Claiming compensation due to a road or street problem
If your property or vehicle has been damaged, or you’ve suffered a personal injury, due to a problem with a road or street and you believe that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) is responsible, you can make a claim for compensation.
Before you start
COVID-19 update - due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, and in considering the latest health advice, measures have been put in place to protect staff. As a result, DfI Roads Claims Unit is currently operating a skeleton service. As such, claims processing times will be affected, but the unit will try to deal with your online claim submission or email correspondence in due course.
If you have not yet reported the problem that you believe caused the property damage, vehicle damage, or personal injury, do this by choosing one of the pages in the following section:
Keep a note of the 'W' reference number you're given after reporting it, as you will be asked for this when completing a claim form.
Property damage claim
If it is a claim for property damage you will need:
- photographs showing the damage to your property
- receipts or estimates for the repair of your property (see 'Things to note' section)
- details of your insurance company if you're claiming off them for the same incident
Vehicle damage claim
If it's a claim for vehicle damage, you will need:
- a copy of Vehicle Test certificate
- a copy of the first page of certificate V5C (log book) showing the name of the registered keeper and vehicle registration mark
- the date that your motor tax expires
- photographs of the damage to your vehicle
- photographs showing a close-up of the defect that caused the damage and the same defect at a distance showing the surrounding area
- receipts or estimates for the repair of the vehicle (see 'Things to note' section)
- details of your insurance company if you're claiming off them for the same incident
- proof of insurance excess (if applicable)
Personal injury claim
If it's a claim for personal injury, you will need:
- photographs showing a close-up of the defect that caused your injury and the same defect at a distance showing the surrounding area
- name and address of your doctor’s surgery or the hospital you attended
- names and addresses of any witnesses to your accident
Things to note
Note:
- you should keep the damaged parts/ items as these may need to be inspected by a representative acting on behalf of the Department for Infrastructure
- you must keep all original receipts/ estimates about the claim, as the originals may be needed by the Department for Infrastructure to complete your claim
- if you're unable to scan copies of the requested documents, clear and readable photographs will be accepted by the Department for Infrastructure
- if the claim is for personal injury and you are the claimant and are under 18 years of age (a minor), you must nominate a parent or other representative to make this claim on your behalf
When you first open the online claims form below you will need to register an account. To do so you will have to provide an email address and then request a password.
Privacy notice
You can find out how any personal information you send to the DfI Roads Claims Unit when using this service will be handled by viewing its privacy notice.
Additional information
This is a beta service. To find out what beta means, see the following page:
Tracking the progress of a claim
If you have made a claim online you can check its progress at the following link (you will need your login details and the unique claim reference number that you will be given by the DfI Roads Claims Unit after it registers your claim):
The claim process and claiming compensation by post
You can find more details about the claim process, and how you can fill out a paper form if you prefer to do so, on the How to claim compensation page.
Problems with roads and streets
- An obstruction on a road or street
- Claiming compensation due to a road or street problem
- Clearing ice and snow from footways
- Complaining about how a roads-related claim was handled
- Drains, gullies and sewers
- How to claim compensation due to a road or street problem
- Ice and snow on roads and streets
- Potholes
- Report a pothole
- Report a problem with a crash barrier or guardrail
- Report a problem with a manhole or gully cover
- Report a road drainage fault
- Report a road spillage
- Report a street light fault
- Report an issue with a road sign or marking
- Report an issue with graffiti or fly-posters
- Report an issue with ice or snow
- Report an issue with roadworks
- Report an obstruction on a road or street
- Reporting problems with pavements and private street maintenance
- Road spillages
- Roadside grass cutting, weeds and overgrown hedges or trees
- Street lighting
- Track progress of a compensation claim
- Track progress of a reported road fault or issue
- Track progress of a reported street light fault
- Traffic lights and reporting a fault
- When you see animals wandering on the road