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File a 311 pothole report
File a 311 pothole report. Get the location and description confirmed, then filed with your city's own system.
What you can get
Reaches your accounts Creates or changes things in accounts you connect, with your approval.
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It does
- Submits the 311 report to the city once you approve the details
- Does not guarantee the city repairs the pothole or on what timeline
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It stops and asks
- Before it starts: confirm the exact location and the city's reporting system.
- Before submission: review the description or photo being included.
- After submission: record the confirmation or case number.
Derived from this task's own brief and steps, not from the source.
- Confirm the location
Address, cross street, or coordinates for the pothole.
- Identify the city's system
Which 311 portal or phone line the city uses.
- Submit the reportStops for your approval
Files with description or photo once approved.
- Record the confirmation
Case number kept for any follow-up.
Editorial, not from the source
Works when
- You can give a specific location, not just a general area.
- Your city has an online 311 or pothole-reporting system.
- You just want the report filed, not a guarantee of repair.
Does not work when
- You need the city to act urgently; filing a report alone doesn't speed that up.
- Your city only takes pothole reports by phone.
- You want to track multiple reports automatically without reviewing each one.
File a 311 pothole report: review template
| Detail | What was filed | Your check |
|---|---|---|
| [Location] | [Address/coordinates] | [Matches actual spot] |
| [City system] | [Portal/phone line used] | [Correct department] |
| [Confirmation] | [Case number] | [Received and recorded] |
The source case
On X, @EliLanger relays a report from a friend, Yehuda, who built an app that logs hard bumps while driving, then sends the logged bump to Instinct to file a city 311 pothole report. The post is shared as a fun project with a prompt link for others to try, and gives no detail on which city, how many reports were filed, or whether any pothole was actually addressed, and nothing here has been run by this directory.
A public report by someone outside this library. Not independently reproduced here.
From the source
Source excerpt
Got tired of potholes wrecking my car, so I built an app that quietly logs the big bumps while I drive. When I'm parked I tap send, it goes to my Instinct, and my Instinct files the 311 report for me.
Quoted from the original posts. Not written by this guide, and not a result produced here.
Suggested prompt
Bring Pothole location, City's 311 system or reporting portal. Acts Submits the 311 report to the city once you approve the details. Does not guarantee the city repairs the pothole or on what timeline. Source community report, checked 2026-10-09.
Written by this guide as a starting point, not quoted from the source. Your edits stay in this browser.
Other ways to ask
Editorial rewrites of the brief above, for a different emphasis. Copy them separately.
What you need
Editorial, not from the source
You supply
- Pothole location
- City's 311 system or reporting portal
Connected
- The city's 311 reporting system
How to try it
Editorial, not from the source
- Give it the pothole's location, as specific as possible, an address, intersection, or coordinates rather than a vague description.
- Name the city, since 311 or pothole-reporting systems are run separately by each municipality.
- Provide a description or photo if the city's form asks for one; a bare location without context is sometimes rejected or deprioritized.
- Get the confirmation or case number back, since that's what lets you follow up if the pothole isn't addressed.
Get the location right before anything else
A pothole report filed through 311 is only useful to a city if the location is specific enough for a crew to find it: an address, a cross street, or coordinates, not a general description like 'on Main Street somewhere.' The report behind this page describes a bump-logging app that captures a location automatically while driving, which solves exactly this problem by recording where the bump actually happened rather than relying on memory afterward, hours or days later. If you don't have that kind of automatic logging running, note the location as soon as you notice the pothole, ideally with a photo, since that's the detail most likely to go vague if you wait until later.
Match the city's own system
Every city runs its own 311 or pothole-reporting system, and what counts as a complete report differs: some ask only for a location, others want a photo, a description of severity, or a specific category of road damage. Confirm which city's system is actually being used, since a report submitted through the wrong portal, or a generic form that doesn't connect to the right department, can sit unseen for weeks before anyone notices. If the city offers both an app and a phone line, and the online option isn't available or isn't working, falling back to the phone line is a reasonable substitute rather than leaving the pothole unreported entirely.
Keep the confirmation, since that's your leverage
A filed report with no case number is hard to follow up on; a confirmation or case number is what lets you check status later or reference it if you call the city directly. Ask for that number explicitly and keep it somewhere you can find it again. Filing a report does not create an obligation on a specific timeline, cities prioritize repairs by severity, budget and schedule, so treat the filing as starting a process rather than finishing one. If the same pothole has already been reported by someone else, many cities will merge duplicate reports under one case rather than treating each as separate, which is worth checking before assuming nothing happened at all.
Open Instinct to try it. That is the product's own site; this guide is not part of it.
Limits and confirmation points
- The source describes a custom bump-logging app feeding locations to Instinct; the actual filing step depends on that upstream app, which this task does not build.
- No detail is given on which city's 311 system was used, what information the form required, or whether any report led to repair.
- 311 systems vary widely by city in what they require and how they're accessed; a prompt built for one city's system may not transfer directly to another's.
- Filing a report does not guarantee a repair timeline; that's the city's own prioritization process.
Editorial, not from the source
- Before it starts: confirm the exact location and the city's reporting system.
- Before submission: review the description or photo being included.
- After submission: record the confirmation or case number.
Editorial, not from the source
- The city has no online 311 system
- Check for a phone-based reporting line instead; not every city offers online pothole reporting.
- No confirmation or case number comes back
- Check the city's 311 portal directly to confirm the report was received before assuming it was filed.
- The same pothole gets reported multiple times by mistake
- Check for an existing case number for that location before filing a new report, since cities often merge duplicate reports anyway.
Common questions
Does filing a 311 report guarantee a repair?
No. It starts the city's own prioritization process, which depends on severity, budget and schedule. The filing step doesn't set or guarantee a timeline.
What if I don't have an app logging the location automatically?
Note the location as soon as you notice the pothole, ideally with a photo, since the location is the detail most likely to get vague with time.
Does every city have an online 311 system?
No. Some only take reports by phone. Check your city's own system before assuming an online report is possible.
How do I follow up on a filed report?
Keep the confirmation or case number from when it was filed; that's what you'd reference with the city if you check status or call directly.
What if the pothole was already reported by someone else?
Many cities merge duplicate reports into one case automatically. Check for an existing case at that location before assuming a new report is needed.
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