How to Report a Pothole, a Broken Signal or a Sidewalk Problem

Who fixes which road in New Hampshire, how to report a pothole, a broken sidewalk or a signal to your town or the state, and what to do if a road problem damaged your car.

Checked against its sources October 12, 2026.

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This guide is written by Granite Record from the official pages it links to. Where a citation allows only one source, cite the official page for the part you rely on. The date below is the day the page was read.

MLA: “How to Report a Pothole, a Broken Signal or a Sidewalk Problem.” Granite Record, https://graniterecord.org/guides/report-a-road-problem. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.
APA: Granite Record. (n.d.). How to Report a Pothole, a Broken Signal or a Sidewalk Problem. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/guides/report-a-road-problem
Chicago: Granite Record. “How to Report a Pothole, a Broken Signal or a Sidewalk Problem.” Accessed November 2, 2026. https://graniterecord.org/guides/report-a-road-problem.
BibTeX: @misc{guides-report-a-road-problem, title = {How to Report a Pothole, a Broken Signal or a Sidewalk Problem}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/guides/report-a-road-problem}, note = {Accessed 2 Nov. 2026} }

At a Glance

Town roads and sidewalks are your town or city’s to fix: report a pothole, a broken sidewalk, a streetlight or a signal to its public works or highway department. The main state highways are the state Department of Transportation’s: report those to its maintenance district for your town. For a dangerous spot, a signed written notice to the town makes it act, and answer for damage if it does not. If a road problem damaged your car, the deadline to give notice is short.

Whose road is it?
- A town or city street, or its sidewalkYour town or city’s public works or highway department.
- A state highwayThe Department of Transportation’s maintenance district for your town.
Dangerous? Put it in writing, signed, saying where it is and what is wrong.
Damaged your car? Give written notice of the date, time and place, within the deadline.

Step by Step

Work out whose road it is
Most roads are your town’s or city’s. It maintains every ordinary town road, and keeps up the sidewalks it has built along its roads, at no further charge to the owners next to them.
The state’s Department of Transportation maintains the main state highways, and the parts of the secondary state highways it has improved; a town maintains the rest of those.
If you are not sure whose road it is, start with your town.
The law: RSA 229:5, RSA 230:1, RSA 230:3, RSA 230:4, RSA 231:2, RSA 231:3, RSA 231:93, RSA 231:113
Report it to your town or city
Call or email your town or city’s public works or highway department, or the selectboard’s office in a small town. Say exactly where the problem is (the street, the nearest house number or cross street) and what it is: a pothole, a broken or heaved sidewalk, a streetlight that is out, a signal that is dark or stuck, a blocked drain.
A traffic signal that is out at a busy intersection is a danger to everyone using it: report it at once, and if someone may be hurt, call 911.
The law: RSA 231:113
Report it to the state, for a state highway
If a signal is out, a stop sign is down or a state road is iced over, call the Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Center at (603) 271-6862. For a pothole, drainage or another problem on a state road, contact the Department’s highway maintenance district for your town; its page for the public links the districts, and a form for a damage claim. Other questions go to (603) 271-3734 or [email protected].
Anyone may notify the Department of a dangerous spot on a state highway. Once it is notified, unless it decides in good faith there is no danger, it must put up warnings at once and make a plan to repair the spot within 96 hours.
The Department of Transportation, for the public Contact the Department of Transportation
The law: RSA 230:78, RSA 230:79
For a dangerous spot, put it in writing
The law gives a written notice weight a phone call does not have. If a town road, a bridge or a sidewalk is insufficient – not passable safely, or with a hazard a careful traveler could not see or avoid – anyone may give the town written notice. Sign it, say in general terms where it is and what is wrong, and give it to a selectman or the highway agent (in a city, the mayor or a street commissioner), with a copy to the town or city clerk.
The town must then, unless it decides in good faith there is no such danger, put up warnings at once and, within 72 hours, make a plan to repair it, and carry the plan out. If it does not, it is liable for the injury or damage the danger causes.
The law: RSA 231:90, RSA 231:91, RSA 231:92-a
If a road problem damaged your car
On a town road, the town answers for damage only if it had written notice of the danger and did not act, or its officials knew of it and were grossly negligent or acted in bad faith, or its employee created it on purpose or recklessly. Before you can sue, the town or city clerk must be told by registered mail within 60 days of the damage the date, time and place it happened, and a suit must be brought within 3 years.
On a state highway, the Department of Transportation answers on the same terms. A claim against the state goes to the state Board of Claims or the Superior Court, depending on its size. The Department must be told in writing, within 180 days of the damage, the date, time and place it happened, and the claim must be brought within 3 years.
Take pictures of the spot and the damage, and keep your repair bills.
The law: RSA 231:92, RSA 507-B:7, RSA 230:80, RSA 541-B:9, RSA 541-B:14

Common Questions

Who fixes a state route through a city center?

In the built-up centers of the cities and towns the law lists, such as Concord, Manchester and Nashua, the city or town maintains the state routes too, except the turnpikes and interstates, which stay the state’s.

What is a class VI road?

A class VI road is a public way the town does not maintain, and the town has no duty to repair it.

Is every bad road “insufficient”?

No. A road simply in worse shape than others is not insufficient, and snow and ice the town is clearing under a winter policy adopted in good faith are generally not a ground for a claim, unless the town was grossly negligent or reckless.

Who Can Help

Your town or city’s public works or highway department is the place to ask about a town road, and the town office can tell you who that is. For a claim for damage, a lawyer can tell you whether you have one:

The New Hampshire Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service refers you to a lawyer who handles your kind of problem, for an administrative fee. Call 603-229-0002, weekdays 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, or ask online.

Lawyer Referral Service