What is the SR-1 form in NJ?
The SR-1 is NJDOT's Self-Reporting Crash form, the only form for recording a New Jersey crash that no police officer investigated. Police use a different form, the NJTR-1, and they still wrote up about 549 crashes a day in which nobody was hurt.
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Which NJ crash form is which?
Four records can exist after a New Jersey crash, and they are filled in by different people for different reasons.
| Record | Who fills it in | When |
|---|---|---|
| NJTR-1, Police Crash Investigation Report | A police officer only | Police investigated; NJDOT collects about 320,000 a year |
| SR-1, Self-Reporting Crash form | You, online through NJDOT | No police investigation |
| SR-1S | You | To add supplemental information to your SR-1 |
| Driver's written report to the Motor Vehicle Commission | The driver | Within 10 days, unless an officer files a written report |
Our sources do not say whether filing the SR-1 also meets the 10-day duty to the MVC. If no officer came, check that point with the MVC rather than assume it.
When do you need an SR-1 instead of a police report?
Only when no officer investigated. If anyone was hurt or killed, or one person's property damage tops $500, the law puts the police call first, by the quickest means.2
Below that line no police call is required, and the SR-1 becomes the record. Our guide to hitting a deer in NJ walks through one common case of exactly that.
The duty sits with any driver in the crash. If the driver cannot report, another occupant or the owner must.
How common are NJ crashes where nobody is hurt?
Very: 401,354 of the 514,320 crashes in NJ police records for 2023 and 2024 were property damage only, our NJDOT count shows. That is 78.0 percent, about 549 a day.3
Preliminary 2025 holds the same pattern at 77.6 percent. These counts come from police reports, so crashes recorded only on an SR-1 are not in them.
The point for you: a minor crash is usually still written up by police when an officer comes. The SR-1 fills the gap for the ones no officer handled.
What should you keep after filing an SR-1?
Keep the acknowledgment first, since that is the piece NJDOT says an insurance company can accept.
- The acknowledgment, saved as a file and printed.
- Photos of every vehicle and the scene, with the date and place.
- The other driver's name, plate and insurance company, if there was one.
- Any later medical visit, even a week out, since injuries do not always show at once.
What does an SR-1 do for an insurance claim?
It gives you a dated record: NJDOT says the instant online acknowledgment "can be submitted to an insurance company."1
- It does not decide fault. DOBI says insurers assign fault from all the facts, and your share cuts any claim against the other driver under the NJ 51 percent rule.4
- It does not affect PIP. If you turn out to be hurt, your own PIP pays medical bills regardless of fault.
- The other car's damage is paid from the at-fault driver's property damage liability; on a Basic Policy that is $5,000. See what a Basic auto policy covers.
What happens if you skip the report?
A knowing failure to report carries a $30 to $100 fine, and the MVC may suspend your license or registration.2
Hiding evidence costs $250 to $1,000. Not knowing how bad the damage was is no defense if you knew you were in a crash.
Questions people ask
How to report an accident without a police report?
File the SR-1 online through NJDOT and keep the acknowledgment. The step-by-step version is in our New Jersey car accident report guide.
Is an SR-1 the same as a police report?
No. Only police fill in the NJTR-1. The SR-1 is your own account, filed because no officer investigated.
Are driver reports to the MVC public?
No. The statute makes them confidential and keeps them out of court except to prove you reported.
Minor crash, but now you are hurting? Answer a few New Jersey questions and a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
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Every reporting and lawsuit clock is in our NJ car accident deadline table, and the first-week steps are in what to do after a New Jersey car accident.
Sources
- NJDOT, Self-Reporting Crash Form page; NJDOT, Police Resources page. Read 10 November 2026.
- New Jersey Statutes, Title 39, accident reporting section, Justia 2025 edition, archived copy. Read 10 November 2026.
- NJDOT crash records, normalized by the open-source nj-crashes project; our count of 2023 and 2024, 2025 preliminary. Read 11 November 2026.
- DOBI, Everything You Wanted to Know About Auto Insurance (2026), pp. 26 to 27; DOBI Basic Policy page. Read 10 November 2026.
How we counted
- Our count of NJDOT police crash records, complete years 2023 and 2024, 2025 preliminary. "Property damage only" is the crash severity code for no injury and no death. Per day divides the two-year count by 731 days.
- Counts say nothing about fault or claim value. General information, not legal advice; Injuries Cases Autos is not a law firm.