Statutes read on the official South Carolina Legislature website on November 9, 2026; agency pages read the same day. General information, not legal advice. Whether a rule applies to your crash is a question for the officer, the DMV or an attorney.
The duties at a glance
| Situation | What the Code says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Crash with injury or death | Stop "immediately" at the scene or as close as possible, and "in every event" remain until you have given the required information and aid. You may "temporarily leave the scene to report the accident to the proper authorities." [1] | § 56-5-1210(A) |
| Crash with damage to an attended vehicle only | Stop immediately, return and remain until you have given your information. If vehicles are blocking traffic, make "every reasonable effort to move any vehicle that is capable of being driven safely off the roadway." [1] | § 56-5-1220 |
| Any crash with injury, death, or damage to an attended vehicle | "give his name, address and the registration number of the vehicle he is driving," [2] show your driver's license on request if available, and "render to any person injured in such accident reasonable assistance," [2] including arranging to take the person "to a physician, surgeon or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that such treatment is necessary or if such carrying is requested by the injured person." [2] | § 56-5-1230 |
| You hit an unattended vehicle | Stop, then locate and notify the owner or leave "a conspicuous place in the vehicle struck a written notice" [2] with names, addresses and the circumstances | § 56-5-1240 |
| You hit a fixture next to the highway (sign, guardrail, pole) | Take reasonable steps to notify the owner or person in charge, and make a report as required in § 56-5-1270 | § 56-5-1250 |
| Injury or death | Give notice "immediately by the quickest means of communication, whether oral or written" [2] to the local police if the crash is inside a municipality, "otherwise to the office of the county sheriff or the nearest office of the South Carolina Highway Patrol" [2] | § 56-5-1260 |
| Injury, death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more, and no officer investigated | Within 15 days, send a written report and verification of liability insurance to the Department of Motor Vehicles | § 56-5-1270 |
| The driver cannot report | Another capable occupant must make the immediate report; if the driver cannot make the written report and is not the owner, the owner must make it within five days after learning of the crash | § 56-5-1280 |
Penalties for leaving the scene
Section 56-5-1210(A) says a person who fails to stop or to comply with that section is guilty of:
- "a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more than one year or fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or both, when injury results but great bodily injury or death does not result"; [1]
- "a felony" with imprisonment "not less than thirty days nor more than ten years" [1] and a fine "not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars when great bodily injury results"; [1] or
- "a felony" with imprisonment "not less than one year nor more than twenty-five years" [1] and a fine "not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars when death results." [1]
Section 56-5-1210(D) adds that the Department of Motor Vehicles "shall revoke the driver's license of the person convicted pursuant to this section." [1] For a crash with damage to an attended vehicle only, § 56-5-1220(A) makes failing to stop or comply a misdemeanor punishable by "imprisoned not more than one year or fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or both." [1] These are the statutes' words; what could happen in any particular case is a question for an attorney.
The written report to the DMV (the FR-309)
Section 56-5-1270 says: "The operator or owner of a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or total property damage to an apparent extent of one thousand dollars or more which was not investigated by a law enforcement officer, within fifteen days after the accident, shall forward a written report and verification of liability insurance coverage of the accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles." [3] It adds that failing to forward the report verified for liability insurance "is prima facie evidence that the vehicle was uninsured." [3]
The Columbia Police Department's collision-reporting page tells the public that this written report is made on a state form called the FR-309, which is mailed to "the DMV, Financial Responsibility, P.O. Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016-0040," [6] and that CPD officers respond to private-property collisions that involve "Personal injury," "Death," "Hit-and-run," "Impaired driving," or "Disturbance between persons involved in a collision." [6] The same page says a property-damage-only collision under $1,000 does not have to be reported. Confirm the current form and address with the DMV before you mail anything.
Law enforcement has its own duty: an officer who investigates a crash with injury, death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more must forward a written report to the DMV "within twenty-four hours after completing the investigation" [3] (§ 56-5-1270).
Getting a copy of the officer's report
South Carolina law limits who may obtain these reports and for what purpose. Section 56-5-1275 provides that "no employee of any law enforcement agency shall allow any person to examine or obtain a copy of any accident report or related investigative report when the employee knows or should reasonably know that the request for access to the report is for commercial solicitation purposes," [4] and that a person other than law enforcement and persons named in the report must submit "a separate written request" [4] for each report stating the requestor's "name, address, and the intended use of the report." [4] For the places to request a Columbia-area report, fees and forms, see How to get a Columbia police crash report.
