVLA’s online service. The code shown there is the one that counts. If you were recently convicted or accepted a fixed penalty, the paperwork from the court or the police should also show the real code. A mismatch between what you were told verbally and what appears on your record is worth sorting out before it affects an insurance renewal.
Why These Codes Get Applied
Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 sets out what drivers must do when an accident involving their vehicle happens on a road or public place. The obligations apply when the accident causes personal injury to someone other than the driver, damage to another vehicle, harm to certain animals, or damage to roadside property.2Legislation.gov.uk. Road Traffic Act 1988 – Section 170
You must stop at the scene. If anyone with reasonable grounds asks, you must give your name and address, the vehicle owner’s name and address, and the registration marks.2Legislation.gov.uk. Road Traffic Act 1988 – Section 170 Where someone was injured, you may also be asked to produce your insurance certificate at the scene.
If you didn’t exchange details at the scene for any reason, you must report the accident to a police station or a constable as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within 24 hours. Where there was personal injury and you didn’t produce your insurance at the scene, you have seven days to report the accident and produce the certificate at a police station.2Legislation.gov.uk. Road Traffic Act 1988 – Section 170
Breach any of these duties and the matching AC code is what ends up on your record.
Penalties on Conviction
Failing to stop or report is a criminal offence. The maximum sentence is six months’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine.3Sentencing Council. Fail to Stop/Report Road Accident (Revised 2017) Courts sort cases into three categories based on culpability and harm:
- Category 3 (lower culpability, lesser harm): a fine based on weekly income and 5 to 6 penalty points.
- Category 2 (mixed culpability and harm): a higher fine or community order and 7 to 8 penalty points, or disqualification up to six months.
- Category 1 (higher culpability, greater harm): a community order up to 26 weeks in custody and 9 to 10 penalty points, or disqualification for 6 to 12 months.3Sentencing Council. Fail to Stop/Report Road Accident (Revised 2017)
Factors that push a case into higher culpability include leaving to avoid a breath test, fleeing to escape arrest for another offence, knowing or suspecting someone was injured, and giving false details at the scene.3Sentencing Council. Fail to Stop/Report Road Accident (Revised 2017)
Points Add Up Fast
A single AC endorsement can carry up to 10 points. If you reach 12 points within three years, disqualification is mandatory. The minimum ban is six months for a first totting-up disqualification, one year if you’ve been disqualified before within the last three years, and two years if you’ve been disqualified more than once in that period.4Sentencing Council. Totting Up Disqualification A court can set the ban aside only on grounds of “exceptional hardship,” and ordinary inconvenience doesn’t meet that bar.
New drivers face a lower threshold. Accumulate six or more points within two years of passing your test and your licence is revoked.5GOV.UK. Penalty Points (Endorsements) – New Drivers You go back to a provisional licence and retake both the theory and practical tests. One AC endorsement at the higher end of the range can take out a new driver in a single hit.
What It Does to Your Insurance
An AC endorsement signals to an insurer that you were involved in an accident and were convicted over how you handled the aftermath. That’s treated as worse than a standard at-fault claim because it suggests avoidance of accountability. Some insurers refuse cover entirely for drivers with AC endorsements, which pushes those drivers into specialist policies at higher premiums.
The endorsement stays on your record for four years, and most insurers ask about convictions for five.1GOV.UK. How Long Endorsements Stay on Your Driving Record The first renewal cycles after conviction are usually the most expensive, and the impact tapers as the endorsement ages off.
If You’re Facing Prosecution
A solicitor who specializes in motoring law is worth consulting if you’ve been charged with failing to stop or report. Common lines of defense involve disputing whether you were aware an accident had occurred, challenging evidence of injury, or showing that you did comply within the required timeframe.
Where the prosecution case is strong, mitigation matters. Returning to the scene shortly after, cooperating with police once contacted, or showing a genuine reason for leaving can shift the sentencing category and reduce both the fine and the points. For a driver near the 12-point threshold, the difference between 5 points and 10 on an AC endorsement decides whether the licence survives.