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To report a pothole or dangerous road defect, first find the highway authority responsible for that particular road, then use its official online form or urgent contact route. In England and Wales, start with GOV.UK’s postcode-based service; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different routes, and some English motorways and A roads are managed by National Highways rather than a council. Give a precise location and explain the hazard. Use an urgent route if the defect presents an immediate danger, and do not put yourself at risk to take a photo.
How do I report a pothole to my local council?
Use the official reporting route for the authority responsible for that road. The road’s location alone does not always tell you which body maintains it, so confirm responsibility before submitting a report. The quickest approach is to identify the authority, select the closest defect category, give a location that someone else can find, and describe the problem and its risk in plain language.
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- Identify the responsible authority. Use the relevant official route below, and check whether a major road has a separate managing authority.
- Choose the closest defect category. If the form does not say “pothole,” look for a road-surface, road-edge, pavement or general highway-problem option.
- Pin down the location. Include the road name and useful details such as a nearby junction, landmark, postcode or direction of travel.
- Describe the problem and risk. Explain what is damaged and why it could endanger road users. Add a photograph if you already have one or can take it safely.
- Use the urgent contact route if necessary. A routine web form may not be the right way to alert the authority to an immediate or serious danger.
- Keep the confirmation. Save any report confirmation or reference and copies of relevant evidence, especially if you may need to follow up.
Some council forms ask for contact details so the authority can follow up. Medway, for example, asks for the road name, the nature and severity of the defect, and any available photographs; contact details are optional on its reporting guidance. Follow the instructions on the form for the authority responsible for your road. You do not need to provide a technical diagnosis: report what you can see and where you saw it.
For a routine defect, the online form is generally the straightforward way to submit the information. It helps put the report into the authority’s own system and lets you use the categories and location tools it provides. If the report form offers a map, marker or location pin, use it to clarify the written description rather than relying on a pin alone. If you cannot use the online route, check the authority’s page for another contact method. Do not assume that a social-media post or a message to a different council has reached the team responsible for that road.
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Which authority should I contact in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
The correct reporting route depends on where the road is and who manages it. The GOV.UK pothole service directs people to different routes for the four nations.
- England and Wales: Enter the postcode in GOV.UK’s service to find the relevant council reporting route.
- Scotland: Use the council-selection route provided by GOV.UK.
- Northern Ireland: Follow GOV.UK’s map-based route to identify where to report the defect.
- Some motorways and A roads in England: These are managed by National Highways, not the local council. GOV.UK directs reports for roads it manages to National Highways.
Do not assume that the nearest council is responsible, or that every major road is managed by the same body. Follow the official lookup and confirm the route for the exact road. A road can pass through several council areas, and the authority managing a major route may not be the council whose name is associated with the place. Leicestershire County Council makes the local point plainly: “We are not responsible for dealing with every road problem.” Its statement is a reminder to check responsibility, not a rule that applies to every authority or road.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteIn practice, the nation and road type are separate questions: first use the national route to find the appropriate reporting page, then check whether that exact road is managed by the council or by another authority. For an English motorway or A road, verify whether National Highways is responsible rather than treating the road’s postcode as proof that the local council handles it. If the first route tells you that another organisation is responsible, use that organisation’s official reporting route instead of submitting duplicate reports to several bodies.
The name of the defect may also affect which form you select, but it does not change the need to report it to the authority for the road. A council service can accept more than pothole reports: Leicestershire’s page includes road, pavement and traffic-light problems, among other highway issues. If you are unsure whether a damaged surface is a pothole, road-edge problem or another defect, choose the closest available category or use the general road-problem option.
What information should I include in a road-defect report?
Make the defect easy to locate and assess. A clear description is more useful than a vague report such as “big pothole near town.” The aim is not to decide what repair is needed; it is to give the authority enough accurate information to identify the spot and understand the issue.
- Location: Road name, nearby junction or landmark, postcode if useful, and direction of travel where relevant. If you can safely provide a map pin or precise position through the form, do so.
- Defect: Say what you can see—for example, a pothole, an uneven depression, a failed trench repair, a damaged road edge, or cracking and crumbling. Cornwall Council lists these as examples of road-surface problems.
- Risk: Explain why the defect may be dangerous, such as its position in the carriageway or the way it affects road users. Stick to what you observed rather than guessing about the cause.
