Cengolio · Fines · Codes · AC20
AC20 : failing to give particulars or report an accident within 24 hours
Checked 22 July 2026 · How we check our figures
What it means
AC20 carries the most misread deadline on the table: the statute requires reporting as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case within 24 hours, s. 170 RTA 1988. The 24 hours is a ceiling, not an allowance, and waiting until the next morning because the day still had hours left is precisely how this code gets earned. Reporting means a police station or a constable, not a note on a windscreen; the note satisfies nobody if the other party never appears.
Points and how long it stays
5 to 10 points.
On the licence for 4 years from the date of the offence.
The AC codes are the s. 170 RTA 1988 family: what the law demands after an accident, and the price of skipping it. The duties come in sequence, stop at the scene, give particulars where someone has grounds to ask, and where particulars were not exchanged, report to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours, a ceiling drivers persistently misread as an allowance. Damage alone triggers all of it, injury is not required, and an accident you did not cause still obliges you to stop. The family's signature is its floor: 5 to 10 points on the named codes, the highest starting price of any everyday family, on the 4-year offence clock (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22). The money mechanics sit in the fine bands guide at /fines/guides/fine-bands.
The usual route
Nothing here is dealt with by penalty notice; the case is charged and heard.
If it goes to court
The exposure matches AC10 under s. 170 RTA 1988, custody available and the same 5-point floor; the fine bands guide covers the money end.
Read next
Calculator: the code decoder, every code on the official list →
Authority
gov.uk, Penalty points (endorsements), checked 2026-07-22