Kathleen Gallagher · July 16, 2026 · 7‑min read · Leer en español
When someone hits your car in Las Vegas, the other driver’s insurance pays for your injuries and your repairs, because Nevada is an at-fault state. That is simple when the other driver stops and hands over an insurance card, and complicated when they refuse, drive off, or leave your parked car damaged with no note. This guide covers all three: whose insurance to call when the driver stayed, how to get the other driver’s insurance information from the Nevada DMV when they left, and what pays when they are never found.
Need the other driver’s insurance information? If we represent you for your injury claim, we will obtain it for you. Call (702) 381-3770 or contact Gallagher & Lipshutz before you spend weeks chasing paperwork.
If the driver stayed: whose insurance do I call?
Call the other driver’s insurance company first, and your own second. In Nevada the driver who caused the crash pays, through their insurance, for your medical bills, lost wages and car repairs. Every Nevada driver must carry at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries and $20,000 for property damage under NRS 485.185, and must show that insurance to you, and to the police if they come.
The other driver also has to give you their name, address and the vehicle’s registration number, and show you their driver’s license if you ask, under NRS 484E.030. Before anyone leaves, collect:
- A photo of the other driver’s insurance card, driver’s license and license plate
- The name and phone number of every driver and passenger
- The name and phone number of every witness, and what they saw
- Photos of both cars, the damage, the intersection and any skid marks or debris
- The officer’s name and the event or report number, if police came
Report the crash to their insurance company, and then to your own insurance company too. Your policy requires you to report a crash right away, and your own coverage (collision, medical payments and uninsured motorist) is your fallback if the other driver’s insurer delays, denies the claim or the policy turns out to be expired. Give the other driver’s insurance company the basic facts and your claim number, but do not give a recorded statement or accept a quick settlement before your injuries are understood.
If the driver left: report it first, then get the report number
Leaving the scene is a crime in Nevada. A driver who leaves a crash that injured someone commits a category B felony under NRS 484E.010, and leaving a crash with only property damage is a misdemeanor under NRS 484E.020. A driver who hits a parked car has to find the owner or leave a note with their name and address under NRS 484E.040. None of that helps until the driver is identified, which starts with the police report.
If anyone is hurt, call 911. If not, call the non-emergency line for the agency that covers the location; the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department does not take hit-and-run reports online, so call (702) 828-3111. Ask for the event number before you hang up. Write down everything you remember about the other vehicle while it is fresh: the plate or any part of it, the make, model, color and the direction it went. Look for cameras on nearby businesses and doorbells, and get a phone number from any witness. About ten business days later, order the report itself; our guide on how to get your Las Vegas crash report walks through each agency.
How to get the other driver’s insurance from the Nevada DMV
This section is for Nevada license plates only; the Nevada DMV cannot look up a car registered in another state. For an Arizona, California, Utah or other out-of-state plate, the search takes a private investigator; Gallagher & Lipshutz has one, and we run that search for our injury clients. If it is a Nevada plate, the DMV can tell you what insurance is on file for that vehicle, but only through its records process. NRS 481.063 bars the DMV from releasing a registered owner’s name, address or other personal information to a private person who presents only a license plate number. The police report is what makes a hit-and-run victim different: it ties you to the crash and gives you a lawful reason to request the record. As a hit-and-run victim, you submit an Individual Records request and upload the on-scene accident report with it; to open the DMV’s hit-and-run records page, go here.
The request is the Individual Records Request package, forms IR-002 and IR-003; to download it from the DMV, go here. You will need:
- Form IR-002 with the other vehicle’s license plate number and its VIN (vehicle identification number). The DMV will not search by plate number alone, but you can find the VIN from the plate with a free online lookup such as FaxVin
- Form IR-003, the records affidavit, which must be notarized. Your bank or a shipping store can notarize it for you, or you can use an online notary such as BlueNotary
- A copy of the police crash report showing the other vehicle and plate
- Your own driver’s license information and a valid photo ID
- The fee: $5 for the vehicle’s insurance information, and another $5 if you also want the registration printout with the owner’s name and address. Pay by check, money order or the credit card authorization form included in the packet; do not send cash
Submit everything online through the DMV Public Records Center; to open it, go here. You can also mail it to Central Services Records Division, 555 Wright Way, Carson City, NV 89711-0250. Plan on up to a month for the DMV to respond. Skip the websites that sell insurance lookups by plate number; Nevada does not release that information to them. A free plate-to-VIN lookup is fine, but the insurance itself comes only from the DMV, the police or a lawyer.
