After a Crash in Alabama — Official Resources
This is general information, not legal advice.
Alabama is one of a small handful of states applying pure contributory negligence — being found even slightly at fault can bar recovery entirely, which makes evidence and early legal advice more valuable here than almost anywhere. On paperwork, note the two different numbers: Ala. Code §32-7-5 requires the operator to report in writing to the director within 30 days when anyone is killed or injured, or damage to any one person’s property exceeds $250 (form SR-13). A separate form, SR-31, covers crashes with $500 or more in damage, injury, or death caused by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver — it has a claims section and lets the state act against that driver. Crash reports cost $15 from ALEA, about $17.50 online with the card fee, available 7–10 business days after the crash. Free help: Alabama State Bar referral at 800-392-5660 (capped at $50 for 30 minutes) and Legal Services Alabama at 866-456-4995.
Alabama is one of the last places in America where being a little bit at fault means recovering nothing at all. That rule shapes everything that follows — what you say at the scene, what evidence you keep, how early you call someone. It’s the first card below. Then the reporting duty, where two different dollar figures cause real confusion, and a second form most drivers have never heard of that can be used against an uninsured driver. The first-steps checklist covers saving your dashcam clip before the camera loops.
Contributory negligence
Most states reduce your recovery by your share of fault. Alabama is among the few that still apply the older contributory negligence rule, under which a person found even slightly responsible for a crash can be barred from recovering anything at all.
Insurers know it, and it changes how Alabama claims get handled: an adjuster with any argument that you contributed has reason to deny outright rather than negotiate. So don’t speculate about what you might have done differently, don’t apologize into a recorded statement, and preserve every piece of objective evidence you have — dashcam footage included, because in a state with this rule the difference between your word and a video is often the difference between a claim and nothing.
Alabama’s deadline to sue for personal injury is generally two years from the crash; property damage claims run longer. Confirm how the rule applies to your situation with an Alabama attorney — this is general information, not advice about your case.
Report the crash — 30 days
Under Ala. Code §32-7-5, the operator of every motor vehicle involved in an accident in which any person is killed or injured, or in which damage to the property of any one person exceeds $250, shall within 30 days report the matter in writing to the director. The form is SR-13. If the operator is physically incapable of reporting, the owner must file within 10 days of learning about the crash.
On the conflicting numbers: you will see $500 quoted widely as Alabama’s reporting threshold. The codified statute above says $250 for this report; the $500 figure belongs to the separate SR-31 form described in the next card. Two duties, two numbers. When in doubt, report — failing to report a reportable crash carries criminal penalties in Alabama, not just administrative ones.
One more Alabama quirk worth knowing: state law requires repair shops to report vehicles brought in from a suspected crash within 24 hours, so quietly fixing the damage is not a strategy.
Form SR-31 — the lever
Alabama’s second report is the one worth knowing about. SR-31 is filed when a crash caused death, injury, or more than $500 in property damage and the responsible driver was uninsured or fled the scene. It contains a claims section, and filing it lets the state take action against that driver.
Submit it only if you believe the other driver is responsible and you have not been compensated. It is not a substitute for an insurance claim or a lawsuit — it is an administrative route that puts pressure on a driver who has no carrier to chase. Like the SR-13, the window is 30 days from the crash.
Get the crash report
The document is the Alabama Uniform Traffic Crash Report, available from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency at alea.gov. The report costs $15; ordering online through the ALEA portal runs about $17.50 with the card-processing fee. You can also request by mail or in person at an ALEA Driver License Office.
Reports are typically available 7–10 business days after the crash — not at the scene. You will need the crash report number, a driver’s license number, or the driver’s name plus the crash date. If a city police department or county sheriff investigated, the report may not be in ALEA’s system at all; contact that agency directly if nothing appears after ten business days.
A privacy note that works in your favor: for 30 days after a crash, Alabama limits the personal identifying information released to news organizations to name and age only.
Hit-and-run
Call police immediately — leaving the scene is a criminal offense in Alabama, and with contributory negligence in play, a fled driver leaves you with no one to contradict and nothing but your own account unless an officer documents the scene.
Save your clip and note the time and location while they’re exact. That footage matters more in Alabama than in most states for the reason above: a video that removes any argument about your own conduct is worth far more where 1% of blame can end the claim. And remember the SR-31 route — a hit-and-run driver is treated the same as an uninsured one for that form, so if police later identify them, it becomes available to you. Meanwhile, uninsured-motorist coverage on your own policy is the usual path to payment; check its hit-and-run notice deadline, which is generally far shorter than 30 days.
Find a lawyer
The Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service is free to use, and participating attorneys agree to charge no more than $50 for an initial 30-minute consultation. Call 800-392-5660, weekdays 8:30–11:30 a.m. and 1:30–4:30 p.m., or use the web form any time.
Three things the Bar states plainly. You get one referral at a time, not a list. You must call the lawyer — the service can’t make the appointment for you — and be sure to say the Bar referred you, or you won’t get the $50 rate. And referrals are not available by email. Every attorney on the panel is licensed, in good standing, and carries professional liability coverage.
Free legal help
Legal Services Alabama is an independent nonprofit providing qualifying low-income families across all 67 counties with free civil legal aid, from eight offices in Anniston, Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Selma, and Tuscaloosa. Apply at 866-456-4995 or online.
AlabamaLegalHelp.org, operated by Legal Services Alabama, carries plain-language legal information and self-help forms. Five regional Volunteer Lawyers Programs also provide free legal services to low-income Alabamians, several of which run free limited-advice clinics you can walk into.
Insurance problems
The Alabama Department of Insurance regulates insurers operating in the state and takes consumer complaints about claim handling. You can reach its current complaint channels through the national directory of state insurance departments.
Worth understanding the division of labor here: because Alabama uses contributory negligence, most denials are framed as fault determinations rather than coverage disputes. The Department can press an insurer on how it handled your claim; whether the fault call was right is a legal question for the referral service above.
Uninsured when it happened? The 30-day SR-13 report still applies to you and does not depend on coverage — and Alabama’s reporting statutes sit inside its Safety Responsibility Act, so not filing tends to surface the gap rather than hide it. File it, then call Legal Services Alabama.
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Dashwatcher is a dashcam company, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for a licensed attorney. Reporting rules, deadlines, and programs differ by state and change over time; verify everything with the official source before you rely on it. Links go to government agencies, bar associations, and nonprofits. Dashwatcher receives no payment from any organization listed.
From the team at Dashwatcher.
Last verified: August 4, 2026