Nobody teaches you how to do this. You get hit, you trade information on the side of the road, and then you’re home with a sore neck and a dented car, wondering who you’re supposed to tell and when.
Here’s the part most guides skip: a New York car accident starts two separate filings, not one. There’s the official crash report, which belongs to the state. And there’s the insurance claim, which belongs to your carrier. They go to different places, on different forms, on different clocks. We walk clients through both every week, and this is the same walkthrough, in order.
First, What Should Already Have Happened at the Scene
Before either filing, New York law sets duties at the scene itself. Under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 600, every driver involved has to stop, show a license and insurance identification card, and exchange name, address, insurance carrier, and license information. When someone is injured, the law adds one more step: give that information to a police officer, and if no officer is around, report the crash to the nearest police station as soon as you physically can.
If you’re reading this within a day or two of your crash, our companion guide to the first 72 hours after a car accident in New York covers the scene, the doctor, and the evidence in order. This guide picks up where the scene ends: the paperwork.
Half One: The Official Crash Reports
Start with the reports, because one of them has the shortest deadline you’re facing.
New York uses two different crash report forms with confusingly similar names. Knowing which is which saves you real headaches.
The police report isn’t your report
When police respond to a crash, the officer files a Police Accident Report. Outside New York City that’s Form MV-104A. Inside the five boroughs, the NYPD files Form MV-104AN, the New York City version of the same report. The officer files it. You don’t.
You want a copy, because every insurer in your claim will ask for it. In New York City, the report stays at the precinct where the collision happened for about 30 days, and you can request a copy there. The NYPD also runs an online Collision Report Retrieval Portal covering crashes after September 30, 2016. Give it time. The NYPD notes a report can take up to 7 business days from the incident to show up in the portal.
After the precinct forwards the report to the state, requests go to the DMV instead. You can order a crash report from the DMV online for a $7 search fee plus $15 per report, or by mail on Form MV-198C for a $10 search fee plus $15 per report.
Your report: the MV-104, due in 10 days
Here’s the filing that surprises people. Even when police responded and filed their own report, New York still requires yours.
Under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 605, every driver involved in a crash anywhere in New York State must report it in writing to the DMV within 10 days when either condition applies:
- Any person was killed or injured, or
- Damage to the property of any one person, including you, is more than $1,000.
The form is the MV-104, Report of Motor Vehicle Crash, and the DMV’s crash report filing page walks through where to send it. With NYC repair costs, almost any visible damage clears the $1,000 line, so treat the MV-104 as required unless the crash was truly trivial.
Skipping it has teeth. The statute makes failure to report a misdemeanor, and the DMV can suspend your license or registration until the report is on file. A suspended license is a hard way to learn about a paperwork deadline.
Half Two: The Insurance Claim
With the reports handled, turn to the claim. New York is a no-fault state, which changes where your claim starts in a way that surprises many drivers: your first claim goes to your own insurance company, even when the other driver caused the crash.
Step 1: Notify your carrier right away
Call your insurer or start the claim in its app as soon as you reasonably can. Give the basic facts: when, where, who was involved, what the damage looks like, whether anyone was hurt. This notice is what opens the claim and starts the paperwork moving toward you.
Step 2: File the no-fault application, Form NF-2, within 30 days
No-fault benefits, also called Personal Injury Protection or PIP, pay your crash-related medical bills and part of your lost wages regardless of who was at fault. They flow through a specific form: the NF-2, Application for Motor Vehicle No-Fault Benefits.
The Department of Financial Services no-fault rules set the clock. Written notice of your claim must reach the insurer as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 30 days after the accident. A late filing can be excused only with written proof giving clear and reasonable justification, and you don’t want to litigate an excuse. Once your notice arrives, the insurer must send you the application within five business days.
What the basic no-fault coverage actually pays, under Insurance Law Sections 5102 and 5103:
| Benefit | Basic no-fault coverage |
|---|---|
| Overall cap | Up to $50,000 per person in basic economic loss |
| Medical and rehabilitation | Necessary crash-related treatment, within the cap |
| Lost earnings | Up to $2,000 a month for up to 3 years, less a 20% statutory offset |
| Other necessary expenses | Up to $25 a day for up to a year |
| Death benefit | $2,000 to the estate, on top of the $50,000 |
Step 3: Keep the paper moving
The 30-day application isn’t the last no-fault deadline. Two more clocks run inside the claim:
- Medical bills: providers’ bills must be submitted within 45 days of treatment. Tell every doctor, hospital, and physical therapist that this is a no-fault claim and give them your claim number, so their billing offices file on time.
