After a Crash in Maryland — Official Resources
This is general information, not legal advice.
Maryland requires the driver to file a written report with the MVA within 15 days when a crash causes bodily injury or death (Md. Transportation §20-107) — but not if a police officer investigated and filed a report with the Department of State Police. You must file evidence of liability insurance with it, and the MVA can suspend a license for failing to do either. State Police crash reports cost $4.00 by check or money order, and requests shouldn’t be submitted until 10 days after the crash. The fact that matters most in Maryland: it is one of a small number of jurisdictions that still follow the contributory negligence rule, under which being even slightly at fault can bar recovery entirely — which makes evidence and early legal advice unusually important. Free help: county bar referrals (Baltimore City charges $35 but waives it for personal injury), Maryland Legal Aid, and the People’s Law Library.
Maryland is one of the last places in America where being a little bit at fault can mean recovering nothing at all. That single rule shapes every crash claim in the state — what you say at the scene, what evidence you keep, and how early you should talk to someone. It’s the second card below, right after the reporting deadline. Then getting the report, lawyer referrals, free legal help, and insurance complaints. The first-steps checklist covers saving your dashcam clip before the camera loops.
Report the crash
Maryland’s driver report is triggered by injury or death — there is no dollar threshold. Under §20-107, the driver of each vehicle in a crash resulting in bodily injury or death must, within 15 days, report the matter in writing to the Motor Vehicle Administration, and file with that report evidence of liability insurance — the carrier’s name and address, the policy number, and the local producer.
The exception that covers most people: no written report is required if a police officer investigated the crash and filed a report with the Department of State Police. So if an officer worked your scene, you are done. If nobody came and somebody was hurt, the fifteen-day clock is yours.
Two consequences worth knowing: the MVA may require the vehicle’s owner to report if the driver can’t or won’t, and it can suspend or revoke a license and registration for failing to report or failing to show insurance.
Contributory negligence
Most states reduce what you recover by your share of fault. Maryland is one of a small handful of jurisdictions that still applies 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 this, and it shapes how Maryland claims get handled: an adjuster who can attribute any fault to you has a reason to deny outright rather than negotiate down. That is why the ordinary advice matters more here than almost anywhere — 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.
It also means the value of a lawyer’s early read is higher in Maryland than in a comparative-fault state. If you were hurt and there is any argument about how the crash happened, get that read before you give a statement. This is general information rather than advice about your case — confirm how the rule applies to you with a Maryland attorney.
Get the crash report
The Maryland State Police Central Records Division is the state’s central repository for motor vehicle crash reports and releases copies to legally entitled parties. The fee is a $4.00 non-refundable document search fee, payable by check or money order only — no cash.
Timing matters here: MSP asks that you wait 10 days after the crash before requesting, to allow processing. Three routes — pick up at the MSP barrack that completed the report (call ahead to confirm it’s ready), mail the Request for Motor Vehicle Crash Report form with a check to Central Records, or use the request form online. If a county or municipal department worked your crash, that agency may also hold a copy.
Hit-and-run
Call police immediately — and in Maryland there is a second reason beyond the usual one. Under contributory negligence, a case can turn on small details of how the crash happened, and a fled driver leaves you with nobody 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; a legible plate is what makes these solvable. Note also that if anyone was injured and no officer investigates, the 15-day MVA report above becomes your responsibility. Uninsured-motorist coverage on your own policy is typically what pays when the driver is never identified — and check your policy’s hit-and-run notice deadline, which is usually far shorter than the claim deadline.
Find a lawyer
The Maryland State Bar Association maintains a searchable member directory but is explicit that it does not run a referral service — referral happens through county bar associations.
The one worth knowing first: the Bar Association of Baltimore City charges $35 for a referral plus a half-hour consultation — but waives that fee entirely for personal injury matters, which is what a crash claim is. Online 24/7, or by phone at 410-539-5936, weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In Prince George’s County, the county bar’s referral line is 301-952-1440. Montgomery, Baltimore County, Harford and others run their own.
Free legal help
Maryland Legal Aid is the principal civil legal services provider for low-income Marylanders, with offices around the state, published income guidelines, and an online intake application. The Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service also takes applications for free or low-cost help and publishes which counties and case types it covers.
For information rather than representation, the Maryland People’s Law Library is the state’s plain-language legal information site, and the Attorney General’s office keeps a current list of referral services and free or low-cost legal help — useful because it is maintained by the state rather than by any one provider.
Insurance problems
The Maryland Insurance Administration regulates insurers in the state and investigates consumer complaints about how claims are handled. You can reach its current complaint channels through the national directory of state insurance departments.
Given the contributory negligence rule, a denial in Maryland is often framed as “our insured wasn’t at fault” or “you contributed to the crash” rather than as a dispute about money — which is a legal question more than a regulatory one. The Administration can press an insurer on how it handled your claim; whether the fault call was right is what the lawyer referral above is for.
Uninsured when it happened? The reporting duty above applies regardless, and §20-107 also requires filing evidence of insurance with the report — so expect the gap to surface. Maryland Legal Aid is the place to start on what follows.
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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