- Photo: Attach one if available and safe to take. A photo can help show the reported condition, but it is not worth entering a live carriageway or standing somewhere unsafe to get it.
- Contact information: Provide it if the form requests it or you want the authority to be able to follow up. Some forms make contact details optional.
If the defect does not fit a named pothole category, report it through the closest relevant option or the authority’s general road-problem form. Council services may cover other highway issues as well: Leicestershire’s reporting page includes road, pavement and traffic-light problems, among other categories. Lincolnshire also has a route for potholes or road-edge problems, illustrating that categories differ between reporting pages.
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Be as specific as you can without putting yourself in danger. “On the left side of the road just before the junction with High Street, travelling towards the town centre” is more useful than “near the shops” if those details are accurate. If there are several defects, describe each one clearly and say whether they are clustered at the same location. Avoid combining separate sites into one vague report if the authority’s form allows reports to be pinned individually.
When describing risk, focus on observable facts: the defect’s position, whether it is in the path of traffic, and what makes it a concern. You can explain that it may affect road users without claiming it has already caused an incident or predicting what will happen. Do not state a size, depth or cause unless you know it. The authority’s guidance asks for location and information about the issue; you are reporting a hazard, not carrying out an engineering inspection.
A photo is optional, not a requirement to approach the defect. Use an image you already have or take one only from a safe place. Cheshire East explicitly advises people not to put themselves in danger to gather evidence. Do not stop in an unsafe position, step into the carriageway, or ask someone else to expose themselves to traffic for a picture. If you cannot get a safe image, submit the report without one and provide the clearest location description you can.
Check your entries before sending. A wrong road name, unclear direction or misplaced map pin can make a defect harder to find. If the form lets you review your report, make sure the description matches the pin and that the contact information is correct if you have supplied it. Keep the confirmation or reference number so you can identify the report if you later need to follow up.
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Use the responsible authority’s current urgent or emergency contact route when the defect presents an immediate or serious risk. Do not assume that a routine online report is monitored or handled as an emergency. An online report is suitable for notifying an authority of a defect, but emergency handling is a separate route where the authority provides one.
Authorities publish their own instructions. Leicestershire directs imminent risks to a phone number, while Staffordshire provides a separate highways-emergency route and says it is for emergencies. These are local examples, not national contact numbers. Check the current instructions on the responsible authority’s website and use the route it specifies. If you cannot establish responsibility quickly, GOV.UK’s route can help identify the relevant reporting authority; for an immediate hazard, consult that authority’s urgent contact instructions rather than relying only on a standard form.
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Use the emergency route for an immediate or serious danger, not simply because you would like a routine repair completed sooner. The local authority’s instructions determine what it treats as an emergency and how it wants the public to report one. Do not use a number published by another council as if it applied across the country, and do not assume that a standard form submission will be escalated automatically.
If there is no immediate danger, make a normal report with the location and description, then keep the confirmation. If the condition changes or creates a more urgent risk, revisit the responsible authority’s current instructions and use the urgent contact route it gives. In either case, reporting is not a reason to approach the defect or try to make the road safe yourself.
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What happens after I report a pothole?
The authority may investigate, inspect the site, assess the risk and decide whether work is needed. The report does not guarantee a particular repair or timetable. Local authorities use their own inspection categories, intervention thresholds and response targets, so the next step depends on the relevant authority’s policy and its assessment of the location.
Medway Council says it investigates reports with a site visit and orders repairs it considers necessary. Other authorities use their own inspection categories, risk thresholds and response targets. Leicestershire publishes local response windows for different risk categories; Lincolnshire describes local thresholds and typical timings that can also vary by road class. These are examples of local policies, not UK-wide standards.
There is no single repair deadline established here for every council. How quickly an authority responds can depend on its assessment, the road’s priority and its maintenance policy. A report may lead to an inspection, a decision that action is needed, or a decision that the defect does not meet that authority’s current intervention threshold. Those outcomes are local decisions; reporting the defect does not mean the authority has accepted that it must make a particular repair by a particular date.
Response windows published by a council should be read in context. A category labelled urgent in one authority’s policy does not automatically mean the same thing as an urgent category elsewhere. The road’s class can matter too: Lincolnshire’s local information distinguishes thresholds and typical timings by road class. Leicestershire’s categories likewise illustrate that a higher-risk defect and a lower-priority one may be handled differently. These examples explain why a national guide cannot promise that every report will be inspected or repaired within a fixed number of days.
