For a non-emergency car accident inside the City of San Diego, SDPD says it responds only to injury accidents and specified hit-and-run car accidents. A dispatcher’s direction can depend on the information provided. The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) says it responds only to injury accidents and certain hit-and-run car accidents involving injuries or potential suspect/lead information. Exchange the required information, write down the car accident details, notify your insurer, and check the separate California DMV reporting requirement. A police response or report is not the same thing as an insurer notice or a DMV report. [2][6]
Emergency first: Call 911 if anyone is hurt. SDPD also directs people to call 911 for a hit-and-run; the dispatcher may direct you to a police station based on the information provided. This guide is for a non-emergency car accident, not an active emergency. [2]
This guide is limited to the City of San Diego, California (Census place GEOID 0666000), and to matters SDPD handles. For a car accident, road hazard, or other traffic issue on a California freeway, SDPD directs people to CHP. For other locations, confirm the responsible agency before using an SDPD process. Do not assume that a postal San Diego address, freeway, campus, port, or neighboring city is within SDPD’s jurisdiction. [1][5]
Quick checklist
- Put safety before paperwork. If anyone may be injured, call 911. For a property-damage-only car accident, California law says to stop at the nearest location that will not impede traffic or jeopardize safety. [2][7]
- Exchange information. Get the other driver’s name, address, insurance information, driver’s-license number, date of birth, phone number, vehicle-owner information, and vehicle year, make, model, license number, and state. Note the date, time, and location. [2]
- Document what you can safely document. Keep your own notes, photographs, and any messages or case number. Do not argue about fault at the scene.
- Notify your insurer. SDPD tells drivers to notify their insurance company after a car accident. Follow your own policy’s notice instructions. This is not a police report or a DMV SR-1 report. [2]
- Check the DMV SR-1 rule right away. An SR-1 may be required within 10 days if anyone was injured or killed, or if property damage exceeded $1,000. DMV says this report is required in addition to police/CHP and insurance reports. [6]
- Use the correct SDPD route only when it fits. The ordinary SDPD online reporting system is not for car accidents. A limited online hit-and-run route is available only when its conditions are met. [2][3]
Why an officer may not come
For traffic accidents, SDPD says it responds only to injury accidents and hit-and-run car accidents where there are injuries or potential suspect or lead information. That is a local dispatch policy, not a finding about who caused the car accident or whether the damage matters. [2]
For an ordinary two-driver, property-damage-only car accident with both drivers present, use the exchange-and-document steps above. The City’s traffic page does not identify a general online SDPD traffic-car accident report for that situation. SDPD’s general online-report page specifically lists car accidents among matters that cannot be reported online. [2][3]
Use the right procedure for the situation
1. Someone is injured, a death occurred, or the situation is an emergency
Call 911. SDPD says to call 911 when an accident involves an injury or a hit-and-run. California law separately states that a driver involved in a car accident resulting in injury or death must make, or cause to be made, a written report within 24 hours to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) or, inside a city, either CHP or that city’s police department. Follow the dispatcher’s instructions about where and how to report; this page does not identify a filing method for every circumstance. [2][8]
If there may be an injury or an emergency, call 911 rather than waiting to gather paperwork.
2. A driver hit your vehicle or property and left
SDPD offers an online report for a hit-and-run only when there are no injuries, no suspect information, no leads, and the report is needed only for insurance purposes. The general online-report instructions also require the event to have occurred within the City of San Diego and exclude known suspects and physical evidence requiring police impound or testing. Read the entry criteria before using the official SDPD online-report entry point. [2][3]
If the online system does not fit the facts, do not change the facts to make it fit. For non-emergency reporting options, SDPD lists its non-emergency line and nearest-station lookup on its official filing page. For an emergency, call 911. [3]
If you struck an unattended vehicle or other property, California law requires a conspicuous written notice with the driver’s and vehicle owner’s name and address and a statement of circumstances, followed without unnecessary delay by notice to the police department of the city where the car accident occurred. [7]
3. The car accident was on a freeway or outside SDPD jurisdiction
Use the agency that has jurisdiction. SDPD’s official guide identifies CHP as responsible for crimes occurring on freeways and identifies other agencies for unincorporated San Diego County, contract cities, port areas, and campuses. Start with SDPD’s outside-jurisdiction agency guide. [5]
4. No officer came, but you need a report for insurance
First determine whether an SDPD traffic-car accident report was actually taken. If SDPD took one, the City asks people to allow three to 10 business days for submission, processing, and approval for release. Eligible people can request a traffic-car accident report through LexisNexis eCrash; the City says a small retrieval fee may be charged. The City also lists mail and in-person request options. [4]
If no SDPD report was taken, do not assume there is a report to order. Keep the information you exchanged and any documentation you made, and provide it to your insurer according to your policy. A private insurer may have its own claim process and deadlines; this page does not state one.
