Reporting your accident to the police

A police report tells the authorities, and later your insurer, what happened, when, and to whom. Make it at any police station as soon as you reasonably can, and within 24 hours of the accident wherever possible.^[1] Here is how to do it without overthinking it.

What to do to make the report

1. Check that everyone is safe first; the report can wait a few minutes if someone needs help.
2. Note the time, the exact location, and the other vehicle’s plate number while it is fresh.
3. Go to the nearest police station, or one along your way home.
4. Bring your identity card, driving licence, and the vehicle registration card.
5. Describe only what you saw and did. Do not guess at speeds or assign blame.
6. Ask for the report reference number before you leave the counter.

None of this needs to be perfect. Officers handle accident reports constantly, and a plain, factual account is exactly what is expected of you.

Why the report matters to a claim

The police report is one of the first pieces of evidence anyone looks at, because it fixes the basic facts before memories fade or stories change. It later feeds into the sketch plan, a diagram of how the vehicles came to collide, which often matters most when liability is disputed.

Without a report, a claim is not automatically impossible, but you rely far more heavily on other evidence such as photos, dashcam footage or witnesses. A report gives you a fallback even if that other evidence turns out thinner than you hoped.

If you are worried you missed the 24 hours

Missing the window is common, and it does not mean your claim is over. Reporting late without a lawful excuse is an offence, but a statutory declaration, a signed sworn statement, can be used to explain the delay honestly.^[2] Go and report as soon as you realise, rather than deciding it is now pointless.

What actually damages a claim more than a late report is no report at all. So the priority stays the same: go, even if it is later than you would like.

What to say, and what to leave out

Stick to what you directly observed: where you were, which direction you were travelling, and what happened on impact. Avoid guessing distances or speeds, and avoid stating who you think was at fault, since that is a conclusion, not a fact.

This keeps your report useful rather than something that can later work against you if your first guess turns out wrong.

What to do next

Once the report is made, the next priorities are getting medically checked even if you feel fine, and gathering the scene evidence and dashcam or photo evidence while it is still available. You can read the fuller sequence in what to do after an accident. It also shows how the report fits into the claim process once you are ready to look at making a claim itself.

If your injuries need a medical report later, having a clean, timely police report on file makes that next step considerably more straightforward.