- Lost earnings: written proof of your wage claim is due within 90 days. That usually means an employer verification of your pay and missed time.
Step 4: Know what to say to adjusters, and what not to
You’ll likely hear from two insurance companies: yours and the other driver’s.
With your own carrier, cooperate. Your policy requires it, and the no-fault claim depends on it. Answer factual questions, provide the documents, meet the deadlines.
The other driver’s carrier is different. Its adjuster may call quickly, sound friendly, and ask for a recorded statement. You aren’t required to give one, and we tell clients not to, because a recorded answer given while injuries are still developing gets used later to cap the claim. Keep it short across the board:
- Give the basic facts. Date, location, vehicles involved.
- Don’t guess. “I don’t know yet” is a complete answer, especially about injuries.
- Don’t accept fault, apologize on the record, or agree that you feel fine.
- Don’t accept a quick settlement before you know what your injuries are. Signing a release ends the claim permanently.
Step 5: The claim against the other driver
No-fault pays bills. It pays nothing for pain and suffering. That compensation comes, when it comes, from a liability claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer, and New York gates it.
Under Insurance Law Section 5104, you can recover for pain and suffering only if your injury meets the serious injury definition in Section 5102(d): death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, a fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system, permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member, or significant limitation of use of a body function or system.
Vehicle damage runs on a simpler track. You can claim property damage against the other driver’s carrier without meeting any injury threshold, or through your own collision coverage if you carry it.
Two special situations change the map. If the driver fled, our data team has traced how hit-and-run cases resolve in this city, and an unidentified driver moves your injury claim to MVAIC, the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation, on its own strict notice deadlines. And if a government vehicle was involved, a bus, a police cruiser, a sanitation truck, you face a 90-day Notice of Claim requirement long before any lawsuit. Our MTA and municipal notice guide covers that trap in detail.
The backstop deadline on the lawsuit itself: under CPLR Section 214(5), a personal injury action generally must be filed within three years of the crash. Waiting anywhere near that long helps no one but the defense.
When to Involve a Lawyer
You can handle a property-damage-only fender bender yourself, and plenty of people do. Bring in a NYC car accident attorney early when any of these is true:
- Anyone was injured beyond bruises, or symptoms are still developing.
- Fault is disputed, or the police report got the story wrong.
- A government vehicle, commercial truck, or rideshare was involved.
- The driver fled, or the driver was uninsured.
- An adjuster is pressing you for a recorded statement or a fast release.
Early matters more than people think. The filings in this guide are also where claims quietly get damaged, an MV-104 that guesses at fault, a missed NF-2 window, a recorded statement given on day three. Getting the paperwork right the first time costs nothing compared to repairing it later. The consultation is free, and there’s no fee unless we win.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I file a car accident insurance claim in New York?
Notify your own insurance company as soon as you reasonably can, then file the no-fault application, Form NF-2, within 30 days of the accident. Your insurer must send you the application within five business days of your notice. After that, medical bills go in within 45 days of treatment and proof of lost earnings within 90 days. Claims against the other driver’s insurer run on a separate track.
Do I have to report a car accident to the DMV in New York?
Yes, when anyone is killed or injured, or when damage to the property of any one person, including you, is more than $1,000. Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 605 requires a written report to the DMV on Form MV-104 within 10 days. Failing to file is a misdemeanor, and the DMV can suspend your license or registration until the report is on file.
What is the difference between the MV-104 and the police report?
The MV-104 is your own report, filed by you with the DMV. The police file their own separate report on Form MV-104A, or MV-104AN for crashes inside New York City. If police responded, their report exists alongside yours, and you still owe the DMV your MV-104 when the Section 605 thresholds are met.
How do I get a copy of my police accident report in NYC?
For roughly the first 30 days, request it at the precinct where the collision happened. Reports for crashes after September 30, 2016 are also available through the NYPD Collision Report Retrieval Portal, though a report can take up to 7 business days to appear there. Once the precinct forwards it to the state, order it from the DMV, which charges a $7 search fee and $15 per report online.
Can I still sue the other driver if no-fault pays my bills?
Sometimes. No-fault pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages no matter who caused the crash, but nothing for pain and suffering. Insurance Law Section 5104 lets you recover pain and suffering from the at-fault driver only if your injury meets the serious injury definition in Section 5102(d). The lawsuit deadline is generally three years under CPLR Section 214(5).