California DMV report: separate from SDPD and insurance
California DMV says that you, an insurance agent, broker, or legal representative must complete an SR-1 and send it to DMV within 10 days when a person was injured or killed, or when property damage is over $1,000. DMV says the SR-1 is required in addition to reports made to police, CHP, or an insurance company. The official California DMV SR-1 page provides the filing route and a printable form. [6]
Gather your driver license or ID, your insurance information, and the other party’s vehicle and insurance information if applicable before starting the SR-1. [6]
Documents and information to keep
Keep a copy or photograph of the information exchanged at the scene and any reference number you receive. For a property-damage car accident, SDPD’s list includes the drivers’ and vehicle owners’ names and addresses, insurance information, driver-license numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, and vehicle identifying details; it also says to record the date, time, and location. [2]
For an SR-1, DMV lists your driver license or ID, your vehicle insurance information, and the other party’s vehicle and insurance information, if applicable. [6]
If the normal route fails
- The car accident may not be in SDPD’s jurisdiction: Check the location. Freeway incidents go to CHP under SDPD’s guide; the same guide lists other agencies for areas SDPD does not handle. [5]
- The online hit-and-run form rejects the situation: That route has limited eligibility. Use SDPD’s non-emergency or station options for a non-emergency matter, or call 911 for an emergency. [3]
- You were told no officer will be sent to a property-only car accident: Complete the information exchange and the separate insurer and DMV steps that apply. A lack of scene response does not remove the DMV SR-1 requirement when its conditions are met. [2][6]
- You cannot find a car accident report: SDPD’s report-request instructions apply to a report that was taken. Allow the City’s stated processing time before requesting an existing SDPD traffic-car accident report. [4]
- You are unsure whether a deadline or a separate legal process applies: Read the official DMV material promptly. ## More AccidentFiling.ai resources
Browse Accident Guides and Official Accident Resources. These are general starting points; use the cited agency or regulator for an official process.
What changes for a car accident
Use this version when a private passenger car is involved. The official reporting or record-request procedure below is still controlled by the crash location, investigating agency, and the facts of the event—not by the wording “car accident.”
For insurance, start with the applicable personal auto policy and the insurance rules of the crash state. Save the declarations page, insurance cards, claim number, repair estimates, and insurer communications.
- Confirm which agency investigated or holds the report.
- Keep the other vehicle and driver information with the report number.
- Keep police, motor-vehicle agency, and insurer tasks as separate checklist items.
Browse the Car Accident Guides collection for related pages.
Accident-type official sources
- Auto Insurance — National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Official sources
[1] U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files — Places (National), record for San Diego city, California, GEOID 0666000. https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2026_Gazetteer/2026_Gaz_place_national.zip
[2] City of San Diego Police Department, Traffic Accidents, Reports, Tickets and Concerns. https://www.sandiego.gov/police/services/traffic-accidents-reports-tickets-concerns
[3] City of San Diego Police Department, File a Police Report. https://www.sandiego.gov/police/services/file-police-report
[4] City of San Diego Police Department, Get a Police Report. https://www.sandiego.gov/police/services/get-police-report
[5] City of San Diego Police Department, Crimes Outside of SDPD Jurisdiction. https://www.sandiego.gov/police/crimes-outside-sdpd-jurisdiction
[6] California Department of Motor Vehicles, Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California (SR-1). https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv-virtual-office/accident-reporting/
[7] California Legislative Information, Vehicle Code § 20002. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=20002.
[8] California Legislative Information, Vehicle Code § 20008. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=20008.
Authorship, update, and review status
Authorship and update: Prepared by the AccidentFiling.ai editorial team from official City of San Diego, California DMV, California Legislative Information, and U.S. Census Bureau sources checked on September 11, 2026. AccidentFiling.ai is an independent information resource; it is not SDPD, CHP, the California DMV, an insurer, or a government filing service.