Accident reporting — New Hampshire Permit Test
Accident reporting on the New Hampshire permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
New Hampshire law requires an accident report to be filed with the Division of Motor Vehicles within fifteen days if there is a fatality, injuries or combined property damage over $1,000.
Fifteen days sounds generous and passes quickly, and missing it is an offense on top of the crash.
New Hampshire law requires that an accident report be filed with the Division of Motor Vehicles within fifteen (15) days if there is a fatality, New Hampshire Driver’s Manual injuries or if the combined property damage totals more than $1,000 as a result of the accident.
An accident report is required if the combined property damage totals more than $1,000 as a result of the accident.
A thousand dollars is less damage than most people imagine, so a minor-looking crash often has to be reported.
if the combined property damage totals more than $1,000 as a result of the accident.
If a crash is investigated by a police officer, drivers are not required to file a separate report with the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The officer’s report satisfies the requirement, which is why a driver should know whether one was actually made.
If the crash is investigated by a police officer, drivers are not required to file a separate report to the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The Operator Accident Report may be obtained at any DMV office, on the DMV website under Documents and Forms, or at any police department.
Three places to get the form means there is no good reason to miss the fifteen-day deadline.
The Operator Accident Report (DSMV 400) may be obtained at any DMV office around the state
If the driver is injured and unable to complete the accident report, it may be filed by a passenger or the owner of the vehicle.
The deadline does not pause for a hospital stay, so the law names somebody else who can file it.
If the driver is injured and is unable to complete the report, it may be filed by a passenger or the owner of the vehicle.
If a driver is uncertain whether the combined property damage is over $1,000, it is recommended they file an Operator Report to ensure compliance with the law.
The cost of filing unnecessarily is a form. The cost of not filing when you should have is an offense.
it is recommended to file an Operator Report with the DMV to ensure compliance with the law.
On the test
Within how many days must an accident report be filed?
Fifteen days. Fifteen days sounds generous and passes quickly, and missing it is an offense on top of the crash. New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.32: “New Hampshire law requires that an accident report be filed with the Division of Motor Vehicles within fifteen (15) days if there is a fatality, New Hampshire Driver’s Manual injuries or if the combined property damage totals more than $1,000 as a result of the accident.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
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All New Hampshire permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against New Hampshire Driver's Manual, published by the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-16.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/NH.pdf (New Hampshire Driver's Manual, Rev. 11/25, New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-14)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/NH.pages.txt (plain pdftotext over that PDF; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/SOURCES.json (sha256, folio offset 6, folioMarker, nonLawPages, signGalleryPages and the extraction flag, each with its basis)