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If you want to know whether anything has happened, use the follow-up method given by the authority and refer to your saved confirmation or report reference. If the authority’s page provides a status or update route, follow its instructions; do not infer from the absence of a reply that the report was ignored or that work has been scheduled. A new report may be appropriate if the defect materially changes or the original location details were wrong, but follow the authority’s guidance rather than submitting repeated duplicate reports without new information.
Some local councils also publish repair-cost figures, but those are not charges for making a report and do not indicate what a claim might pay. Cornwall Council lists an average cost of £136 for a permanent pothole repair and £90 for a temporary repair, with those figures updated on 1 October 2026. They describe Cornwall Council’s local repair costs, not a UK-wide average, a fee for residents, or a compensation estimate. The figures should not be used to predict the cost or timing of work on a different road elsewhere.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What if the pothole damaged my vehicle or caused an injury?
Report the defect, keep any confirmation and preserve relevant evidence, but treat a compensation claim as a separate process. Reporting a defect is not itself a claim and does not establish that the authority is legally liable or that compensation will be paid.
Claim procedures differ by authority. West Sussex says the defect must be reported before a claim and that evidence will be requested. Wokingham says the existence of a pothole alone does not show negligence or create an automatic right to compensation. Check the responsible authority’s current claims guidance for its requirements, and keep the report details and any evidence that may be relevant.
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Do not assume that a report automatically starts the claims process, or that the report itself proves when the authority knew about the defect or what it was legally required to do. A report is useful because it records that you notified the authority, but the authority’s claim procedure is separate and may ask for evidence. West Sussex’s requirement to report the defect before making a claim is that council’s stated process; it should not be presented as a universal rule for every authority.
If you intend to make a claim, check the relevant authority’s current page rather than relying on another council’s instructions. Keep the report reference and any evidence you already have, and follow the claim route that applies to the authority responsible for the road. Whether a claim succeeds is not determined simply by the presence of a pothole or by the fact that a report was submitted.
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Should I try to repair the pothole myself?
No: for a defect on a public road, report it to the responsible authority rather than attempting road repairs yourself. The official reporting routes are intended to alert the authority so it can assess the problem and decide what action is required. Do not enter the carriageway to inspect, measure or photograph a defect.
A photograph is optional evidence, not a reason to buy special equipment or take a risk. If the defect is dangerous, use the authority’s urgent contact instructions instead of trying to make the road safe yourself. The reporting guidance does not require a dedicated camera, measuring tool or repair product. A phone or camera you already have is sufficient for an optional photo, provided it is safe to take one.
Buying materials to fill or patch a public-road defect is not a substitute for reporting it. The authority responsible for the road must assess the issue and decide what action is appropriate. Do not block traffic, place objects in the road, or carry out work that could create another hazard. For a routine concern, submit the report; for an immediate danger, follow the authority’s urgent instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I report damage to a road edge or a pavement as well as a pothole?
Yes. Use the closest category offered by the responsible authority or its general road-problem route. For example, Lincolnshire has a reporting route for potholes or road-edge problems, while Leicestershire’s page covers pavement and other highway issues as well as roads.
Do I need to know the exact cause of the road damage before reporting it?
No. Describe what you can observe, where it is, and why it may be hazardous; do not guess at the cause. Authorities’ reporting guidance asks for location and information about the defect, not a technical diagnosis from the person reporting it.
Does reporting a pothole automatically start a compensation claim?
No. A report alerts the highway authority to a defect, while a claim follows the authority’s separate process. If damage or injury occurred, check the relevant authority’s claim guidance for its evidence and submission requirements.
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Contact the highway authority responsible for that exact road, using its official report form for routine defects or its urgent contact route for an immediate or serious danger. GOV.UK helps direct people in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; some English motorways and A roads are managed by National Highways.
Can I send a photo with my report?
Attach a photo if it is available and safe to take. Do not enter a live carriageway or stand in an unsafe place to gather evidence; submit the report with a precise written location if you cannot take a safe photo.
The Bottom Line
Find the authority responsible for the exact road, submit a clear report with a precise location and description, and use its urgent contact route for an immediate danger. A photo is optional and only worth taking if it is safe. Response times and claim procedures vary by authority, so check the responsible council or road agency’s current guidance.
