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Learn how long do accidents stay on your record in texas, how crash reports affect insurance rates, non-fault rules, DPS vs C.L.U.E. reports, and how to protect your personal injury claim after a collision.

How Long Do Accidents Stay on Your Record in Texas? Full Legal & Insurance Guide

A car crash creates immediate stress, medical bills, and vehicle damage. Once the immediate aftermath settles, another concern emerges: how long does that collision follow you? Drivers across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex frequently ask how long do accidents stay on your record in texas, how insurance companies use crash history to raise premiums, and what options exist to protect a personal injury claim.

Whether you were involved in a minor fender bender on Preston Road in Frisco or a multi-vehicle collision on the Dallas North Tollway, understanding the rules governing Texas driving records, insurance database tracking, and fault determination is critical. Feizy Law Office has represented crash victims throughout North Texas since 2000. For a free consultation regarding your accident injury claim, call (214) 651-8686.

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Table of Contents

• How Long Does a Car Accident Stay on Your Driving Record in Texas?
• Does an Accident Stay on Your Record If You Were Not at Fault?
• How Long Does a Car Accident Affect Auto Insurance Rates in Texas?
• Can You Remove or Expunge a Car Accident from Your Texas Driving Record?
• What Is the Difference Between Texas DPS Records and C.L.U.E. Reports?
• How Does an Accident Record Impact Your Texas Personal Injury Claim?
• What Steps Should You Take After a Collision to Protect Your Rights?

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How Long Does a Car Accident Stay on Your Driving Record in Texas?

In Texas, a car accident remains on your standard driving record maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for three years from the date of the crash.

Under Texas Transportation Code § 550.062, law enforcement officers who investigate a motor vehicle crash resulting in injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more must submit an official crash report (Form CR-3) to the state within 10 days of the incident. Once processed, the crash entry appears on your official Texas driving history.

Key details regarding the three-year DPS retention timeline include:

1. Standard 3-Year Window: For most routine traffic crashes, Texas DPS keeps the incident entry on a Type 2 or Type 3 certified driving record for 36 months.
2. Commercial Driver License (CDL) Exceptions: Commercial drivers face stricter federal and state oversight. Incidents involving commercial vehicles or serious traffic violations can remain on a CDL record for up to 10 years or permanently under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules.
3. Major Criminal Offenses: Collisions tied to criminal charges, such as Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), Intoxication Assault, or Failure to Stop and Render Aid, stay on criminal history records permanently and impact driving privileges far beyond the standard three-year window.

Knowing that the baseline DPS timeline is three years provides clarity, but driving history records tell only part of the story. Insurance providers utilize separate data networks that track claims for longer periods.

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Does an Accident Stay on Your Record If You Were Not at Fault?

Yes, a crash appears on your official Texas DPS driving record regardless of who caused the collision. When an officer files a Form CR-3 crash report, the state records the event for all involved drivers.

However, a crucial distinction exists between an accident appearing on your record and being assessed fault or financial penalty for it.

How Texas Classifies Non-Fault Accidents

1. The Officer's Crash Report: The investigating officer documents contributing factors on the CR-3 report. If another driver ran a red light or made an illegal lane change, the report indicates their primary responsibility.
2. Insurance Surcharges: Under rules enforced by the Texas Department of Insurance, auto insurance carriers in Texas cannot legally impose an insurance surcharge or increase your premium solely because you were involved in an accident where you were completely free of fault.
3. Comparative Responsibility: Texas operates under a modified comparative fault system under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33. If an insurer attempts to assign partial fault (for instance, alleging 10% or 20% responsibility), they may try to use that partial fault allocation to adjust premium rates.

If you were an innocent victim in a collision, obtaining an accurate crash report and securing evidence at the scene prevents insurance adjusters from incorrectly marking the event as an at-fault crash on your profile.

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How Long Does a Car Accident Affect Auto Insurance Rates in Texas?

While the Texas DPS driving record drops standard accident entries after three years, auto insurance companies typically track crash history and adjust rates for three to five years.

Insurance carriers evaluate risk based on statistical models. When an at-fault accident occurs, the insurer assigns "surcharge points" or removes safe-driver discounts, leading to higher monthly premiums.

Factors That Determine Premium Increases in Texas

• Severity of the Crash: Minor property damage claims lead to smaller rate increases than crashes involving severe bodily injury or total loss claims.
• At-Fault Status: If you are deemed at fault, rate increases average between 20% and 45% in Texas, depending on the carrier and claim size.
• Lookback Periods: While many major insurers utilize a 3-year lookback window for standard rate calculations, some premium tiers look back 5 years when evaluating eligibility for preferred rates or vanishing deductibles.
• Accident Forgiveness: Drivers who purchased accident forgiveness coverage prior to the incident may avoid a rate hike for their first at-fault crash, though the claim still registers in national loss databases.

Understanding how insurance carriers track claims requires looking beyond state driving records to specialized industry databases.

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What Is the Difference Between Texas DPS Records and C.L.U.E. Reports?

A common source of confusion for Texas motorists is the difference between an official state driving record and an insurance background report.

