How to Document a Car Accident in Texas: Photos, Notes & Evidence Checklist

In most states, weak documentation costs you a percentage of your claim.

In Texas, it can cost you all of it. Under the 51% bar, a jury that finds you one point over the line awards you nothing — and the evidence that keeps you under that line is gathered in the first thirty minutes, on a phone, while your hands are still shaking.

Here is exactly what to capture.

Quick Answer

Photograph the scene before any vehicle moves. Take at least 12 photos: four wide shots, all damage, both plates, the other driver's licence and insurance card, traffic controls, and road conditions. Write a same-day note recording direction, speed, signal state, weather, and what each person said. Get one witness's phone number. Texas is a one-party consent state (Penal Code § 16.02) — as a participant in the conversation, you may lawfully record it.

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Why the stakes are different in Texas

Under Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 33.001, a claimant recovers only if their percentage of responsibility is not greater than 50%.

Do the arithmetic from the adjuster's side. On a $200,000 claim:

• Arguing you from 0% to 25% saves them $50,000
• Arguing you from 45% to 51% saves them $200,000

That is why Texas liability fights are so aggressive, and why silence at the scene is read against whoever was quiet. Documentation is not paranoia here. It is the difference between a claim and no claim.

The 12-Photo Checklist

Take these in order. Do not move a vehicle first unless it is unsafe not to. If you must move it — and on a metro freeway, § 550.022 may require you to move drivable vehicles off the roadway before exchanging information — photograph the positions first.

Worth the extra seconds: the debris field photographed from above (it locates the true point of impact more reliably than the cars do); sun glare at driver eye height; airbag deployment and the interior; visible injuries with consent; the odometer.

And one Texas-specific item: § 550.023 expressly requires drivers to exchange vehicle registration numbers. Photograph the registration sticker and the plate.

What most people photograph wrong

Too close. A tight shot of a crumpled fender proves damage exists. It proves nothing about who caused it. The wide shot is the valuable one.

After the cars were moved. Once vehicles are pulled to a frontage road, the geometry is gone permanently.

No scale reference. Put a phone or a shoe next to a skid mark. Without a reference, a photo cannot convey size.

Only from the driver's side. Walk around both vehicles.

Screenshots instead of originals. Original files carry EXIF metadata — timestamp, GPS coordinates, device. A screenshot destroys it. Back up the originals unedited.

📝 NowAccident preserves the timestamps automatically →

What should your written note contain?

Write it within a few hours. Memory degrades measurably within 24 hours, and it degrades toward whatever version you have repeated most.

Record in plain sentences:

• Date, exact time, precise location — cross streets, direction of travel, lane number, mile marker
• Your speed, honestly estimated
• What you were doing in the five seconds before impact
• The signal or sign state as you observed it
• Weather, lighting, road surface
• What each person said, in quotation marks
• Who exited which vehicle, and how they moved
• Whether anyone said they were injured — or that they were not
• Every physical symptom you feel, however trivial

Be accurate, not favourable. A note saying "I was doing about 40 in a 35" is credible. A note saying "exactly 35," contradicted by an event data recorder, destroys your credibility on every other point — and in a 51%-bar state, credibility is the fault percentage.

Can you record the other driver in Texas?

Yes. Texas is a one-party consent state. Under Penal Code § 16.02, it is not unlawful to intercept a communication where the person is a party to it. Because you are a participant in your own roadside exchange, you may lawfully record it.

Practical notes:

• Photographs and video of a public roadway: no consent issue.
• Audio of your own conversation: lawful under one-party consent.
• Recording a conversation you are not part of: unlawful.
• Dashcams: forward-facing recording of a public road is generally fine.

Recording openly is still the better practice. A driver who concedes fault on a recording they knew about is far harder to explain away later than one who claims they were secretly taped.

How do you get the police crash report?

Since 2017, the driver's crash report (CR-2) no longer exists as a filing obligation. What exists is the CR-3, the Peace Officer's Crash Report.

Under § 550.062, an officer who investigates a crash resulting in injury, death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more to any one person must submit the CR-3 to TxDOT within 10 days.

You can purchase a copy through TxDOT's Crash Records Information System (CRIS), typically available within days of the officer filing it, for a modest fee (a certified copy costs slightly more). § 550.065 lists who may obtain one: any person involved, their authorised representative, a driver, an employer or parent of a driver, the owner of damaged property, and a person who established financial responsibility for a vehicle involved.

Read the damage codes. The CR-3 uses a clock-face direction-of-force code, a letter damage-description code, and a 0–7 severity scale. "12-FC-3" means a front impact at twelve o'clock, front-concentrated damage, moderate severity. Adjusters read these closely; so should you.

What evidence disappears, and how fast?

If a business camera may have caught the crash, send a written preservation request immediately — an email or letter naming the date, time, and camera location, asking them to preserve the footage. Businesses preserve footage when asked in writing before it rolls over, not out of kindness.

Do not repair the car before it is documented

Once the bumper is replaced, the physical evidence of impact height and force is gone. Photograph thoroughly, keep the estimate, and — if the crash was serious and liability is contested — ask your attorney before authorising repairs. In serious cases, counsel may want the vehicle inspected or the event data recorder downloaded.

What your documentation feeds

• The § 550.026 police notification, if triggered
• Your PIP claim — which you may already have, unless you rejected it in writing
• The liability claim against the at-fault driver
• Your UM/UIM claim, if their coverage falls short
• The 6-month TTCA notice — or a shorter city charter deadline — if a governmental unit was involved
• The lawsuit, within two years (CPRC § 16.003)
• Above all: the fault percentage argument, which is the whole case

Frequently Asked Questions

How many photos should I take after a car accident? At least 12, covering scene geometry, both vehicles' damage, plates, the other driver's licence and insurance card, traffic controls, and road conditions. More is better.

Can I record the other driver without telling them in Texas? Yes. Texas is a one-party consent state under Penal Code § 16.02 — as a participant in the conversation, you may record it. Recording openly is still the better practice.

What if I did not take photos at the scene? Return as soon as safely possible and photograph the location, signals, sightlines, and any remaining marks. Write your recollection today, dated honestly. Contact nearby businesses in writing about camera footage before it is overwritten.

How do I get a copy of my Texas crash report? Through TxDOT's Crash Records Information System (CRIS) online purchase system, if an officer investigated and filed a CR-3.

Does a dashcam recording help in Texas? Frequently, particularly on signal state, speed, and lane position. Preserve the original file immediately; many dashcams overwrite on a loop within hours.

Why does documentation matter more in Texas? Because of the 51% bar. In most states, weak evidence costs you a percentage. In Texas, one percentage point over the line costs you everything.

📝 This checklist, guided and timestamped, is what NowAccident does. Record your accident now → — free, three minutes.

Sources

• Texas Transportation Code §§ 550.022, 550.023, 550.062, 550.065
• Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §§ 16.003, 33.001, 101.101
• Texas Penal Code § 16.02
• TxDOT — Crash Records Information System (CRIS)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Texas law as of the last updated date. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Recording law is fact-specific and this article does not address every circumstance. Consult a licensed Texas attorney before recording anyone, before authorising vehicle repairs in a contested claim, and about the evidence in your specific case. Health-related statements are general information, not medical advice.