What to do after a car accident in Mississippi
Every rule below is quoted from Mississippi law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.
At fault state
The short answer
Mississippi is an at fault state. Drivers must carry liability insurance to pay for injuries and damage they cause to others. There is no state requirement for your own no fault medical coverage. If the crash hurt or killed someone, or caused $500 or more in property damage, the driver must immediately notify police, the sheriff, or the highway patrol. You have 3 years from the crash to sue for your injuries in Mississippi.
Deadlines in Mississippi
- 3 years
- to sue for injuriesMiss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49
- 3 years
- to sue for car or property damageMiss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49
- 3 years
- for a family to sue after a deathMiss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49, as applied to wrongful death claims
- 1 year to file notice of claim; 90 days' wait before suit
- to notify the government if a public vehicle or road was involvedMiss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11(1), (3)(a)
Miss one of these and you can lose the right to claim, even with a strong case.
At the scene
Stop, share your information and help anyone hurt
A driver in a crash that hurts or kills someone, or damages an attended vehicle, must stop at or near the scene, stay there, give their name, address, vehicle registration and license on request, and give reasonable help getting an injured person to a doctor or hospital.
“immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene”
When you must call the police
If the crash hurt or killed someone, or caused $500 or more in property damage, the driver must immediately notify police, the sheriff, or the highway patrol.
“The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or total property damage to an apparent extent of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or more shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the collision to the local police department if the collision occurs within an incorporated municipality, or if the collision occurs outside of an incorporated municipality to the nearest sheriff's office or highway patrol station.”
Moving your car out of traffic
In Mississippi, if a crash on a highway does not cause a serious injury or death and every car involved can still be driven normally, each driver must move their car as soon as possible to a designated crash investigation site, a frontage road, the nearest cross street, or another suitable spot off the main road.
“If a traffic accident occurs without serious injury or death on a main lane, ramp, shoulder, median, or adjacent area of a highway in this state and each vehicle involved can be normally and safely driven, each operator shall move the operator's vehicle as soon as possible to a designated accident investigation site, if available, a location on the frontage road, the nearest suitable cross-street, or other suitable location to complete the other requirements under the law and minimize interference with highway traffic.”
In the days after
Whether you must file a report yourself
Mississippi does not require the driver to separately mail a written crash report to a state agency. Instead, the investigating officer files the paperwork with the Department of Public Safety, and a driver is only required to file a supplemental report if the department specifically asks for one.
“The department may require any driver of a vehicle involved in an accident, of which report must be made as provided in this section, to file supplemental reports whenever the original report is insufficient in the opinion of the department.”
Getting a copy of the crash report
You can buy a copy of a Mississippi Uniform Crash Report online through the Department of Public Safety. Only a person involved in the crash, their next of kin or estate representative, a legal representative, or an insurer or its representative may obtain a copy.
“Mississippi Code Ann. § 63-3-417 prohibits any other person or entity from acquiring a Mississippi Uniform Crash Report”
Who pays for the damage
Mississippi is an at fault state. Drivers must carry liability insurance to pay for injuries and damage they cause to others. There is no state requirement for your own no fault medical coverage.
“Mississippi law requires that all drivers maintain liability insurance”
Insurance rules in Mississippi
What insurance every driver must carry
Mississippi drivers must carry liability insurance of at least twenty five thousand dollars per person and fifty thousand dollars per accident for injuries you cause, and twenty five thousand dollars for property damage.
“the minimum liability requirements increased to the following: $25,000 per person (limited to a single accident), $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 per accident”
Personal injury protection (PIP)
Mississippi does not require personal injury protection coverage. State law only requires liability insurance that pays for harm you cause to others.
“Mississippi law requires that all drivers maintain liability insurance”
If the other driver has no insurance
Mississippi does not automatically include uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in your policy. It is protection you can choose to purchase from your own insurer in case another driver has no insurance or not enough.
“if you purchase Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM) protection, you can make a claim for your injuries or damages through your own insurance company”
Medical payments coverage
Medical payments coverage is optional in Mississippi. It is not required, but you can add it to your policy to pay medical expenses for people hurt in your car regardless of fault.
“Medical payments coverage will pay the expenses of persons injured in an accident regardless of fault”
If an insurance company treats you unfairly
You can file a complaint against an auto insurance company with the Mississippi Insurance Department, either online or with a downloadable complaint form.
“File online complaints, download complaint forms, where to submit complaints, required information when submitting complaints, and more”
The deadline rules, word for word
Deadline to sue for injuries
You have 3 years from the crash to sue for your injuries in Mississippi.
“All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed shall be commenced within three (3) years next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after.”
Deadline to sue for car damage
You have 3 years from the crash to sue over vehicle or property damage in Mississippi.
“All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed shall be commenced within three (3) years next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after.”
Deadline for a wrongful death claim
Family members generally have 3 years from the death to file a wrongful death lawsuit over a crash caused by negligence in Mississippi.
“Three years for negligence (Miss. Code § 15-1-49)”
If a government vehicle or road was involved
If a government vehicle or a government's road defect caused your crash, you must file a notice of claim within 1 year of the crash, and then wait at least 90 days before filing suit.
“All actions brought under this chapter shall be commenced within one (1) year next after the date of the tortious, wrongful or otherwise actionable conduct on which the liability phase of the action is based, and not after, except that filing a notice of claim within the required one-year period will toll the statute of limitations for ninety-five (95) days from the date the chief executive officer of the state entity or the chief executive officer or other statutorily designated official of a political subdivision receives the notice of claim.”
Sources on this page
Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.
- Mississippi Insurance Department, Automobile Insurance consumer guide (describing House Bill 621, 2000)
- Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 11-7-15
- Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49
- Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49, as applied to wrongful death claims
- Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11(1), (3)(a)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-411(1)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-401(1) (injury or death); § 63-3-403 (property damage to an attended vehicle); § 63-3-405 (duty to give information and render aid)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-425
- Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-417, as quoted on the Mississippi Department of Public Safety crash report request page
- Mississippi Insurance Department, File a Complaint
- Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(c)
Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.