Oct 6, 2026 · @Yuchi
What is 311?
311 gives residents an easy way to report everyday problems, like a pothole, a broken streetlight or an overgrown lot, without picking up the phone. Each report goes to the right department, gets a tracking number, and stays in one place for your team to work on until it's resolved.
Residents can report issues:
From your website
In the HeyGov app
By chatting with Vanteve, if your town uses it
Every request is saved to the resident's profile, so you can see their past reports alongside their forms, payments and bookings.
Before you start
A little setup up front makes sure every report lands with the right people.
1. Set up your departments
Add the departments that handle reports, like Public Works, Parks or Code Enforcement, and add your staff to each one. Requests are routed to a department, so this is how the right team sees them.
2. Add your 311 categories
Categories are the types of issues residents can report, such as Pothole, Streetlight Out or Missed Trash Pickup. Go to Account → Town Settings → 311 categories to add yours and connect each one to the department that handles it.
Tip: use the words residents would use. "Streetlight out" is easier to pick than "Electrical infrastructure."
3. Choose your reporting options
In your 311 settings, decide:
Anonymous reports: whether residents can report without giving their name and email. Turning this off means you can always follow up with the person who reported the issue.
Location: whether residents must give a location for their report.
How residents report an issue
Reporting takes about a minute:
The resident opens the 311 option on your website or in the HeyGov app.
They describe the problem and pick a category.
They add the location and, if they like, a photo. Photos are tagged automatically, which helps your team see what's going on at a glance.
They add their name and email so they can get updates, unless your town allows anonymous reports and they choose to stay anonymous.
They submit and get a tracking number for their request.
Residents who share their email get updates as your team works on the request.
Work a request
All reports land in your 311 queue in the dashboard. From there, your team can sort them, follow up with the resident and close them out.
Find requests
Open 311 in the dashboard to see your queue. New requests appear at the top. Filter by status or department to focus on what's yours.
Handle a request
Click a request to open it. You'll see the description, category, location, photos and who reported it.
Check that it's assigned to the right department. If it isn't, reassign it.
Update the status as the work moves along, so the resident knows it's being handled.
Use Message to reply to the resident, or add an Internal note that only your team can see.
Once the issue is fixed, mark the request resolved.
Every update, message and note is saved on the request's timeline, so anyone on your team can pick it up and see the full history.
Tip: a short message when you close a request, like "The pothole on Maple St. was patched today. Thanks for letting us know!", goes a long way with residents.
311 and Vanteve
If your town uses Vanteve, residents can report a problem just by describing it in a chat, text or email. For example: "There's a fallen tree blocking the sidewalk on Maple St." Make sure the 311 Requests capability is turned on in your Vanteve settings.
Vanteve can:
Recognize when a resident is reporting a problem and file a 311 request for them
Collect the details your team needs, like the location and a photo
Route the request to the right department
Look up a request by its tracking number and tell the resident where it stands
Keeping things verified: when Vanteve files a request, the resident gets an email with a link to confirm it. Until they do, you'll see an Unverified badge on the request in your dashboard. You can still work on it as usual.
Private requests stay private. If a resident asks about a private request, Vanteve asks them to verify their email before sharing any details.
Requests filed through Vanteve show their source on the request, with a link to the original conversation, so you can read exactly what the resident said.
Common questions
Who gets notified when a new request comes in? The staff in the department the request is routed to. Make sure each category is connected to the right department and that department has the right people in it.
A request went to the wrong department. Can I move it? Yes. Open the request and reassign it to the correct department.
Can residents report without giving their name? Only if you turn on anonymous reports in your 311 settings. If it's off, residents need to add their name and email to submit.
Can residents see the status of their request? Yes. Residents who share their email get updates as your team works on it. If your town uses Vanteve, they can also ask for a status update using their tracking number.
Can I talk to the resident without everyone seeing it? Use Message to write to the resident, and Internal note for comments meant only for your team.