Nobody needed an ambulance, the cars were moved, and somebody told you to go to a Collision Reporting Centre. Maybe it was the officer on the phone, the tow truck driver or the other driver. You have the address and not much else.
A Collision Reporting Centre is where you report a crash to police when no officer comes to the scene. Bring your licence, ownership, insurance, the other driver's details and the vehicle itself. How long you have depends on where the crash happened, from 24 hours in Waterloo Region to 30 days in Ottawa, and if you're sore or hurt, say so before you leave.
For most crashes in Ontario's cities, this is where the police report gets made. In Ottawa, 16,788 of the 19,777 collisions in 2024 were reported at a Collision Reporting Centre rather than to an officer at the scene, about 85 percent, according to Ottawa Police.
Do you have to report at a Collision Reporting Centre?
Yes, if anyone was hurt or the combined damage looks to be more than $5,000, and police didn't come to the scene. It used to be $2,000, and some police pages still say so.
Police come to the scene instead when a crash is more serious. In Toronto that means a death, a serious injury where someone goes to hospital, criminal activity such as impaired driving, an uninsured or suspended driver, dangerous goods, damage to private, municipal or highway property, an injured pedestrian or cyclist, or a vehicle that can't be driven between midnight and 8 a.m. Other police services use similar lists.
Damage is easy to underestimate. Sensors and brackets behind a scuffed bumper can carry a repair well past $5,000 once it comes apart. If you're unsure, report.
How long do you have to report?
It depends on the police service where the crash happened. The law says to report right away, and each service sets its own window for getting to a centre.
| Police service | Where to report | How long you have |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Centres in Scarborough and North York, open 8 a.m. to midnight every day, plus a centre for pedestrians and cyclists at 14 Division | As soon as possible |
| Peel | Two centres in Mississauga and one in Brampton | 48 hours if your vehicle can be driven |
| York | No centre. Get an incident number by phone, then report online | 72 hours |
| Durham | Whitby | 48 hours |
| Halton | Halton Hills, Oakville and Burlington | As soon as possible |
| Hamilton | East End and Mountain stations | 48 hours if your vehicle can be driven |
| Waterloo Region | Cambridge and Waterloo | 24 hours |
| Niagara | St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland | 48 hours |
| Ottawa | Huntmar Drive in the west end, Elgin Street downtown and Orléans | 30 days |
| London | Brydges Street | Right away |
| Barrie | Barrie Police headquarters on Fairview Road | As soon as possible |
| Guelph | Clair Road West | 48 hours if your vehicle can be driven |
Report where the crash happened, not where you live. Niagara asks drivers from outside the region to report at a Niagara centre before reporting anywhere at home. Hours vary and several centres close on weekends and holidays, so check your police service's collision page before you drive over. Where the police say "as soon as possible", treat it as today.
What should you bring?
Everything the officer at the scene would have asked for, plus the car.
Your documents. Your driver's licence, the vehicle ownership and your insurance card.
The other driver's details. Name, licence number, plate, insurance company and policy number, and the names and phone numbers of any witnesses and passengers.
The vehicle. Staff photograph the damage, so the car has to come with you. If it was towed, bring the tow company's authorization form.
Any number you were given. If an officer came to the scene or you started the report online, bring that incident or reference number.
The driver has to report in person, because the report needs their own account. Pedestrians and cyclists reporting in Toronto need government photo ID with their current address, and a health card isn't accepted.
What happens at the Collision Reporting Centre?
Most visits take under an hour. Peel tells drivers to allow 15 to 20 minutes, and Durham allows 30 to 60.
The damage is photographed. Staff photograph every vehicle and may put a "Damage Reported" sticker on yours, which shows the damage has been reported to police.
You fill in a report. You write a statement and draw a diagram of what happened. Write what you saw and did, in plain facts, and leave fault for the insurers to work out. "I don't know" is a better answer than a guess about speed or distance.
You leave with a number. You get a card with the officer's name and an incident or report number. Your insurer will ask for both, so photograph the card before you leave the parking lot.
Toronto, Halton, Ottawa, Niagara and Hamilton let you start the report online first, but you still have to attend in person with the vehicle.
What if you're hurt?
Say so at the counter, even if it feels minor. Serious injuries go to police at the scene, but some services take minor ones at a centre. Niagara accepts injuries such as a sore neck or back, a concussion or minor scrapes. Toronto has a centre for pedestrians and cyclists whose injuries don't need immediate medical attention.
Pain often shows up later. Whiplash and concussion can take a day or two to make themselves known, after the report is already finished. No Ontario police service publishes a process for adding an injury to a report after you've left. If it happens to you, see a doctor and say the pain followed a car crash. Then call the centre or your police service's non-emergency line to ask how to note it, tell your insurer, and write down who you spoke to and what they said.
