What to do after a car accident in Tennessee
Every rule below is quoted from Tennessee law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.
At fault state
The short answer
Tennessee is an at-fault state. The driver who causes a crash is responsible for the other person's injuries and damage. A driver must immediately report a crash to local police, the county sheriff, or the state highway patrol if it injures or kills someone, or causes $50 or more in property damage. You have 1 year from the crash to sue over your injuries. This is shorter than most states.
Deadlines in Tennessee
- 1 year
- to sue for injuriesTenn. Code 28-3-104(a)(1)
- 3 years
- to sue for car or property damageTenn. Code 28-3-105
- 1 year
- for a family to sue after a deathTenn. Code 20-5-106, applying the 1 year period in 28-3-104(a)(1)
- 12 months
- to notify the government if a public vehicle or road was involvedTenn. Code 29-20-305
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 must stop, give their name, address, and vehicle registration number, show their license if asked, and help anyone who is hurt, including arranging a ride to a doctor if needed.
“give the driver's name, address and the registration number of the vehicle the driver is driving, and shall, upon request and if available, exhibit that driver's operator's or chauffeur's license”
When you must call the police
A driver must immediately report a crash to local police, the county sheriff, or the state highway patrol if it injures or kills someone, or causes $50 or more in property damage.
“immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident”
Moving your car out of traffic
In Tennessee, on a divided, controlled-access highway or interstate, if a crash does not appear to seriously hurt or kill anyone, the driver should move the car off the road onto the shoulder, emergency lane, or median if it can be done safely and the car still drives normally.
“When a motor vehicle traffic accident occurs with no apparent serious personal injury or death, the driver of each motor vehicle involved in the traffic accident... should remove the vehicle from the immediate confines of the roadway into a safe refuge on the shoulder, emergency lane, or median, or to a place otherwise removed from the roadway whenever, in the judgment of the driver, the moving of a vehicle may be done safely and the vehicle is capable of being normally and safely driven, does not require towing.”
In the days after
Whether you must file a report yourself
The driver must send a written crash report to the Tennessee Department of Safety within 20 days if the crash caused an injury or death, or more than $1,500 in property damage to one person, or $400 in damage to government property.
“The driver of a vehicle that is in any manner involved in an accident resulting in bodily injury to or death to any person, or in which damage to the property of any one (1) person, including the driver's, in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) is sustained, shall within twenty (20) days after the accident, forward a written report of the accident to the department of safety.”
Getting a copy of the crash report
You can buy a Tennessee crash report online for $10, or for $4 in person at a Highway Patrol district office or by mail. Reports are usually ready about 7 days after the crash.
“Any driver/owner/passenger or their agent or legal representative may purchase a copy of the Crash Report for a fee of $4.00.”
Who pays for the damage
Tennessee is an at-fault state. The driver who causes a crash is responsible for the other person's injuries and damage.
“A written proof of liability insurance coverage provided by a single limit policy with a limit of not less than sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000) applicable to one (1) accident”
Insurance rules in Tennessee
What insurance every driver must carry
Tennessee drivers must carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage coverage, or a single combined limit of $65,000 per accident.
“A split-limit policy with a limit of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for bodily injury to or death of one (1) person, not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for bodily injury to or death of two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident, and not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for damage to property in any one (1) accident”
Personal injury protection (PIP)
Tennessee does not require drivers to carry personal injury protection.
“A written proof of liability insurance coverage provided by a single limit policy with a limit of not less than sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000) applicable to one (1) accident”
If the other driver has no insurance
Tennessee auto policies automatically include uninsured motorist coverage matching your liability limits, unless you reject it or choose lower limits in a signed, written form.
“Every automobile liability insurance policy delivered, issued for delivery or renewed in this state...shall include uninsured motorist coverage”
Medical payments coverage
Medical payments coverage is optional in Tennessee. State law treats it as a provision that may or may not be in a policy, not as a required coverage, and no statute requires insurers to offer it.
“to the provisions in the policy, if any, relating to medical payments and/or uninsured motorist coverage”
If an insurance company treats you unfairly
You can file a complaint against an insurance company with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance online, or by printing a form and mailing or faxing it in. The policy must have been written in Tennessee.
“Consumers who believe they have been wrongfully denied a claim by their insurance company or have another issue with their insurance agent or company can file a complaint by completing the online complaint form”
The deadline rules, word for word
Deadline to sue for injuries
You have 1 year from the crash to sue over your injuries. This is shorter than most states.
“Actions for libel, injuries to the person, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, or breach of marriage promise”
Deadline to sue for car damage
You have 3 years from the crash to sue over damage to your vehicle or other property.
“Actions for injuries to personal or real property”
Deadline for a wrongful death claim
A wrongful death claim from a crash must be filed within 1 year, the same deadline that would have applied to the person who died.
“The right of action that a person who dies from injuries received from another...would have had against the wrongdoer...shall not abate or be extinguished by the person's death but shall pass to the person's surviving spouse”
If a government vehicle or road was involved
If a government vehicle or a government road caused the crash, you must sue within 12 months. Tennessee's tort claims law does not require you to send a written notice before suing.
“The action must be commenced within twelve (12) months after the cause of action arises.”
Sources on this page
Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.
- Tenn. Code 55-12-102
- McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992)
- Tenn. Code 28-3-104(a)(1)
- Tenn. Code 28-3-105
- Tenn. Code 20-5-106, applying the 1 year period in 28-3-104(a)(1)
- Tenn. Code 29-20-305
- Tenn. Code 55-10-106
- Tenn. Code 55-10-107
- Tenn. Code 56-7-1201
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-1301(c)
- Tenn. Code 55-10-103(a)
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-117
- Tennessee Highway Patrol, Obtaining a Crash Report
- Tennessee Dept of Commerce and Insurance, File an Insurance Complaint
- Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 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.