Car Accident Laws in Utah: Fault, Insurance & Deadlines

Utah is a no-fault car insurance state. After a crash, your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays your medical bills and lost wages first, regardless of who caused the wreck — but if your injuries are serious enough, you can still step outside no-fault and sue the at-fault driver. You generally have 4 years from the date of the crash to file an injury lawsuit (Utah Code § 78B-2-307), and 4 years for a claim covering damage to your vehicle (Utah Code § 78B-2-307(3)). If a government vehicle was involved, that window shrinks dramatically — see below. Confirm any of these figures with the Utah Insurance Department or current Utah Code before relying on them, since limits and thresholds do change.

1. Is Utah a No-Fault or At-Fault State?

Utah is one of the handful of true no-fault states. Every auto policy must include Personal Injury Protection (PIP), which pays your own medical expenses and a portion of lost wages after a crash — up to your policy limits — no matter who was at fault. You look to your own insurer first, not the other driver's.

No-fault doesn't mean "no lawsuit," though. Utah law sets an injury threshold (Utah Code § 31A-22-309) that a person must clear before suing the at-fault driver for pain-and-suffering and other general damages. You can pursue a third-party claim only if you've suffered one of the following:

• Death
• Dismemberment
• Permanent disability or permanent impairment based on objective medical findings
• Permanent disfigurement
• A bone fracture
• Medical expenses exceeding $3,000

Because the minimum PIP benefit is only $3,000 per person, many injured Utah drivers cross this threshold quickly once imaging, ER visits, and physical therapy are added up — which is exactly when a claim against the at-fault driver's liability coverage becomes relevant. Property-damage claims (fixing your car) are not part of the no-fault system and can generally be pursued against the at-fault driver's insurer directly.

2. Minimum Auto Insurance Required in Utah

Under Utah's financial-responsibility law, drivers must carry at least the following (Utah Code § 31A-22-304, Title 31A Chapter 22 Part 3):

• Bodily injury liability: $30,000 per person / $65,000 per accident for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 (or a $90,000 combined single limit). Older policies issued or renewed before that date were subject to the prior $25,000/$65,000 minimums — confirm which applies to your policy period.
• Property damage liability: $25,000 per accident (was $15,000 before January 1, 2025).
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): a minimum of $3,000 per person is mandatory on every policy, with no deductible allowed on that base amount.
• Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage: Utah insurers must include both by default (Utah Code §§ 31A-22-305 and 31A-22-305.3) — you're covered unless you affirmatively reject UM/UIM in writing. Given how many drivers on the road carry only bare minimum liability limits, keeping UM/UIM in place is one of the few decisions squarely within your control.

These are legal minimums, not what most injury attorneys would consider adequate protection. Verify current requirements and your own policy's limits with the Utah Insurance Department (insurance.utah.gov) or your agent — minimums have changed recently and could change again.

3. Statute of Limitations After a Utah Crash

• Personal injury: 4 years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit (Utah Code § 78B-2-307).
• Vehicle / property damage: 4 years from the date of the accident for damage to your motor vehicle or to personal property from a motor-vehicle accident (Utah Code § 78B-2-307(3)). Utah's general 3-year deadline for injury to personal property (§ 78B-2-305) expressly does not apply to motor-vehicle-accident property damage, which the statutes route to the 4-year period instead.
• Wrongful death: claims arising from a death generally run on a shorter clock than ordinary injury claims — confirm the current deadline with the Utah State Courts or an attorney, since wrongful-death timing can depend on when the death occurred relative to the injury.
• Claims against a government entity or government vehicle: a separate, much shorter deadline applies — see the government-claims section below.

These deadlines can be shortened or extended by specific circumstances (the injured person's age, the identity of the defendant, when the injury was discovered, etc.). Missing a deadline typically bars the claim entirely, so don't wait to confirm the exact date that applies to your situation with Utah's courts (utcourts.gov) or the current Utah Code.

