What to do if the other driver refuses to sign
Vaidas Labanauskas, 23 years in insurance · reviewed
You can still record what happened and tell your insurer. A statement signed by only one driver does not show agreement, so fill in your own part, note the refusal, collect evidence and follow the local police rules.
At the scene
- Stay calm: Do not pressure the other driver. Nobody has to sign, but in the countries below drivers must give their details when asked.
- Fill in your own part: Complete your column of the statement and note the refusal briefly and factually in your remarks (field 14).
- Record the other vehicle: Registration number, make and model, and the insurer if you can see it.
- Collect evidence: Photos when it is safe, witnesses’ names and phone numbers, and the exact place and time.
- Follow the police rules: Call the police when the local rules require it, or if the other driver refuses to give their details.
- Tell your insurer: Even without the other driver’s signature, within the deadline that applies in your country and under your policy.
When to call the police: country rules
Nobody has to sign the statement, but in the countries below drivers must give their details when asked. The rules on calling the police differ by country:
| Country | What the law requires | Official advice |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | The accident rules set no general duty to call the police. Stop, secure the scene, help anyone injured and give your name, address and insurance details on request (§ 34 StVO). Leaving before your identity is established is a crime (§ 142 StGB). | Bavarian police: always call 110 if anyone is killed or injured or there is considerable damage; it is also advisable if alcohol or drugs are suspected, fault is unclear, or people or vehicles from abroad are involved; if one party insists on the police, everyone waits (Polizei Bayern). |
| France | Stop, give your identity and your vehicle’s to the others involved and alert the emergency services if needed (Code de la route, art. R231-1, according to Ma Sécurité). If anyone is injured, the police or gendarmerie must be told before you fill in the constat (service-public.fr). | If the other driver refuses to fill in or sign the constat, you may call the police; if they drive off, note the plate and tell the police (same source). Refusing to sign is not a hit-and-run offence: send the statement, even unsigned, to your insurer with any witnesses’ details (Ma Sécurité). |
| Spain | If anyone appears injured or killed, notify the authorities and stay (Reglamento General de Circulación, art. 129). Not giving your identity to a traffic officer, or your vehicle details to those involved who ask, is a serious offence (Ley de Tráfico, art. 76). | If you disagree at all, it is better not to sign and to call the police (DGT). |
| Italy | Stop, help anyone injured, and give your details and other information useful for compensation (Codice della strada, art. 189). | If you disagree, fill in the form for your own vehicle anyway (IVASS). |
| Poland | If someone is killed or injured: first aid, call the ambulance service and the Police, and stay (Prawo o ruchu drogowym, art. 44). Tell the Police promptly if a crime is suspected (compulsory insurance act, art. 16). | Police advise calling them if the other driver seems intoxicated, leaves, or does not admit fault and will not write the statement (Komenda Miejska Policji w Szczecinie; Komenda Powiatowa Policji w Policach). |
| Lithuania | If someone is killed or injured, tell the police and stay. If you do not agree on the circumstances, call the police to the scene. If only property is damaged and its owner is absent, tell the owner, otherwise the police (Kelių eismo taisyklės, points 219–222). | Also call the police if a driver seems intoxicated (Lithuanian Motor Insurers’ Bureau). |
| United Kingdom | If you did not give your name and address at the scene, report to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours; if someone was injured and you did not show your insurance certificate, you must also produce it (Road Traffic Act 1988, s.170). Northern Ireland: report forthwith (Road Traffic (NI) Order 1981, art. 175). | Call 999 and give details of any casualties (Highway Code, rule 283). |
Refusal or disagreement?
If the other driver disagrees with part of the account rather than refusing outright, write the difference in your remarks before signing. Never change your own account to reach agreement, and sign only what you agree with. In Spain, the traffic authority advises not signing at all if you disagree, and calling the police.
Tell your insurer
Tell your insurer even if the other driver did not sign; France’s service-public says so explicitly. The deadline depends on the country and your policy: notice deadlines by country. How to fill in your part: How to fill in the European Accident Statement.
FAQ
Fill in your own part completely, note the refusal in your remarks, and keep photos, the other vehicle’s registration number and witness details. Follow the local police rules and tell your insurer.
Yes. You can still tell your insurer and claim. Without a statement signed by both drivers, the insurers rely on the other evidence — photos, witnesses and any police report — so collect as much as you safely can.
Briefly and factually in your remarks, for example that the other driver declined to sign. Do not speculate about their motives.
It depends on the country. In Lithuania you call the police to the scene if you do not agree on the circumstances; in France you may call them if the other driver refuses to sign. If the other driver refuses to give their details, call the police.
Sources
- Service-public.fr (France): Car insurance: filling in the constat amiable after an accident
- Ma Sécurité, Ministère de l’Intérieur (France): Hit-and-run: duties after an accident
- Your Europe (European Union): Car insurance cover abroad: what to do after an accident
- IVASS (Italy): Regulation 56/2025, Annex 1: instructions for the accident form
- European Consumer Centre France: Car accident in Europe