Car Accident Laws in New Jersey: Fault, Insurance & Deadlines

New Jersey is a "choice" no-fault state. Your own auto insurance's Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays your medical bills after a crash regardless of who caused it, and whether you can also sue the other driver for pain and suffering depends on which lawsuit option you or your household picked when the policy was bought. If you were hurt, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal-injury lawsuit in New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2). If a government-owned vehicle was involved, that deadline effectively shrinks to 90 days to send formal notice. Read on before you assume you have plenty of time.

1. Is New Jersey a no-fault or at-fault state?

New Jersey runs a hybrid "choice" no-fault system built around mandatory Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, per N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4 and related sections of the New Jersey Auto Insurance law. Here's what that means in practice:

• Medical bills go through PIP first, no matter who caused the crash. Your own insurer pays your reasonable and necessary medical expenses and certain lost-wage/household-help benefits up to your PIP limit, without having to prove the other driver was at fault.
• Whether you can sue for pain and suffering depends on your policy's lawsuit option. New Jersey lets each household choose between two options on the standard auto policy:
  • "Limitation on Lawsuit" (the verbal threshold): a lower-premium option that limits non-economic (pain and suffering) lawsuits to six statutory categories of serious injury — death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, a displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury supported by objective medical proof.
  • "No Limitation on Lawsuit" (zero threshold): a higher-premium option that preserves your unrestricted right to sue for pain and suffering for any injury.
• Either way, you can still pursue the at-fault driver (or their insurer) for economic losses beyond your PIP limits, and for property damage, once fault is established.

Because the option your policy carries changes what you can recover, confirm which lawsuit option is on your (or your household resident-relative's) policy declarations page before assuming your claim is limited or unlimited.

2. Minimum auto insurance required in New Jersey

New Jersey's minimum liability limits increased on January 1, 2026, as the final phase of a multi-year increase under P.L.2022, c.87. Per the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI), Bulletin No. 25-06, the Standard auto policy's minimum liability limits are now:

• Bodily injury liability: $35,000 per person / $70,000 per accident (up from $25,000/$50,000)
• Property damage liability: $25,000 per accident

These new minimums apply to standard policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026. New Jersey also offers a lower-cost Basic Policy with reduced liability limits and no UM/UIM coverage, aimed at drivers who want the cheapest legal coverage — its exact current dollar limits should be confirmed directly with DOBI or your carrier, since the Basic Policy was not part of the 2026 Standard-policy increase.

PIP (medical) coverage is mandatory on every New Jersey auto policy. Insureds choose a medical expense benefit level — commonly $15,000, $50,000, $75,000, $150,000, or $250,000 per person per accident — and if no option is affirmatively chosen in writing, the policy defaults to $250,000. Even at lower PIP elections, New Jersey law provides enhanced protection (up to $250,000) for medically necessary treatment of permanent or significant brain injury, spinal cord injury, disfigurement, or care rendered at a trauma center immediately after the crash.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage: Standard policies must include UM coverage; UIM must be offered as an option (Basic policies generally do not include UM/UIM at all). Because UM/UIM minimums and available limits can move along with the liability-limit changes described above, confirm the current UM/UIM figures on your declarations page or with DOBI rather than relying on an older number — this is one detail worth double-checking directly.

3. Statute of limitations after a New Jersey car accident

• Personal injury: two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit, under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2.
• Property damage: six years from the date of the accident, under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.

These are the general rules for crashes involving private parties. Deadlines can be shortened dramatically when a public entity or government-owned vehicle is involved (see below), and can be affected by the injured person's age or other circumstances. When in doubt about how the clock runs in your situation, confirm with the New Jersey Courts' self-help resources or a licensed New Jersey attorney — do not wait to find out.

4. Shared fault: New Jersey's modified comparative negligence rule

New Jersey follows modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, under the New Jersey Comparative Negligence Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 and following sections.

• You can still recover damages as long as your share of fault is 50% or less.
• Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault (for example, if you're found 20% at fault, your award is reduced by 20%).
• If you're found more than 50% at fault, New Jersey law bars you from recovering anything.

Because insurers routinely dispute fault percentages to reduce payouts, document the scene, get witness names, and request the official crash report before you accept a fault determination from an adjuster.

5. When you must report a crash in New Jersey

Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-130, a driver involved in a crash must give notice by the quickest means of communication to the local police, county police, or State Police immediately if the crash results in:

• injury to or death of any person, or
• property damage to any one person's property in excess of $500.

Beyond the immediate notice, the statute also requires forwarding a written report within 10 days in certain circumstances where no officer investigated. It is not a legal defense that you were unaware of the extent of injury or damage — only that you knew you were in an accident matters. Failing to report can lead to fines and suspension of your driving and registration privileges, so when a crash meets this threshold, call the police at the scene and let them file the official NJTR-1 crash report rather than trying to self-report later.

6. Damage caps and claims against a government vehicle

If the vehicle that hit you was owned or operated by a state, county, or municipal government (a police car, school bus, public works truck, NJ Transit vehicle, and similar), your claim is governed by the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq., not the ordinary rules above, and the timeline is far shorter:

• You generally must present a written notice of claim within 90 days of the accident to the responsible public entity, under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 of the New Jersey Tort Claims Act.
• Miss that window, and a court may — at its discretion, and only in limited circumstances — allow a late notice up to one year after the accident; after that, the claim is typically barred entirely.
• The Tort Claims Act also imposes its own limits and thresholds on what you can recover from a public entity, including restrictions on pain-and-suffering damages that don't apply to claims against a private driver.

Because the notice requirements, forms, and recoverable-damage rules under the Tort Claims Act are technical and entity-specific (state vs. county vs. municipal), do not wait to sort this out — confirm the correct agency and current requirements with the New Jersey Treasury Division of Risk Management (for state vehicles) or the relevant local entity as soon as possible after a crash involving a government vehicle.

What to do after a crash in New Jersey

1. Stop and check for injuries. Leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or damage is a separate criminal offense in New Jersey.
2. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, or if property damage looks like it could exceed $500. Let responding officers complete the official crash report.
3. Exchange information — names, addresses, license and plate numbers, and insurance details — with the other driver(s).
4. Photograph the scene: vehicle positions, damage, skid marks, traffic signals/signs, and any visible injuries.
5. Get witness contact information before people leave the scene.
6. Seek medical evaluation promptly, even if you feel fine — this both protects your health and creates the medical record PIP and any injury claim will rely on.
7. Notify your own auto insurer promptly to open your PIP claim, regardless of fault.
8. Note whether a government vehicle was involved and, if so, treat the 90-day notice deadline as urgent — don't wait to find out which agency to notify.
9. Keep records of medical bills, missed work, and repair estimates as they come in.
10. Talk to a licensed New Jersey attorney before signing any settlement release, especially if injuries are serious, fault is disputed, or a public entity's vehicle was involved.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; laws and dollar limits change, so confirm current details with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, the New Jersey courts, or a licensed New Jersey attorney before acting.