Short answer
In Utah, notifying law enforcement and filing a crash report are different steps. The Utah Driver Handbook directs immediate 911 notification for injury, death, or at least $2,500 in total apparent property damage. An injury or death crash requires immediate notice to the nearest law-enforcement office. 1
When a peace officer investigates a qualifying crash, the officer files the official crash report. DPS may separately require a driver report, but only after DPS requests it; the report is due within 10 days after that request. That is not a universal automatic driver self-report. 3
Immediate checklist
- Stop and remain at the scene or, for a property-damage-only crash, move to a nearby location that does not obstruct traffic when it is safe to do so. 1
- Call 911 for injuries, death, or total apparent property damage of $2,500 or more. For an injury or death crash, give immediate notice to the nearest law-enforcement office. 1
- Exchange your name, address, vehicle registration number, and insurance-provider information with the people involved. If property is unattended, Utah law specifies notice to the owner or a written notice left in a conspicuous place. 1
- Preserve the date, time, exact location, vehicle and driver details, photographs, witness contact information, and any case number. These details help both the investigating agency and your insurer. 4
- Call your insurer or agent with your policy number and relevant information as soon as possible. Insurer notice is a separate insurance step; it does not replace notifying police or obtaining a police report. 4
For a broader evidence list, see the car-accident evidence checklist.
Who reports what in Utah?
| Record or notice | Who handles it | When it may apply | Where to look |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immediate law-enforcement notice | The vehicle operator; an occupant may need to give notice if the operator of an injury/death-crash vehicle is physically unable to do so. | Injury or death requires immediate notice. Property-damage-only crashes require notice when apparent property damage is $2,500 or more. | Utah Driver Handbook and Utah Code duties. 1 |
| Investigating officer crash report | The peace officer who investigates. | The officer investigates a crash described in the reporting statute and electronically files the report with DPS within 10 days after completing the investigation. | The investigating agency or DPS/UHP request process. 3 |
| Driver report to DPS | An operator, if DPS requires one; an owner may have a role when the operator is physically incapable. | DPS may require a report for injury, death, or at least $2,500 apparent total property damage. The 10-day period starts after DPS requests it. | Follow DPS’s requested manner. No universal online driver self-report form was verified in the reviewed official pages. 3 |
| Insurance/security information sent to DLD | An investigating officer records requested security information and the agency forwards the form to DPS. A driver may be asked for insurance information by DLD. | When an officer investigates and requests it, or DLD requests it. | This is not described as an automatic public DMV crash report for every driver. 1 |
| Insurer claim notice | The driver or policyholder. | After a crash, under the policy and insurer’s instructions. | Call the insurer or agent; Utah Insurance Department advises providing policy and relevant information promptly. 4 |
| State-government claim | A person making a claim involving an insured state entity may contact the Division of Risk Management. | A claim involving a state covered entity, such as a state agency, may call for a separate claim process. | The Division’s public auto-claim contact is riskclaims@utah.gov. 6 |
A crash report is an investigation record. An insurance claim, a requested driver report, and a government claim can each use some of the same facts, but one does not file the others.
How to find or request the crash or police record
Start with the agency that employed the investigating officer. Utah’s disclosure law identifies DPS or the responsible law-enforcement agency employing the investigating officer. Do not treat the UHP process as a verified statewide repository for city police, sheriff, campus, tribal, or other agency reports. Ask the investigating agency’s records unit how to request its record. 7
For a UHP report or police record, use UHP’s official GovQA request instructions. UHP says requesters must verify identity in the portal, create an account if needed, and provide the date, location, and case number if known. UHP says it will send an email when the requested report is ready to download. 5
Utah crash reports are protected records. Eligible recipients include a person involved (not a witness), a person who suffered loss or injury, and specified parents, guardians, agents, government users, media, and qualified investigators. An agent can include an insurer or a person with signed permission. 7
For a written request for the report and accompanying data, the responsible agency has a 10-business-day disclosure rule, subject to the statute. It may withhold records that would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution and make safety redactions. The statute permits a reasonable fee; UHP’s request page states neither a specific fee nor a standard preparation waiting period. 5
“Accompanying data” can be broader than the collision report: it may include witness statements, photos, videos, diagrams, and field notes. Requesting it in writing differs from requesting the basic crash report. 7
Documents and identifiers to gather
Gather the crash date, time, exact location, investigating agency, case number, involved people’s names, vehicle plates, and your contact details. UHP specifically lists date, location, and case number if known. For a government-records request, UDOT says to use a reasonably specific written description with name, mailing address, daytime phone number, and details such as dates, locations, people, entities, or document names. 5
Keep the report request separate from the insurer’s claim number. The Insurance Department also recommends preserving vehicle and witness information, road conditions, damage, injuries, and your account. 4
If the report is unavailable or held elsewhere
Verify which agency investigated. If it was not UHP, request the record from that police, sheriff, campus, tribal, or other agency rather than assuming DPS holds its complete file. 7
Do not ask UDOT for an ordinary traffic crash report unless the request concerns UDOT property. UDOT’s official records page says it does not maintain accident records that do not include UDOT property. 8
Before a report is ready, preserve photographs, exchanged information, insurer communications, and any incident or case number. Disclosure may be unavailable where it would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution. 7
Government-entity notices and court deadlines are different
A report request is not a notice of claim against a Utah governmental entity. For a claim against a governmental entity or an in-scope employee, the Utah Governmental Immunity Act requires a written notice of claim before maintaining an action. The notice must state basic facts, claim nature, and known damages, and go to the statutory recipient for that entity. 9
The Act states that the claim is barred unless the notice is filed within one year after the claim arises. It separately addresses when an action may be filed and its time limit. These rules are specific to governmental-entity claims, not every private crash-related claim. This article does not calculate an individual deadline. 9
For a state covered-entity claim, Risk Management asks the public and insurers to email its auto-claim contact with the entity, loss date, police or case number, incident description, and applicable vehicle and address details. That channel does not replace statutory notice requirements. 6
Official resources
Use the Utah Driver Handbook, UHP request page, DPS records portal, and Utah Insurance Department after-accident guidance.
You can also browse AccidentFiling.ai’s guides and resources.