California car accident resource directory
Official government and court pages you may need after a crash in California. Every listing is a public agency or court. No one pays to be listed here, and we don't list lawyers, tow companies or body shops.
General information, not legal advice. Agencies change their pages, fees and hours. Always confirm on the official page before you go or pay.
Police and CHP crash reports
Ask the agency that responded to your crash. To learn who can get a copy, see Getting a copy of the crash report.
California Highway Patrol (freeways, state highways, unincorporated areas)
- CHP: Request a Crash Report (online Crash Portal and CHP 190 instructions)
- CHP 190, Application for Release of Information (PDF)
- CHP: Find an Office (Area office addresses and phone numbers)
Southern California city and county agencies
- Los Angeles Police Department: Request a Traffic Report
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department: Record Requests (for sheriff's stations and contract cities)
- Long Beach Police Department: Request a Police Report
- San Diego Police Department: Get a Police Report
Bay Area city agencies
- San Francisco Police Department: Request a Copy of a Police Report
- Oakland Police Department: Vehicle Collision Reports
- San Jose Police Department: Vehicle Accident Reports
For other cities, search the city police department's website for "traffic collision report" or "records."
DMV
- DMV: Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California (SR-1). Required within 10 days after an injury crash, or more than $1,000 of damage to one person's property. See the SR-1 guide.
- California Driver's Handbook: Financial responsibility, insurance and collisions
Small claims and court self-help
Statewide:
Southern California superior courts:
- Los Angeles County: Small Claims
- Orange County: Self-Help Small Claims
- San Diego County: Small Claims
- Riverside County: Filing Small Claims
- San Bernardino County: Small Claims
- Ventura County: Small Claims
Bay Area superior courts:
- San Francisco: Small Claims
- Alameda County: Small Claims
- Santa Clara County: Small Claims Division
- San Mateo County: Small Claims Division
- Contra Costa County: Small Claims
Court fees and claim limits change. Check the court's page for current amounts.
Claims against government agencies
- Department of General Services: File a Government Claim (claims against the State of California)
- For a city, county or district, look for "claims" or "risk management" on that agency's website. See the government claims guide for the 6-month deadline.
Towing and finding a towed car
If your car was towed from private property (a parking lot, for example), Vehicle Code §22658 sets the rules. Among them:
- A tow is allowed only in the situations the law lists. One example is a sign of the required size at every entrance, showing the local police phone number and the towing company's name and number.
- The towing company needs written authorization from the property owner or their agent. When you claim the car, it must give you a copy of that authorization before you pay.
- The property owner must notify local police within one hour of authorizing the tow, and the towing company must also notify them once the car is in transit. So the police can usually tell you where the car is.
- The car must be stored within 10 miles of where it was towed from, unless the local police agency has approved otherwise.
- The storage facility must accept cash or a valid credit card.
- If the car is released within 24 hours of arriving at storage, you can be charged for only one day of storage.
- If you return before the car leaves the property, the towing company must release it right away. It can charge up to half the regular towing fee if the car was already hooked up.
- Charging more than the law allows can make the towing company liable for four times the amount charged.
If police or the CHP had your car towed and stored, Vehicle Code §22852 requires the agency to mail or deliver a notice within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). The notice must say where the car is stored and explain your right to a post-storage hearing. You must request the hearing within 10 days of the date on the notice. If the hearing finds there weren't reasonable grounds for the storage, the agency pays the towing and storage costs.
To find a towed car: call the non-emergency number for the police department where it was parked (or the CHP Area office for freeways and unincorporated areas) and ask whether a tow was reported.
Checking an auto repair shop's license
- Bureau of Automotive Repair: Auto shop locator
- Department of Consumer Affairs: License search (look up a shop's BAR registration)