What to Do After a Car Accident in Atlanta, Georgia: Step-by-Step Checklist

After a car accident in Georgia, you must stop and stay at the scene, help anyone who is hurt, exchange your name, address and registration, and call police if anyone is injured or property damage looks like $500 or more (O.C.G.A. §§ 40-6-270 and 40-6-273). If no one appears seriously hurt and your car can be driven safely, move it out of the travel lanes (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-275).

Then photograph the scene, get medical care, notify your own insurer, get the police report, and avoid recorded statements to the other driver’s insurer. Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the crash (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Each step is explained below.

Video: What to Do in the First Minutes After a Georgia Car Crash (0:43).

What Should You Do After a Car Accident in Georgia?

Here is the short version. The steps that follow explain the Georgia law behind each one.

• Stop, stay at the scene and check for injuries. Call 911 if anyone is hurt.
• Move your car out of traffic if no one is seriously hurt and it can be driven.
• Call the police for any injury or for damage that appears to be $500 or more.
• Exchange names, addresses, registration and insurance information.
• Photograph everything and get witness contact information.
• Get medical care within days, even if you feel fine.
• Notify your own insurance company.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer.
• Get a copy of the crash report.
• Track your deadlines and talk with a lawyer if you were hurt.

Written by attorney Jonathan Flack. Before founding Flack Injury Law, Jonathan spent two and a half years on the insurance side of commercial truck, tractor-trailer and medical transport van cases. Super Lawyers Rising Star (2024 to 2027). The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, Civil Plaintiff (2026). GTLA member. Last reviewed: November 1, 2026.

Step 1: Stop, Stay at the Scene and Help Anyone Who Is Hurt

Georgia requires every driver in a crash involving injury, death or damage to an occupied or attended vehicle to stop at or as close to the scene as possible, without blocking traffic more than necessary (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270).

You must give reasonable help to anyone injured, including arranging a ride to a doctor or hospital if treatment appears necessary or the person asks. If someone is unconscious, appears dead or cannot communicate, you must make every reasonable effort to call emergency medical services and police. You must stay until these duties are met.

Knowingly failing to meet these duties after a crash that causes death or serious injury is a felony punishable by one to five years in prison (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270).

Step 2: Move Your Car Out of Traffic if No One Is Seriously Hurt

Georgia’s “steer it, clear it” law applies when there is no apparent serious injury or death and the car can be driven safely without a tow. In that case, move it to the shoulder, emergency lane, median or another safe place off the road (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-275).

Moving your car does not, by itself, make you at fault, and it does not cancel your duty to report the crash or exchange information. Take a few quick photos of the vehicles’ positions first if you can do it safely. If anyone may be badly hurt, generally leave the vehicles where they are, unless staying there is unsafe, and wait for police.

Step 3: Call the Police and Report the Crash

You must report a crash immediately, by the quickest means available, if it causes any injury or death or property damage that appears to be $500 or more (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273). Inside a city, call the local police. Outside city limits, notify the county sheriff or the nearest Georgia State Patrol post.

In practice, call 911 for almost any crash, because repair bills often pass $500. Ask the officer for a name, badge number and report number, and when the report will be available.

A police report also protects your insurance. In a hit-and-run, your uninsured motorist coverage requires that the crash was reported to police (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11).

Step 4: Exchange Information and Show Proof of Insurance

Georgia requires each driver to give a name, address and vehicle registration number, and to show a driver’s license on request (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270). When police respond, the officer will tell each driver to share the owner’s and driver’s names and addresses, the license plate number, and the liability insurer’s name (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273.1).

Drivers must keep proof of insurance in the car, and a digital insurance card on a phone counts (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-10). Photograph the other driver’s license, insurance card and plate. Get names and phone numbers for passengers too.

Keep the conversation short. The Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s office advises not to discuss the details of the crash or make any statement about who was to blame.

Step 5: Photograph the Scene and Find Witnesses

Photos taken in the first hour are often the best evidence in the case. Capture:

• All vehicles from several angles, including where they came to rest.
• Traffic signals, signs, lane markings, skid marks and debris.
• Weather, lighting and road conditions.
• Your visible injuries, that day and in the days after.

Ask witnesses for a name and phone number before they leave. Note any nearby business cameras or doorbell cameras, because some systems record over footage within days. Write down what happened while it is fresh, including the approximate speeds and the exact spot of impact.

