What to Exchange After a Car Accident: CA, TX, WA

The short version

California: name and current address, driver’s license number, vehicle identification number, the registered owner’s address, and the insurance company’s name and address with the policy number.
Texas: name and address, the vehicle’s registration number and the name of the liability insurer. The driver’s license is shown if it is asked for and available.
Washington: name, address, insurance company, insurance policy number and vehicle license number, and the driver shows a driver’s license.
A photograph of the other driver’s license, insurance card and plate holds most of this at once.
These rules were read on the dates shown with the sources at the end of this page.

What each state’s law says a driver gives

The three states do not use one list. Each rule below is that state’s own list, in the statute’s order.

What a driver gives after a crash, by state. California read on October 8, 2026; Texas and Washington on October 4, 2026.
California	Texas	Washington
California Every driver involved in the accident must, unless rendered incapable, exchange information with any other driver or property owner who was involved and is present at the scene. The list is the driver’s name and current residence address, driver’s license number, vehicle identification number, and the current residence address of the registered owner. Cal. Veh. Code § 16025, subd. (a) The driver must also exchange evidence of financial responsibility. If that is a form of insurance, the driver supplies the name and address of the insurance company and the number of the insurance policy. Cal. Veh. Code § 16025, subd. (a) After an accident that injures or kills a person, the driver must give a name and current residence address, the names and current residence addresses of any occupant of the driver’s vehicle who was injured, the registration number of the vehicle, and the name and current residence address of its owner. The driver gives these to the person struck, or to the driver or occupants of any vehicle collided with, and to any traffic or police officer at the scene. Cal. Veh. Code § 20003, subd. (a)	Texas The operator must give the operator’s name and address, the registration number of the vehicle, and the name of the operator’s motor vehicle liability insurer. The operator gives these to any person injured, or to the operator or an occupant of a vehicle involved in the collision, or to a person attending it. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.023 If it is requested and available, the operator must show the operator’s driver’s license. Tex. Transp. Code § 550.023	Washington The driver must give a name, address, insurance company, insurance policy number and vehicle license number, and must exhibit a driver’s license. RCW 46.52.020(3)

The California section on exchanging information says “the accident” and does not itself say which accidents it covers. This page did not research that, or what else counts as evidence of financial responsibility.

For Washington, this page has no verified rule on which persons the driver gives the information to.

What people commonly write down

Nothing in this part is law. It is the list people use so that nothing is missing later.

The other driver’s full name, address and phone number.
The driver’s license number and the state that issued it.
The plate number, and the make, model and color of the vehicle.
The insurance company and the policy number, as printed on the insurance card.
The name and address of the vehicle’s owner, if the driver is not the owner.
The names and phone numbers of passengers and of anyone who saw the crash.
The place, the date and the time.
If an officer comes: the officer’s name, the agency and the report number.

A photograph holds most of it

Nothing in this part is law either. A phone’s camera is faster than a pen, and a photograph does not get a digit wrong.

The other driver’s license, front side.
The insurance card.
The plate of each vehicle.
The vehicle identification number, where you can see it.
Each vehicle and its damage, and the whole scene.

What people leave for later

This part is not law. The statutes above list what a driver gives. They do not ask a driver to decide at the roadside who caused the crash.

Guesses about who was at fault.
Guesses about how badly anyone is hurt. Some injuries take hours or days to show.
Talk about what an insurance company will or will not pay.

This page gives the rules as they are written. It does not say how they apply to your crash. If you were hurt in a crash someone else caused, the firm can tell you whether it can help: 800-411-9049.

Questions and answers

What information do you exchange after a car accident in California?

The California statute lists the driver’s name and current residence address, driver’s license number, vehicle identification number, and the current residence address of the registered owner, and evidence of financial responsibility. If that is insurance, the driver supplies the insurance company’s name and address and the policy number. The section was read on October 8, 2026.

What do I have to give the other driver in Texas?

The Texas statute lists the operator’s name and address, the registration number of the vehicle and the name of the operator’s motor vehicle liability insurer. The operator shows a driver’s license if it is requested and available. The section was read on October 4, 2026.

What do I have to give after a crash in Washington?

The Washington statute lists the driver’s name, address, insurance company, insurance policy number and vehicle license number, and says the driver must exhibit a driver’s license. The section was read on October 4, 2026.

Do I have to show my driver’s license after an accident?

Washington’s statute says the driver must exhibit a driver’s license. Texas’s statute says the operator must show it if it is requested and available. California’s statute on exchanging information lists the driver’s license number.