Reports and fault
Section 56-5-1290 says that "None of the reports required by Sections 56-5-1260 to 56-5-1280 may be evidence of the negligence or due care of either party at the trial of any action at law to recover damages." [5] The statute lets officers "refer to these reports when testifying in order to refresh their recollection of events." [5] What an officer wrote at the scene is not the same as a finding of fault; see Is South Carolina a comparative fault state?.
What only an attorney can tell you
We cannot tell you whether your crash met a reporting threshold, what the apparent property damage was, or whether you must file. Ask the responding officer, the DMV, or an attorney.
Sources
- S.C. Code §§ 56-5-1210 and 56-5-1220, stop and remain, penalties (South Carolina Legislature) (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“temporarily leave the scene to report the accident to the proper authorities”“every reasonable effort to move any vehicle that is capable of being driven safely off the roadway”“a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more than one year or fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or both, when injury results but great bodily injury or death does not result”“not less than thirty days nor more than ten years”“not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars when great bodily injury results”“not less than one year nor more than twenty-five years”“not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars when death results”“shall revoke the driver's license of the person convicted pursuant to this section”“imprisoned not more than one year or fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or both”“shall revoke the driver's license of the person convicted”
- S.C. Code §§ 56-5-1230, 56-5-1240, 56-5-1250 and 56-5-1260, information, aid and immediate notice (South Carolina Legislature) (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“give his name, address and the registration number of the vehicle he is driving”“render to any person injured in such accident reasonable assistance”“to a physician, surgeon or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that such treatment is necessary or if such carrying is requested by the injured person”“a conspicuous place in the vehicle struck a written notice”“immediately by the quickest means of communication, whether oral or written”“otherwise to the office of the county sheriff or the nearest office of the South Carolina Highway Patrol”
- S.C. Code §§ 56-5-1270 and 56-5-1280, written report to the DMV (South Carolina Legislature) (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“The operator or owner of a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or total property damage to an apparent extent of one thousand dollars or more which was not investigated by a law enforcement officer, within fifteen days after the accident, shall forward a written report and verification of liability insurance coverage of the accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles”“is prima facie evidence that the vehicle was uninsured”“within twenty-four hours after completing the investigation”“to an apparent extent of one thousand dollars or more”
- S.C. Code § 56-5-1275, access to accident reports (South Carolina Legislature) (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“no employee of any law enforcement agency shall allow any person to examine or obtain a copy of any accident report or related investigative report when the employee knows or should reasonably know that the request for access to the report is for commercial solicitation purposes”“a separate written request”“name, address, and the intended use of the report”
- S.C. Code § 56-5-1290, reports not evidence of negligence (South Carolina Legislature) (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“None of the reports required by Sections 56-5-1260 to 56-5-1280 may be evidence of the negligence or due care of either party at the trial of any action at law to recover damages”“refer to these reports when testifying in order to refresh their recollection of events”
- Columbia Police Department: Private Property Collision Reporting (checked November 9, 2026)Official source“the DMV, Financial Responsibility, P.O. Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016-0040”“Disturbance between persons involved in a collision”
Page last updated November 9, 2026. Attorney review pending. General information, not legal advice. Fees, hours and rules change; confirm on the official page. How we source.
Questions
Do I have to call the police after a car accident in South Carolina?
If anyone is injured or killed, the driver must give notice "immediately by the quickest means of communication, whether oral or written" [2] to the local police department if the crash is inside a municipality, "otherwise to the office of the county sheriff or the nearest office of the South Carolina Highway Patrol" [2] (§ 56-5-1260). The driver must also stop, stay, give name, address and vehicle registration number, show a license on request and render reasonable aid (§§ 56-5-1210 and 56-5-1230).
What is the property-damage reporting threshold in South Carolina?
A written report and verification of liability insurance must go to the DMV within fifteen days when a crash involves injury, death or total property damage "to an apparent extent of one thousand dollars or more" [3] and was not investigated by a law enforcement officer (§ 56-5-1270).
What is the FR-309?
The state form that the Columbia Police Department's collision-reporting page identifies for the self-report to the DMV. Confirm the current form and address with the DMV before you mail anything.
What happens if I leave the scene?
Under §§ 56-5-1210 and 56-5-1220 it is a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the result, and on conviction the DMV "shall revoke the driver's license of the person convicted" [1] (§ 56-5-1210(D)).
Can the police report be used as evidence of who was at fault?
Section 56-5-1290 says "None of the reports required by Sections 56-5-1260 to 56-5-1280 may be evidence of the negligence or due care of either party at the trial of any action at law to recover damages." [5]
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