Illinois Crash Reporting Rules

$1,500 ($500 if uninsured)

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, Chapter 7: Crash Reports, p. 54 · Verified Sep 2026

Illinois measures this in minutes, not days: a driver has 30 minutes to report a crash after it happens. The statutory duty is immediate notice by the fastest available means of communication, to the local police if the crash is inside a municipality and otherwise to the county sheriff or the Illinois State Police, and it applies to a crash causing death or injury, or property damage over $1,500, or over $500 where any vehicle involved is uninsured. If no officer is at the scene, make the report at the nearest police station as soon as possible; if you cannot make it yourself, a passenger must. Failing to report can bring a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail. There is no separate written motorist report due a set number of days later: the section that once required one was repealed in 2021.

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, Chapter 7: Crash Reports, pp. 54-55; the sentence "A driver has 30 minutes to report a crash after it occurs" is on p. 55, and the manual repeats it as Chapter 7 study question 4 on p. 56. Page 55 also carries the nearest-police-station rule, the passenger substitute, and the penalty of up to $2,500 and up to one year in jail; p. 54 carries the $1,500 / $500 / school bus thresholds. 625 ILCS 5/11-407 (Immediate notice of crash) sets the duty and the thresholds and states no deadline in days. 625 ILCS 5/11-406, which formerly required a written report, was repealed by P.A. 102-560, eff. 8-20-21; 625 ILCS 5/7-201 now keys the Secretary of State process to the 11-407 report. Recorded with an empty scalar because the key unit is days and Illinois publishes no figure in days. · Verified Sep 2026

police

Source: Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, Chapter 7: Traffic Violations/Crashes, Crash Reports, pp. 54-55. The filing thresholds are on p. 54; the authority to notify is on p. 55: "If drivers are involved in a crash, they should notify the police immediately. ... If an officer is not at the scene of the crash, a report must be made at the nearest police station as soon as possible. If in a rural area, the county sheriff or Illinois State Police must be notified." · Verified Sep 2026