A lot of car accidents take place every day in Costa Rica, the majority of them minor incidents, and many times it happens that drivers are unsure on how to act or what to do in these situations.

If you have a minor accident whether it is your fault or the other driver’s fault, you have two choices, you can call the traffic cops and insurance company, which means you have to stay in the scene of the crash until the officers arrive, which depending on the time of day and location can be up to several hours or if you have the possibility of conciliating with the other driver you can fill out a form which can be printed and kept in your car’s glove compartment and speed up the entire process.

The document known as “Declaration of Minor Accident” (Declaración de Accidente Menor –DAM) was implemented since January 2016; it contains information related to the place of the accident and specific details of the same, the personal information of those involved (drivers and car owners) and an estimation of the damages.

Minor accidents are those in which there are no injured parties an both cars are still functioning properly after the incident. However, if you need a tow truck, you can call https://emergencycarassistance.cr for help. They can refer you the nearest service.

The use of this document speeds up the process and it prevents cars from being “gravados”, in other words it prevents the accident to be registered , which if one of the cars involved is being sold it can be a problem.

In order to use this form both parties need to agree on matters, whether because one of the drivers takes the responsibility and agrees to pay for the damages caused, or because both drivers are fine with paying their own expense; therefore the parties do not need to have insurance in place, the document itself is an agreement between the parties.

To get the form, go to the MOPT website and download it or you can also get it from the National Insurance Institute (//www.ins-cr.com/INSFRM/Web/formAccidenteMenor/frmAccidenteMenor.aspx). It is recommended that photos of the incident and damages are taken as well as photos of the driver’s ID’s and car documents. Verifying the contact information is also important, by sending an email or making a phone call while you are at the scene.