After a Crash in Utah — Official Resources
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This is general information, not legal advice.
Utah is a no-fault state with the lowest PIP minimum in the country — $3,000 — and the threshold for stepping outside no-fault is the same $3,000 in medical expenses, or permanent disfigurement, impairment, or disability. You exhaust your PIP and cross the tort threshold at almost the same moment. On reporting, Utah Code 41-6a-401 requires you to stop, exchange information, and notify police when property damage reaches $2,500 or anyone is injured or killed. The separate written report under 41-6a-402 works differently from how it is usually described: the department may require you to file within 10 days after the request — that clock runs from the request, not from the crash — and the department may also require witnesses to file. Reports filed with the department are protected and confidential under 41-6a-402(7). Minimum liability rose to 30/65/25 for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
Utah’s no-fault system has an unusual shape: the mandatory PIP floor is only three thousand dollars, and three thousand dollars is also the point at which you may sue the driver who hit you. In most no-fault states those two numbers are far apart and PIP carries you through months of treatment. In Utah a single emergency-room visit can exhaust the coverage and open the courthouse door on the same afternoon, which changes what you should be doing in week one. The first-steps checklist covers saving your dashcam clip before the camera loops.
Report the crash
At the scene. Under 41-6a-401, when a crash results in property damage of $2,500 or more you must stop, exchange insurance and driver licence information with the other driver, and notify police. Failing to comply is charged as a Class B misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail. For fatal crashes the requirements sit in 41-6a-401.5 and the offence is a third degree felony with a mandatory fine.
The written report is different from how everyone describes it. Under 41-6a-402, the department may require any operator involved in a crash causing injury, death, or total property damage to the apparent extent of $2,500 or more to file a report within 10 days after the request — plus a supplemental report if the department considers the first insufficient. The ten days run from the department’s request, not from the date of the crash. Most guidance states it the other way round. Hold on to your case number so you can respond quickly if a request arrives.
Three further provisions worth knowing. The department may require witnesses to file reports. No report is required from someone physically incapable of making one during their incapacity — and if the operator is incapable and is not the owner, the duty passes to the owner. And a local highway authority may by ordinance require an additional report to the local police agency, so check whether your city has one.
$3,000 PIP, and $3,000 to step outside it
Every Utah driver must carry at least $3,000 in Personal Injury Protection. PIP pays medical bills for crash injuries, compensation for lost income, a household-services allowance for tasks you cannot perform, and funeral or burial benefits — all regardless of who caused the crash. It does not pay for pain and suffering, and it does not cover vehicle damage.
The threshold to sue is the same figure. You may pursue the at-fault driver once your medical expenses exceed $3,000, or if you suffered permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment, or permanent disability. Because the PIP floor and the tort threshold are both $3,000, Utah crash victims cross out of no-fault far sooner than in states like North Dakota or Minnesota — and the moment you do, the burden of proving fault becomes yours.
Two coverage notes. Utah’s minimum liability limits rose to $30,000 per person / $65,000 per accident / $25,000 property damage for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, up from $25,000 per person. And non-residents must carry Utah no-fault coverage if their vehicle has been physically present in the state for 90 days during the previous 365, for as long as it stays.
Get the crash report
Request the report from the agency that investigated — Utah Highway Patrol for state routes and interstates, or the city police or county sheriff locally. The investigating officer files an electronic copy with the Department of Public Safety within 10 days after completing the investigation, and some local agencies need a few business days before a copy is ready for you. Ask what the fee is when you request; it varies by agency.
An important limit on access. Under 41-6a-402(7), the accident reports filed with the department and the information in them are protected and confidential, and may be disclosed only as provided in section 41-6a-404. Utah is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Idaho, where anyone can buy a crash report — here the state file is closed and disclosure runs through a statutory list.
Read the report when it arrives. The officer’s view on fault is evidence rather than a ruling, and errors of fact — a wrong plate, date, or insurer — can usually be corrected by contacting the reporting officer with documentation.
Hit-and-run
Call police immediately. Utah has a provision most states lack: under 41-6a-401.7, if you have reason to believe you may have been involved in an accident only after leaving the scene, you must immediately comply as nearly as possible with the statutory requirements then. Realising later does not excuse you — and the same logic tells you what the state expects of the driver who hit you.
The structural good news: your PIP pays medical bills and lost income whether or not the other driver is ever identified, so open that claim now rather than waiting on the investigation. But remember how small $3,000 is — it will not carry a serious injury far, and once it is gone, uninsured-motorist coverage is what stands between you and paying out of pocket. Save your clip and note the time and location while they’re exact; on I-15 through the valley there may be cameras, but on a canyon road in the Uintas your dashcam is likely the only witness. Check your UM policy’s hit-and-run notice window, which is typically far shorter than any deadline on this page.
Find a lawyer
The Utah State Bar is the state’s mandatory bar association and maintains a public lawyer referral service and attorney directory — use it to confirm anyone you are considering is licensed and in good standing before you hire. Fees and consultation terms are set by the individual attorney, so ask what the initial consultation costs when you call.
Most Utah crash-injury work is handled on contingency, meaning no fee up front and a percentage only if you recover. That matters more here than in most no-fault states: with a $3,000 PIP floor, a genuine injury claim leaves the no-fault system quickly, and a contingency arrangement means the cost of pursuing it does not fall on you before there is money to pay it from.
Free legal help
Utah Legal Services is the state’s civil legal aid provider for low-income Utahns. To reach the program serving your county and check eligibility, start at LawHelp.org, which routes to Utah’s providers, and ask the Utah State Bar about its pro bono and free legal answers programs.
Set expectations honestly: civil legal aid generally prioritises basic-needs matters — housing, benefits, family safety, consumer debt — over personal injury claims, which the private bar handles on contingency. Legal aid is the right call for the knock-on problems a serious crash creates, particularly if you are out of work while your $3,000 of PIP runs down.
Insurance problems
The Utah Insurance Department regulates insurers in the state and takes consumer complaints about how claims are handled. You can reach its current complaint channels through the national directory of state insurance departments.
In a no-fault state the most common complaint is your own insurer slow-walking PIP — and in Utah, where PIP also covers lost income and household services, a partial denial can quietly cost you more than the medical line suggests. Read what was actually approved rather than assuming.
Uninsured when it happened? Utah is aggressive about detecting this: the DMV works with a third-party verification service that cross-references insurance data against vehicle registrations and flags uninsured vehicles, after which the DMV revokes the registration and notifies the driver. Being uninsured also means no PIP, which removes the first payer for your medical bills entirely in a system built around it. The 41-6a-401 duties at the scene apply regardless of coverage and are criminal. Report the crash, get treatment documented, and get advice early.
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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