If the report says nobody was hurt and you were, an adjuster will ask why. A note you made the day the pain began, alongside your doctor's record, answers that. Our article on why car accident injuries sometimes appear days later explains why the date matters so much.
Can a tow truck take your car anywhere it wants?
No. Ontario tow operators need a provincial certificate, and they need your consent.
The company's name and certificate number must be on the truck, the consent form and the invoice, and the driver has to show their certificate if you ask. They have to give you their rates before they tow, and an itemized invoice before they ask for payment. You choose where the car goes unless police direct the tow, and they can't take it to a repair shop you didn't agree to. If they didn't get your consent, they can't charge you.
In Toronto, every vehicle towed from a collision scene goes straight to a Collision Reporting Centre first. Peel and Durham ask for the same during the centre's hours. Never sign a blank consent form.
How do you get a copy of the report?
It depends on the service. Toronto charges $67.80, taxes included, through its Information Access counter at 40 College Street, in person or by mail. Hamilton charges $62.15 through its Records Department. London and York no longer hand out copies directly: London sends you to the Ministry of Transportation, where an uncertified copy is $12 and a certified one is $18 after a wait of four to six weeks, and York handles requests through Freedom of Information.
What should you do after you leave?
Tell your insurer within seven days. Give them the incident number and the officer's name. If you're hurt, ask for the accident benefits application in the same call, and return it within 30 days of receiving it. Our article on what to say on that first call covers the one sentence that matters most.
See a doctor if anything hurts. Do it within a day or two, and tell them you were in a car crash so it goes into your record that way.
Start writing things down. The report covers one day. Your recovery covers every day after it, and nobody else is recording those.
What are you allowed to do?
You are allowed to say you're sore at the counter, even if you're not sure yet that it's an injury.
You are allowed to write "I don't know" on the report rather than guess.
You are allowed to ask for the officer's name and the report number in writing before you leave.
You are allowed to refuse a tow until you've seen the driver's certificate and their rates.
You are allowed to report a symptom that shows up days after you reported the crash.
What should you record after reporting a crash?
| What to record | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Where and when the crash happened, and which police service covers that spot | Decides which centre you use and how long you have |
| The other driver's details and any witnesses | Hard to find again later, easy to note on day one |
| The centre you went to, the date and time, the officer's name and the incident number | Your insurer and every later form will ask for them |
| Your own photos of the damage and the scene | Shows what the centre's photos can't, such as the road and the light |
| The tow company, its certificate number, its rates and where your car went | Settles any dispute about charges |
| Every symptom and the date it first appeared | Connects a later injury to the crash |
| Every call with your insurer, with the date, the name and what was said | Shows you reported on time |
The National MVA Recovery Guide is built for anyone hurt in a collision. It gives every symptom a date and every appointment a page, starting with the day you reported.
Keep your recovery in one place
The National MVA Recovery Guide holds your whole recovery. The Ontario MVA Companion Guide adds the insurer, the forms and the deadlines in Ontario.
Why use Hurt Square?
Because the report covers one day, and an injury claim is decided on all the days after it. Hurt Square guides give you one place to keep them.
- From the counter to full recovery. The National MVA Recovery Guide has space for the day of the crash, daily pain and symptom tracking, every appointment and every expense.
- The Ontario rules, in plain words. The Ontario MVA Companion Guide holds the deadlines, forms and insurer routes that apply in Ontario.
- Made for hard days. 192 pages and more than 1,600 fillable fields that work on your phone, tablet or computer, in plain language.
Both guides, $39 until 22 November. The National MVA Recovery Guide and the Ontario MVA Companion Guide, with the discount applied at checkout. Bought separately: $63.99.
Get both guidesRead next
- “I Was in a Crash and I'm Shaken!” | What to Do After a Car Accident in Ontario: The Complete Guide
- “I'm About to Call My Insurer!” | Hurt in a Crash in Ontario? Your First Call Needs One Very Important Extra Sentence
- How Long Do I Have to Report a Car Accident in Ontario?
- “It Was Already Dark at Five!” | Hurt on the Drive Home: Evening Crashes After the Clocks Change
Last verified 24 October 2026. Reporting rules, centre locations and time limits from the Toronto, Peel, York, Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Waterloo Regional, Niagara Regional, Ottawa, London, Barrie and Guelph police services and Accident Support Services International; the $5,000 threshold from the Government of Ontario; 2024 Ottawa figures from the Ottawa Police Service; towing rights from the Government of Ontario's guidance on the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, 2021; report fees from the Toronto and Hamilton police services and the Ministry of Transportation; insurer deadlines from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. Hours and time limits change, so check your police service's page before you go. This article is general information for people in Ontario. It is not legal or insurance advice.
