Car accident in Italy: the documents to keep before you leave
A witness’s telephone number can be harder to recover than a hospital record. If you are returning abroad, start with the evidence that may disappear, then request the documents you can obtain later.
Avv. Luca Valente · 14 October 2026
English · Deutsch
Start with what may disappear
Once everyone is safe and urgent assistance has been arranged, record the location, date and time. If it is safe to do so, photograph the vehicles, number plates, damage, road layout and relevant signs. Take wider views as well as close-ups: a photograph of a dent alone says little about where the vehicles were. Never remain in traffic to collect evidence.
- The placeTake the wider view
Road layout, signs and vehicle positions, as well as the damage.
- The peopleSave a way to reach them
Names, telephone numbers and where each witness was standing or sitting.
- Your memoryWrite it down today
Separate what you saw from what you were told afterwards.
Keep the original image and video files. Send yourself a backup rather than relying only on compressed copies in a messaging app. If you annotate an image, retain an untouched version. Write a short account while your memory is fresh, separating what you saw from what somebody else told you.
Ask witnesses for their names and contact details, and note where each person was. An injured passenger should also keep an individual record for their own claim. Record whether someone was a passenger or an independent observer; do not describe a passenger as an uninvolved bystander. For accidents involving only property damage, identifying witnesses promptly in the accident notification or first formal communication to the insurer is particularly important: late identification can affect whether their evidence is admitted. See IVASS’s guidance on witnesses.
For crossings, junctions and opening car doors, see pedestrian and cycling scene evidence.
If the other vehicle left without reliable identification, see unidentified-vehicle claims.
Keep the accident form, including any mistakes
The Italian accident statement is commonly called the CAI or CID. Keep a complete, legible copy, including the sketch, checked boxes, observations and signatures. If the drivers disagree, a form completed by one driver can still record that driver’s account; a jointly signed form should reflect genuine agreement about the circumstances. IVASS explains the distinction.
If you later notice an error, preserve the form as signed. Make a separate dated explanation of the disputed entry and keep the evidence supporting it. Do not silently edit the original or add a signature for another person.
A number plate is wrong on the signed form. What now?
Keep the signed copy. Write a separate, dated explanation identifying the entry and the correction, and retain the photograph or other record supporting it. Replacing the original with a silently corrected version makes it harder to understand what was actually agreed at the scene.
This is an illustrative document-handling example; the effect of an error on the claim depends on the facts.
Where a foreign-registered vehicle is involved, record its country and registration number, make and model, insurer and policy details where available. Note the police force and local station that attended. UCI lists these details among the information needed to identify and handle claims involving foreign vehicles responsible for accidents in Italy. Your own residence abroad does not, on its own, make UCI the recipient. See UCI’s document requirements.
You have left Italy. A record is still missing.
A document you do not yet have should go on a request list. Record who holds it, the relevant date and any reference number. Contact the hospital or police office through its official channel to establish the request procedure, identification or authorisation required, and any fee. Confirm the expected release date with each office.
- Before leaving the area
- Save original photographs, witness contacts, the accident form and the details of everyone involved.
- Before travelling home
- Collect available discharge records, prescriptions and receipts. Note the hospital, attending authority and claim reference.
- After returning home
- Request missing records, retain further treatment documents and add every insurer letter to the same file.
A short message to request the records procedure
I am seeking records concerning [date, location and reference]. Please confirm the office responsible, the application procedure, the identification or authorisation required and any fee. Please also confirm how the records can be supplied to a person living abroad.
This asks how to obtain records. It is not a compensation claim or a notice intended to interrupt a limitation period.
Document the injury, the expense and the connection
Keep emergency and hospital records, medical reports, prescriptions, test results and records of later treatment, including treatment in your home country. For the handover between providers, see continuing care and the claim after returning home. Retain the original-language documents; establish which translations are actually required before commissioning them. Do not delay necessary care while waiting for insurance paperwork.
For each expense, retain the invoice or receipt, evidence of payment and a short note explaining its connection to the accident. Separate medical expenses, travel for treatment, vehicle costs and other losses. An amount paid is not automatically an amount recoverable from the insurer.
If work has been affected, preserve evidence of the absence and its financial effect, such as employer confirmations and relevant earnings records. Italian insurance legislation requires specific information for an injury claim, including information about occupation, income and medical recovery. A folder of receipts alone does not make a claim complete. See Article 148 of the Private Insurance Code.
For vehicle damage, keep pre-repair photographs, estimates, invoices and towing or storage records. See the vehicle inspection and repair guide before authorising work. If repair or disposal is urgent, document why and establish promptly how the insurer can assess the damage. Keep evidence of the cause and extent of the damage as well as the repair invoice.
A file you can find your way around
- 01 · AccidentOriginal photographs, the CAI, witness details and the police reference.
- 02 · MedicalRecords in date order, including treatment after your return home.
- 03 · ExpensesInvoices, payment evidence and a note of what each cost relates to.
- 04 · CorrespondenceThe claim, attachments, delivery receipts, offers and proposed releases.
Use dates in filenames and keep a short list of missing items. Save the messages themselves and their delivery evidence, not just screenshots of your inbox. Keep the file private. When an offer arrives, use the settlement checklist to compare it with the records in those folders.
For an initial enquiry, give the accident date and location, your country of residence, the vehicles involved, whether anyone was injured and any approaching deadline. List the documents you have and those that are missing. Do not send medical records, identity documents or detailed sensitive information through this website’s first-contact form; arrangements for any necessary documents can follow.
Enquire about an accident claim
General information for accidents in Italy. The documents and procedure required depend on the circumstances. Sending an enquiry does not create a professional engagement or mean that a deadline has been accepted.
Use the evidence to prepare the claim
Next, check which insurer or claims handler should receive the request. To connect your medical and financial records to the relevant losses, read what goes into an injury compensation claim.