If you have no plate, or the driver is never found
This is where your own policy matters. Every Nevada auto insurer must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and you have it unless you rejected it in writing, under NRS 690B.020. A hit-and-run driver who is never identified counts as uninsured, so your uninsured motorist coverage pays for your injuries the way the other driver’s policy would have. Two conditions apply: the other vehicle must have actually hit you or your car, and you must have reported the crash to the police. A car that ran you off the road without touching you is a harder claim. When the crash was not your fault, Nevada law bars your insurer from raising your premium, cancelling your policy or refusing to renew it because of the claim, under NRS 687B.385, and a crash counts against you at renewal only if you were at least 50 percent at fault.
Your collision coverage repairs the car, your medical payments coverage, if you bought it, pays early medical bills regardless of fault, and your uninsured motorist coverage covers the rest. Report the hit and run to your insurer right away, because every policy requires you to report quickly, and a late report is the easiest reason for an insurer to deny a claim. If you were injured, our Las Vegas hit and run accident lawyers page explains how we find the driver and handle the claim.
Why the insurance information matters to your injury claim
Until you know which insurance company covers the car that hit you, there is no one to send your medical bills to and no claim to settle, while the deadline keeps running; Nevada gives most injury victims two years from the crash to file a lawsuit, and our page on Nevada injury claim deadlines explains the exceptions. A Las Vegas car accident lawyer can request the DMV record and the police report for you, follow up with the officer on a plate or camera lead, and open your uninsured motorist claim at the same time so nothing waits on the search.
This post is general information, not legal advice. For guidance on your specific facts, consult experienced personal injury counsel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I look up insurance by plate number?
Not on your own. Nevada does not release a vehicle owner’s information to a private person who presents only a plate number, and the commercial plate-lookup sites cannot get it either. If you were involved in the crash, have a police report and found the VIN online, you can request the insurance on file for that Nevada vehicle from the Nevada DMV with the Individual Records Request package and a $5 fee. Usually either you or your lawyer makes that request.
What happens with insurance if it’s a hit and run?
If the driver is identified, their liability insurance pays, the same as any other crash. If the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage pays for your injuries, your collision coverage repairs your car, and your medical payments coverage, if you have it, covers early medical bills. Nevada law bars your insurer from raising your rates, cancelling your policy or refusing to renew it because of a claim for a crash that was not your fault.
How do I know if my insurance covers a hit and run?
Look at the first page of your policy, called the declarations page, for a line that says uninsured motorist or UM/UIM. Nevada insurers must include it unless you rejected it in writing, so most drivers have it. The coverage applies to a hit and run only if the other vehicle actually hit you or your car and you reported the crash to the police.
Someone hit my parked car and left. What do I do?
Photograph the damage and the spot, look for a note, and ask nearby businesses and neighbors whether a camera caught it. Report it to the police agency for that location so there is a record, and report it to your insurer. If a camera or witness gives you a plate, the DMV request described above can lead to the driver’s insurance. If not, the repair comes out of your collision coverage, and if you were in the car and hurt, your uninsured motorist coverage.
Is it worth filing an insurance claim for a hit and run?
If you were injured, yes. An uninsured motorist claim is the coverage you have been paying for, and injuries from a crash often cost far more than the deductible on a repair. If the only damage is minor and below your collision deductible, a claim may not make financial sense, but report the hit and run to the police anyway so the record exists if injuries show up later.
How long do I have to report a hit and run in Nevada?
Report it to the police immediately, and to your insurer as soon as you can. Nevada’s uninsured motorist statute requires that a hit and run be reported to the police within the time the crash-reporting laws require, and insurance policies require prompt notice. Waiting days to report is the most common reason a hit-and-run claim is denied.
Need the other driver’s insurance information? If we represent you for your injury claim, we will obtain it for you. Call (702) 381-3770 or contact Gallagher & Lipshutz to talk about your crash.