You would have to contact the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to verify if this is true but to the best of our knowledge it is not.

The CA DMV notes in many places that having an at-fault accident will normally result in 1 point will be placed on your driving record. Accidents are reported for 3 years from the accident date.

What you may have heard about is the reporting of an accident in California and the minimum limit to report it. In CA each driver involved in an accident that caused more than $750 (it was a $500 minimum amount for accidents prior to January 1, 2003) worth of property damage or injured or killed any person must complete a Traffic Accident Report form SR1 to DMV within 10 days.

So you may have heard that if the accident did not cause $750 worth of damage or if no one was injured or killed that an accident report does not have to be made to the DMV and thus the at-fault party does not receive a point on their CA driving record. This may or may not be true since if the accident was reported in a different manner, other than the SR1 form, then the DMV may still find out and place 1 point and the accident on your motor vehicle record (MVR) if you are at-fault.

Section 1806 of the California Vehicle Code (CVC) requires the DMV to record accident information regardless of fault when individuals report accidents under the Financial Responsibility Law or if law enforcement agencies or CHP investigate and make a report.

1806. (a) The department shall file all accident reports and abstracts of court records of convictions received under this code, and in connection therewith, shall maintain convenient records or make suitable notations in order that an individual record of each license showing the convictions of the licensee and all traffic accidents in which the individual was involved, except those where, in the opinion of a reporting officer, another individual was at fault, are readily ascertainable. At its discretion the department may file and maintain these accident reports and abstracts by electronic recording and storage media and after transcribing electronically all available data from the accident reports and abstracts of conviction may destroy the original documents. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the recorded facts from any electronic recording and storage device maintained by the department shall constitute evidence of the facts in any administrative actions instituted by the department.

(b) When the department receives notification pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1872.45 of the Insurance Code, the department shall remove from the license record of each victim any record of his or her involvement in the accident which is the subject of the criminal complaint.

Section 16000 of the CVC gives information on the accident report that drivers must make. Here it states:

(a) The driver of a motor vehicle who is in any manner involved in an accident originating from the operation of the motor vehicle on a street or highway, or is involved in a reportable off-highway accident , as defined in Section 16000.1, that has resulted in damage to the property of any one person in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750), or in bodily injury, or in the death of any person shall report the accident, within 10 days after the accident, either personally or through an insurance agent, broker, or legal representative, on a form approved by the department, to the office of the department at Sacramento, subject to this chapter. The driver shall identify on the form, by name and current residence address, if available, any person involved in the accident complaining of bodily injury.

(b) A report is not required under subdivision (a) if the motor vehicle involved in the accident was owned or leased by, or under the direction of, the United States, this state, another state, or a local agency.

(c) If none of the parties involved in an accident has reported the accident to the department under this section within one year following the date of the accident, the department is not required to file a report on the accident and the driver's license suspension requirements of Section 16004 or 16070 do not apply.

Section 16000.1 of the CVC was mentioned in the above section with regards for the need to make the accident report so here is what this portion of California law states:

(a) For purposes of this division, a "reportable off-highway accident" means an accident which includes all of the following:

(1) Occurs off the street or highway.

(2) Involves a vehicle that is subject to registration under this code.

(3) Results in damages to the property of any one person in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) or in bodily injury or in the death of any person.

(b) A "reportable off-highway accident" does not include any accident which occurs off-highway in which damage occurs only to the property of the driver or owner of the motor vehicle and no bodily injury or death of a person occurs.

A lawyer familiar with California law and/or the CA DMV should be able to give you more information on when the DMV is given accident information to put on a person's MVR and when they place points on your record.

If you have an accident that appears on your driving record and causes your auto insurance premiums to increase you should shop around for low cost car insurance rates here with us.