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Summary of California Laws regarding Financial Responsibility

1656.2.   The department shall prepare and publish a printed summary describing the penalties for noncompliance with Sections 16000 and 16028, which shall be included with each motor vehicle registration, registration renewal, and transfer of registration and with each driver's license and license renewal. The printed summary may contain, but is not limited to, the following wording:

"IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT ENFORCEMENT OF CALIFORNIA'S COMPULSORY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LAW

California law requires every driver to carry written evidence of valid automobile liability insurance, a thirty-five thousand dollar ($35,000) bond, a thirty-five thousand dollar ($35,000) cash deposit, or a certificate of self-insurance that has been issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

You must provide evidence of financial responsibility when you renew the registration of a motor vehicle, and after you are cited by a peace officer for a traffic violation or are involved in any traffic accident. The law requires that you provide the officer with the name and address of your insurer and the policy identification number. Your insurer will provide written evidence of this number. Failure to provide evidence of your financial responsibility can result in fines of up to five hundred dollars ($500) and loss of your driver's license. Falsification of evidence can result in fines of up to seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) or 30 days in jail, or both., in addition to a one-year suspension of driving privileges.

Under existing California law, if you are involved in an accident that results in damages of over seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) to the property of any person or in any injury or fatality, you must file a report of the accident with the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days of the accident. If you fail to file a report or fail to provide evidence of financial responsibility on the report, your driving privilege will be suspended for up to four years. Your suspension notice will notify you of the department's action and of your right to a hearing. Your suspension notice will also inform you that if you request a hearing, it must be conducted within 30 days of your written request, and that a decision is to be rendered within 15 days of the conclusion of the hearing."

California Liability Insurance Requirements

California requires that drivers and vehicle owners carry the following minimum monetary limits:

Evidence of financial responsibility must be carried at all times in the vehicle. Most Californians maintain financial responsibility through insurance companies, which provide the policy holder with an identification card as evidence of coverage. The card must state the insurance company's name and address, the period of coverage and policy number.

Persons operating a vehicle in this state who are unlicensed or have an invalid California or out-of-state driver license are subject to the same financial responsibility laws as valid California licensed drivers.

When you are Required to Report an Accident to DMV

If you are involved in a vehicle accident that occurred in California, you must report it to DMV if:

Each driver must make a report to DMV within 10 days, whether you caused the accident or not and even if the accident occurred on private property.

You must complete a DMV Traffic Accident Report form SR 1/SR 1A.

When you have completed the form, you can mail it to:

If you do not submit this report, your driving privilege will be suspended. DMV may ask your insurance company to verify that you had coverage in effect at the time of the accident. If you did not have insurance, your driving privilege will be suspended for one year. To get your license back, after the suspension, you will need to provide proof of financial responsibility and maintain it on record for three years. The accident may count as one point on your driving record (California Insurance Requirements).

For information about violation points and your driving record, see negligent operator violation point count.   For information about what vehicle section violations count as negligent operator points, see common California vehicle code violations used in negligent operator count.  For additional information regarding accident reports, call the Financial Responsibility section at (916) 657-6677.