Step 6: Get Medical Care and Keep Every Record

See a doctor within a day or two, even if you feel fine. Symptoms of concussions, whiplash and internal injuries may not show up for hours or days, and a gap in treatment is one of the first things an insurer uses to argue you were not really hurt.

Tell the provider every symptom, follow the treatment plan and keep every bill, receipt and record of missed work.

Georgia’s 2025 tort reform made your insurance details matter. For crashes on or after April 21, 2025, if you have health insurance, a jury may see both what providers charged and what your plan would pay, even if you did not use it (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1). For those crashes, treatment under a letter of protection is also open to detailed discovery. Our guide to SB 68 explains the changes.

Step 7: Notify Your Own Insurance Company

Report the crash to your own insurer as soon as possible, even if someone else caused it. The Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s office gives the same advice, and most policies require prompt notice.

Your own policy may cover more than you think. Collision coverage can fix your car now. Medical payments coverage, if you bought it, pays bills regardless of fault. Uninsured motorist coverage pays when the other driver has no insurance or not enough. Our guide to uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia explains how it works.

Stick to the facts: when, where and what happened. Do not guess about speeds or injuries.

Step 8: Don’t Give a Recorded Statement to the Other Driver’s Insurer

The other driver’s adjuster may call within a day and ask to record your account. You are not required to give that insurer a recorded statement. Those calls are often used to lock in details that can be used to blame you or downplay your injuries.

Do not sign a release or accept a quick check before you know the full extent of your injuries. A signed release usually ends the claim for good. Our guide to handling calls from insurance adjusters covers what to say.

Step 9: Get the Georgia Crash Report

Drivers, injured people, vehicle owners, witnesses, insurers and their lawyers can get a copy of the crash report (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(5)). There are two main routes:

• Online through BuyCrash, which covers many Georgia law enforcement agencies. Search by last name and crash date, plus the report number, VIN or driver’s license number.
• By mail from Georgia DOT, using its Individual Accident Report Request form. Reports cost $5, plus $2 for a certified copy, paid by money order or cashier’s check. GDOT says mail requests take at least two weeks.

Check the report for errors right away. A wrong lane, direction or statement may be fixable with a supplement or corrected report from the reporting agency. Our guide on how to read a Georgia crash report walks through every box.

Step 10: Track Your Deadlines and Know When to Call a Lawyer

Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the crash (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33), and property damage claims within four years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-31). If a city vehicle was involved, written notice must reach the city within six months (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5). Our guide to Georgia filing deadlines lists each one.

Talk with a lawyer before you give a statement or sign anything if you were hurt, if fault is disputed, if the other driver was uninsured, or if a commercial, rideshare or government vehicle was involved. Our Atlanta car accident attorney page explains who pays and how claims work.

Georgia Car Accident Questions

Do I have to call the police after a minor car accident in Georgia?

Yes, if anyone was hurt or the property damage appears to be $500 or more (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273). Because most repairs exceed $500, calling is usually the safe choice.

Is it illegal to leave the scene of an accident in Georgia?

Yes. Drivers must stop, exchange information and help the injured, and leaving a crash that causes death or serious injury is a felony (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270).

Should I move my car after an accident in Georgia?

Yes, if no one appears seriously hurt and the car can be driven safely. Georgia law says to move it to the shoulder, emergency lane or median, and moving it does not by itself make you at fault (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-275).

How do I get a police report for a car accident in Georgia?

Many reports are available online through BuyCrash, or by mail from Georgia DOT for $5. Online, you need the last name of someone involved, the crash date, and the report number, a VIN or a driver’s license number.

Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance company?

You can give basic facts, but you do not have to give a recorded statement. Talk with a lawyer before you sign any release.

How long do I have to file a claim after a car accident in Georgia?

Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years, and property damage claims within four years (O.C.G.A. §§ 9-3-33 and 9-3-31). Claims against a city require written notice within six months.

Related Guides

• Atlanta Car Accident Attorney
• Atlanta Personal Injury Attorney
• Rear-Ended in Georgia: What to Do and Who Pays for Your Injuries
• Hit by Another Driver in Georgia? What to Do When the Crash Wasn’t Your Fault
• Hurt in a Crash and Blamed for It? You May Still Have a Case in Georgia
• How to Read a Georgia Crash Report (and Fix Mistakes in It)

See all our guides for people hurt in Georgia crashes.