Hit-and-run laws and what to do in Virginia

Someone hit your car and drove off. In Virginia that is a crime, and the law is specific about what the other driver was legally required to do and about the steps that protect your claim now. This page sticks to the Virginia rules. The general concepts sit on the national hub, so here we focus on the exact statutes and dollar thresholds that apply in the Commonwealth, plus the deadlines that can end a claim.

What Virginia law required the other driver to do

Under Virginia Code § 46.2-894, any driver involved in a crash that injures or kills someone, or that damages an attended vehicle or other attended property, has to immediately stop as close to the scene as possible without obstructing traffic.¹ The duty applies to any driver who was involved, whether or not they caused the crash. After stopping, the driver has to give their name, address, driver's license number, and vehicle registration number to law enforcement, to the injured person if that person can understand it, or to the other driver or the property owner.¹ When someone is hurt, the driver also has to render reasonable assistance, which the statute defines to include taking the injured person to a doctor or hospital if it is apparent that medical treatment is needed or the injured person asks for it.¹

Driving away from any of that is the "run" in hit-and-run.

The rules shift a little when the only thing damaged is unattended, like your parked car with no one inside. Section 46.2-896 tells the driver to make a reasonable effort to find the owner. If they can't, they have to leave a note with their identifying and contact information in a conspicuous place at the scene, and then report the crash in writing within 24 hours to the State Police or the local police.² A driver who leaves a note but never files that written report has still not fully complied.

When leaving the scene is a felony in Virginia

Virginia grades the offense by what the crash did. Under § 46.2-894, leaving is a Class 5 felony if the accident injured or killed anyone, or caused more than $1,000 in property damage. It drops to a Class 1 misdemeanor when the property damage is $1,000 or less.¹ A Class 5 felony carries one to ten years in prison, or, at the court's discretion, up to twelve months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.³ A Class 1 misdemeanor carries up to twelve months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.⁴

When only unattended property is hit, § 46.2-900 sets the penalty: a Class 1 misdemeanor in most cases, but a Class 4 misdemeanor, meaning a fine of up to $250, if the unattended vehicle or property was damaged by less than $250.⁵⁴

There is a licensing consequence stacked on the criminal one. The Virginia DMV assigns six demerit points for failing to stop at the scene of a crash involving injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more, and that conviction stays on the driving record for eleven years.⁶ The driver who fled is looking at a felony record and a mark on their license that outlasts most car loans.

What to do right after a hit-and-run in Virginia

Call the police from the scene and wait for them if you can do so safely. A law-enforcement report is the document your insurer and, later, a court will rely on, and it is also what triggers Virginia's uninsured-motorist rules. Write down or photograph anything about the other vehicle: a full or partial plate, the make and model, the color, the direction it went, and the time and exact location. Photograph the damage to your car and the scene before anything gets moved. If anyone saw it, get names and phone numbers, because Virginia takes corroboration seriously in claims involving an unknown driver.

That report becomes your official Virginia DMV crash record, which you can obtain afterward; our Virginia crash reports page covers how. If your car is worth less on the market now because it has an accident on its history, that is a separate claim from the repair bill, and Virginia's rules for it are on our Virginia diminished value page.

How you get paid when the driver is never found

This is where a Virginia hit-and-run differs from an ordinary crash. When the at-fault driver takes off and is never identified, there is no one to sue in the usual way. Virginia handles that through uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.

Under Virginia Code § 38.2-2206, a motor vehicle is deemed uninsured if its owner or operator is unknown.⁷ A hit-and-run driver is therefore treated as an uninsured driver, and your own UM coverage responds to your injuries. Virginia also lets you sue the unidentified driver as "John Doe," with service made on the court clerk, so the case can move forward even though you never learned who hit you.⁷ Every auto policy issued in Virginia has to include UM coverage, and since January 1, 2025 the minimum liability and UM limits are 50/100/25: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage.⁸⁷

Two Virginia specifics matter here. You have to report the accident promptly to your insurer or to a law-enforcement officer, a duty the UM statute builds in directly.⁷ And your medical bills can be covered no matter who was at fault if you carry Medical Payments coverage, which Virginia insurers must offer in an amount of at least $2,000 per person.⁹ Med Pay is optional and easy to miss, so check your declarations page.

Deadlines that decide your case

Virginia gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, including a John Doe UM claim, under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A).¹⁰ Property damage has a longer window, five years, under § 8.01-243(B).¹⁰ Miss the injury deadline and the claim is gone, however clear the hit-and-run was.

One more Virginia rule can quietly sink a case. Virginia is one of the few states that still applies pure contributory negligence, so if you are found even one percent at fault for the crash, you can be barred from recovering anything.¹¹ In a hit-and-run that is usually not an issue, since the other driver caused it and fled, but it is why your own account and the physical evidence carry so much weight.

If you were hurt and the other driver ran, it is worth talking with a Virginia attorney about a UM claim; you can start with our legal directory.

This is general information about Virginia law, not legal advice.

Sources

Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-894 (duty of driver to stop; penalty). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-894/
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-896 (accident involving damage only to unattended property). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-896/
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-10 (punishment for conviction of felony). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter1/section18.2-10/
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-11 (punishment for conviction of misdemeanor). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter1/section18.2-11/
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-900 (penalty for violation of §§ 46.2-895 through 46.2-897). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-900/
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Six-Point Violations. https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/licenses-ids/improvement/points/points-6
Va. Code Ann. § 38.2-2206 (uninsured motorist insurance coverage). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title38.2/chapter22/section38.2-2206/
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-472 (amounts of required liability coverage). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter4/section46.2-472/
Va. Code Ann. § 38.2-2201 (medical expense and loss of income benefits). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title38.2/chapter22/section38.2-2201/
Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-243 (limitation of actions for personal injuries and property damage). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.01/chapter4/section8.01-243/
Lawrence v. Wirth, 226 Va. 408, 309 S.E.2d 315 (1983). https://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/supreme-court/1983/810149-1.html

Hit-and-Run Laws & What to Do in Virginia