Who pays if your car needs pothole damage repair?
Minnesota's recent swing from heavy snow to record heat is a recipe for rocky roads.
Spring follows winter. As the two overlap this month, pothole season emerges. And with that comes flat tires, alignment issues, bent suspension and other problems from drivers hitting potholes.
Usually, it's you or your car insurance who pay for repairs, but before we explain those methods we want to dive into a lesser-utilized third option.
Can a city, county or state be held liable for the damage?
Yes, but good luck. Drivers can file a claim against the government entity that oversees the road.
There are forms online where you can detail the pothole's location and provide copies of a repair estimate or receipt if you've already paid.
How often are claims paid out?
It's somewhat rare. The city of St. Paul paid for 35% of the pothole claims filed from January 2024 through March 16, 2026, according to Lisa Hiebert, communications and public services manager for the city's public works department.
That's significantly higher than the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Out of 260 pothole claims filed across 2024 and 2025, the state paid out eight of them, or roughly 3%, according to MnDOT spokesperson Anne Meyer.
WCCO requested pothole claim data from the city of Minneapolis but it did not arrive in time for this story.
Why is it hard to hold a city, county or state liable?
It comes down to whether they knew the pothole existed and had a reasonable amount of time to fix it or warn people.
"The system is not set up for every damage to get paid by MnDOT because we do have an opportunity to try and know where the pothole is and get it fixed," Meyer said.
While road crews are actively looking for potholes, they also need the public's help finding them. Reporting a pothole online raises the chance that a future claim gets paid.
"We want to know where these potholes are, we want to get out there and fix them and that really helps to have the public let us know," Meyer said.
If your claim is denied, or you didn't bother to file one, that's when car insurance comes into play.
Most companies — including State Farm, Progressive and Geico — will pay for pothole damage so long as your policy has collision coverage. All you would need to pay is a deductible, which is great if it's less than the cost of the repair. But if the deductible costs more than the repair, it's cheaper to pay out-of-pocket.
Still, filing a claim with insurance could be costly in the long run. It would count as a single-car accident on your record, meaning your premium could go up.
U.S. drivers pay an average of $406 for repairs from pothole damage, according to the AAA, and about 44 million drivers are impacted each year. Several of those drivers deal with pothole damage multiple times.
So how can you avoid costly repairs? Check your tires. Make sure they're properly inflated and have good tread depth to better withstand a pothole's punch. Also, look out for puddles or standing water in the road. Potholes are often hidden underneath them.
Click here to file a claim over pothole damage on a state road or highway.
Click here to file a claim with the City of Minneapolis.
Click here to file a claim with the City of St. Paul.
Click here to report a pothole to MnDOT.