Feature	Texas DPS Driving Record	LexisNexis C.L.U.E. Report
Primary Administrator	Texas Department of Public Safety	LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Source Data	Police CR-3 crash reports, citations, court convictions	Claims filed with auto insurance carriers
Standard Retention	3 years for standard driver records	7 years in national insurance databases
Primary Users	Employers, courts, licensing agencies, background checks	Auto insurance underwriters and adjusters
Scope of Data	Traffic convictions, license suspensions, reported crashes	Policy history, claim payouts, property damage amounts

The Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (LexisNexis C.L.U.E.) is a consumer reporting database that tracks auto insurance claims nationwide. When you file a claim or when another party files a claim against your policy, the insurer logs the details in C.L.U.E.

Because C.L.U.E. reports maintain records for seven years, an insurance underwriter may see that a claim occurred five years ago, even after the entry no longer appears on your 3-year Texas DPS driving record. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to request a free copy of your C.L.U.E. report annually to check for inaccuracies.

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Can You Remove or Expunge a Car Accident from Your Texas Driving Record?

Unlike certain criminal arrests or minor traffic citations resolved through defensive driving courses, you cannot simply pay a fee to expunge or erase a legitimate car accident from your Texas DPS driving record.

Crash reports are public administrative records mandated by state law. However, specific remedies exist if your record contains factual errors or inaccurate fault allocations:

1. Correcting an Inaccurate Crash Report (CR-3)

If an investigating officer made a clerical error on the crash report (such as listing the wrong vehicle, misidentifying drivers, or transposing insurance policy numbers), you can request an amendment. Your attorney can submit supplemental documentation, witness statements, or dashcam footage to the investigating agency to request an official CR-3 correction.

2. Disputing C.L.U.E. Report Errors

If LexisNexis lists a non-fault accident as an at-fault claim, or includes a claim you never filed, you have the statutory right to file a dispute directly with LexisNexis. The reporting agency must investigate and correct verified errors within 30 days.

3. Resolving Traffic Citations Associated with the Crash

If you received a traffic ticket in connection with the accident (such as failure to yield right-of-way), resolving that ticket through dismissal, deferred disposition, or a non-guilty verdict prevents a moving violation conviction from appearing alongside the crash entry on your driving record.

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How Does an Accident Record Impact Your Texas Personal Injury Claim?

When you seek financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering after a crash caused by a negligent driver, the insurance company will examine both drivers' historical records.

An accident on your driving history can influence your personal injury case in several key ways:

Comparative Fault Defense Tactics

Insurance adjusters frequently inspect a victim's driving history searching for prior collisions or traffic tickets. If you have prior crashes on record, the defense lawyer may argue that you have a pattern of careless driving or that your physical injuries stemmed from an earlier collision rather than the recent crash.

Pre-Existing Injury Disputes

If a prior accident caused neck, back, or joint discomfort, the insurance company will attempt to attribute your current medical treatment to pre-existing conditions. Experienced personal injury representation counters this tactic by utilizing medical records, diagnostic imaging, and expert testimony to prove that the new crash aggravated a prior condition or created distinct new injuries.

Establishing the Other Driver's Pattern of Negligence

Conversely, reviewing the at-fault driver's Texas DPS record and C.L.U.E. history can strengthen your case. If the driver who struck you has a history of reckless driving, multiple at-fault collisions, or prior DWI convictions, that history provides powerful leverage during settlement negotiations and can support claims for punitive damages in gross negligence cases.

Under Texas law, you have a two-year statute of limitations from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit (Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003). Protecting your claim requires acting swiftly before critical evidence is lost.

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What Steps Should You Take After a Collision to Protect Your Rights?

Taking deliberate steps immediately following an accident protects your driving record, prevents unfair fault assignment, and preserves your right to full financial recovery:

1. Call 911 and Request Law Enforcement: Always ensure an official police crash report is generated. Never agree to settle an accident informally without a police record.
2. Document the Crash Scene Thoroughly: Capture photographs and video of vehicle positions, damage, roadway skid marks, traffic control signals, weather conditions, and visible injuries.
3. Gather Witness Contact Information: Collect names, phone numbers, and statements from independent bystanders before they depart the scene.
4. Seek Prompt Medical Evaluation: Visit an emergency room, urgent care facility, or physician immediately. Adrenaline can mask severe spinal injuries, concussions, and internal bleeding.
5. Be Cautious with Insurance Adjusters: Do not give recorded statements or sign medical releases for the opposing driver's insurance company without legal counsel.
6. Consult an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney: A skilled attorney conducts an independent investigation, preserves surveillance footage, corrects inaccurate crash reports, and handles all communication with insurance companies.

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Protect Your Legal Rights After a Texas Car Accident

An accident entry on your driving record should never prevent you from obtaining the full compensation you deserve when someone else's negligence causes you harm.

Feizy Law Office has fought for injury victims across Frisco, Plano, Dallas, and the entire DFW metroplex for more than two decades. Principal attorney Nick Feizy brings experienced, compassionate, and aggressive representation to every client, ensuring insurance companies treat you fairly.

If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a Texas car accident, do not face the insurance companies alone. Contact Feizy Law Office today at (214) 651-8686 or visit feizylaw.com to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation. We charge no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.