Terms of use

Last updated: 20 September 2026

What PotholeMap is

PotholeMap is a public map of pothole reports submitted by members of the public. It is completely free for the general public to use. We are not a highway authority and we are not an official council reporting channel. Submitting a report here does not create a legal notice to a council, and it does not oblige anyone to carry out a repair. If a road is dangerous, report it to the council responsible as well.

Services for organisations

We may offer paid services to councils and other organisations, such as a council portal or access to pothole data. Any such services are covered by separate terms. Reporting a pothole and using the public map remain free.

Reporting responsibly

• Only report real road defects you have seen yourself.
• Never take photos while driving, and never stand in live traffic to get a shot.
• Give the location as accurately as you can.
• Do not submit false, duplicate, abusive or misleading reports.

Photos and reports

You must own the photo you upload or have permission to use it. Please avoid capturing faces, vehicle number plates, house numbers or the inside of private property.

You keep ownership of your photo. By submitting a report, you give us a free, non-exclusive, worldwide licence to use, publish, adapt and share your report, photo and any road condition rating you give: on PotholeMap, and as part of pothole data and services we provide to councils and other organisations, which may be paid for. This never includes your name, email address or account details.

You can ask us to take a photo or report down at any time using the removal request form. We will remove it from the map and stop including it in data we provide from then on.

Voting and ratings

Vote to Fix is one vote per person per pothole. Please don’t use scripts or automated tools to vote, vote in bulk, or use several devices, browsers or accounts to push a total up. We can remove votes that look automated or coordinated, and we can stop counting votes on a pothole where that is happening.

Votes show what local people think should be prioritised. They carry no legal weight and place no obligation on any council to inspect or repair anything.

A road condition rating is your personal opinion of the road, not an official or engineering assessment, and it isn’t a substitute for a council inspection.

Marking a pothole as fixed

Only say a pothole has been fixed if you have seen the repair yourself. Marking one fixed when it hasn’t been takes it off the list councils work from, and that leaves a hazard in the road. We can reopen a report or remove a fixed mark, and the person who reported it is emailed and can tell us it is still there.

Accounts

Keep your sign-in details to yourself. We can suspend an account that is used to abuse the service or to post content that breaks these terms.

Content we may remove

We can edit or remove any report or photo that is inaccurate, offensive, unlawful, contains personal data about someone else, or is not a road defect.

No warranty

Reports come from the public and are not verified by an engineer. We do not guarantee that the map is complete, current or accurate, and we are not liable for loss arising from relying on it. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Your data

How we handle personal data is set out in the privacy policy and the cookie notice.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.