4. Shared Fault: Utah's Modified Comparative Negligence Rule

Utah follows modified comparative negligence (Utah Code § 78B-5-818). Under the statute, you can recover only from a defendant (or group of defendants) whose combined fault exceeds your own share of fault:

• If your share of fault is less than the other side's, you can still recover — your award is simply reduced by your percentage of fault.
• In a typical two-vehicle crash, that means you generally must be found under 50% at fault to recover. If you are 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing, because the other driver's fault no longer exceeds yours.

In practice, the fight over percentages after a Utah crash isn't academic — the difference between being 49% and 50% at fault can eliminate your entire recovery. Insurance adjusters know this and often push hard on shared-fault arguments for exactly that reason.

5. Crash Reporting: When You Must Notify Police

Utah law (Utah Code § 41-6a-401) requires the driver involved in a crash to immediately notify the nearest law enforcement agency when:

• The crash caused injury or death, or
• Property damage appears to be $1,500 or more.

An investigating officer who completes a report must submit it, and law enforcement agencies generally forward accident paperwork to the Utah Department of Public Safety within about 10 days (Utah Code §§ 41-6a-402, -403). If officers do not respond to the scene or no report gets filed, document the crash yourself (photos, witness information, insurance details) and report it to your own insurer promptly — don't assume "no ticket, no report" means you have no reporting obligation. If you're unsure whether your crash meets the reporting threshold, contact the Utah Highway Patrol or your local police non-emergency line to confirm — the current damage threshold and process are subject to change and are best verified directly with Utah DPS (dps.utah.gov).

6. Damage Caps and Claims Against a Government Vehicle

Ordinary negligence claims between private drivers in Utah are not subject to a general cap on compensatory damages. But if the at-fault vehicle was owned or operated by a government entity or employee (a city vehicle, school bus, state trooper, snowplow, etc.), the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah applies, and it changes the rules substantially:

• Notice-of-claim deadline: 1 year. You must file a written notice of claim with the responsible governmental entity within one year after the claim arises (Utah Code § 63G-7-402). Missing this deadline generally bars the claim entirely — it is far shorter than the 4-year injury statute of limitations that applies to private drivers.
• Damage caps apply. Utah Code § 63G-7-604 caps the amount recoverable per person and per occurrence against a governmental entity, and these caps are adjusted periodically. Because the exact current dollar figures change on a regular schedule set by state rule, confirm the current cap with the Utah Division of Risk Management or current Utah Code before assuming a number.
• The government entity generally has 60 days to respond to your notice of claim once filed, and you cannot sue during that waiting period.

If any government vehicle, employee, or entity was involved in your crash, treat the 1-year notice deadline as your real deadline — not the 4-year statute of limitations — and act quickly.

What to Do After a Crash in Utah

1. Check for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt, or if damage looks like it could be $1,500 or more.
2. Move to safety if the vehicles are drivable and it's safe to do so, without leaving the scene of a reportable crash.
3. Exchange information — names, addresses, license and plate numbers, and insurance details with every driver involved.
4. Document everything — photos of all vehicles, damage, license plates, road conditions, skid marks, and any visible injuries; get contact information for witnesses.
5. Get medical care promptly even if you feel "fine" — some injuries surface later, and prompt treatment both protects your health and supports a PIP or injury claim tied to the $3,000/serious-injury threshold.
6. Notify your own insurer to open your PIP claim, and ask specifically what your PIP limits and UM/UIM coverage are.
7. Get a copy of the police report once it's filed, and note the report number.
8. Track every medical bill and lost workday — this is what determines whether you cross Utah's injury threshold to sue the at-fault driver.
9. Note if any government vehicle was involved and, if so, act well within the 1-year notice-of-claim window — don't wait.
10. Confirm current deadlines and limits with the Utah Insurance Department, Utah Courts, or current Utah Code before your claim's timeline runs out.

This article is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your specific situation — confirm current rules and deadlines with an attorney or the official sources named above.