Potholes in San Diego

"San Diego" can mean the City of San Diego, the unincorporated County, a freeway or one of the 17 other cities in the county. Each one fixes its own roads, so a report sent to the wrong agency has to be forwarded or refiled. Before you report, check where the pothole is:

Not sure? A mailing address does not always match city limits, so if in doubt, check whether the address is inside the City of San Diego before you report.

Any pothole that is an immediate danger, such as a deep hole in a traffic lane at night, should be reported by phone right away (619-527-7500 for City streets) rather than through a form. If someone is hurt, call 911.

Inside the City of San Diego, potholes are reported through Get It Done, using the pothole form or the Get It Done San Diego app. The City's general guidance applies, and for potholes three things matter most:

• The exact location. Drop the pin where the hole is, not where you are standing. Add the lane and the direction of travel ("northbound, right lane, just past the bus stop"), because one block of a wide street can hold several patches.
• A photo with context. The City asks for photos that include the surrounding area. Take one close-up and one from a few steps back that shows a house number, a sign or a storefront. Only take photos when it is safe: never stand in a traffic lane.
• The size. A rough idea of width and depth ("about the size of a dinner plate, a few inches deep") helps the crew bring the right amount of material.

Report one pothole, or one tight cluster, per report. If the problem is a long stretch of broken or crumbling pavement rather than a hole, say so: that may be a repaving matter rather than a patch job (see below).

For other kinds of problems, and the full list of numbers to call when it is not a City issue, see our guide to reporting a problem to the City of San Diego, and for dumped furniture or debris, our illegal dumping guide, and for a street light that has gone dark, our street light guide. A raised or broken sidewalk follows different rules; see our sidewalk repair guide.

The City publishes estimated resolution times based on the last 90 days of closed reports. For potholes, the estimate as of May 7, 2026 is 10 days, rising to 20 days or more during significant rain. The City repairs more than 40,000 potholes a year, using a hot patch compound and bagged asphalt.

You can follow your report's status in Get It Done. If the estimate has passed, check the status of your report before filing a new one. If a report was closed but the hole is still there (or came back), file a new report and mention the earlier one.

The City describes potholes as small, bowl-shaped depressions in the pavement, usually with sharp edges and vertical sides near the top. They start when water gets into the pavement and the constant vibration of tires breaks the asphalt apart.

That is why winter storms are followed by a wave of new potholes, and why the City's repair estimate doubles during significant rain: many more holes open up at the same time. Reporting early, while a hole is still small, gives the crew the best chance to patch it before it grows.

A patch fixes one hole. When a street is worn out, it needs resurfacing, and that runs through the City's paving program rather than Get It Done. The City uses two main treatments:

• Asphalt overlay: a new layer of asphalt 1 to 3 inches thick over the existing surface. The street is milled first so the new layer does not build up at the gutters.
• Slurry seal: a thin (about a quarter inch) mix of asphalt emulsion, sand and rock. It is an economical way to extend the life of streets that are still in fairly good condition.

Which streets get done, and when, is decided with a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) that rates each street segment for roughness and cracking, together with traffic volume, the type of road, its maintenance history, available funding and other construction nearby. To see whether your street is already planned, in progress or recently finished, use streets.sandiego.gov.

If your street keeps getting new potholes and is not on the list, keep reporting individual holes, and raise it with your community planning group or your City Council office.

If you believe a City street caused damage to your vehicle or an injury, you can file a claim with the City's Risk Management Department. Note that Risk Management handles claims, not repairs: the pothole itself still needs a Get It Done report.

1. Document it

• When it is safe, photograph the pothole (with something for scale) and its surroundings, and the damage to your vehicle.
• Write down the date, time, exact location, lane and direction of travel.
• Keep repair estimates, invoices, towing receipts and anything else that shows what the damage cost. The City asks claimants to include whatever supports the claim, such as estimates, photographs and diagrams.

2. File within six months

Most claims must be presented to Risk Management no later than six months after the incident. There is no cost to file. You can:

• use the City's online Public Liability claims portal (the City's preferred route), linked from the Risk Management liability page; or
• mail or drop off the RM-9 claim form at City of San Diego, Risk Management Department, 1200 Third Ave., Suite 1000, San Diego, CA 92101 (drop-off 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.; phone 619-236-7300).

The City stopped accepting claims by email on December 11, 2023.

3. What happens next

Your claim is assigned to a Claims Representative, who reviews it and may contact you for more information. Once they have what they need, the City tells you whether the claim is approved or denied. If it is denied, you get a written response that explains the remedies allowed by state law. Under California Government Code section 912.4, a public agency generally has 45 days to act on a claim; a claim that is not acted on in that time is treated as rejected.

Claims against a freeway (Caltrans), the County or another city go to that agency, under its own process and deadlines. This section is general information, not legal advice; for a serious injury or a large loss, talk to a lawyer early, because the deadlines are strict.