How do 311 requests work, and what do their statuses mean?

MyLA311 is the City's line for non-emergency services and information. Requests can be made by calling 311 or (213) 473-3231, at myla311.lacity.gov, or in the MyLA311 app. Each request becomes a case with a type (a pothole, bulky item pickup, graffiti and so on), a location and the City department assigned to it. The public data also records how a request arrived: by phone, through the website or app, from a council office, or entered by a work crew reporting work it did in the field.

A new MyLA311 system went live on March 28, 2025, with a new website and app. The Mayor's announcement said it offered 86 service request types, including 15 new and 25 consolidated ones, and let residents follow a request and receive email updates.

The change split the public record in two. Requests made before the switch are in the legacy datasets, which use field names such as “requesttype” and “owner” (the legacy 2025 dataset also holds a dwindling number of records dated after the switch, into late 2025). Requests in the new system are in MyLA311 Cases datasets, one per year, with different field names, request types and status labels. Comparisons that cross March 2025 compare two different systems.

The legacy dataset defines its statuses. In summary: Open means being reviewed and worked on; Pending, reviewed and needing more work; Forward, sent to another department; Closed, completed; Canceled, could not be completed; and Referred Out, sent to an outside agency and no longer tracked in MyLA311.

The new system's datasets record statuses including New, Reported, In Progress, Workorder Created, Closed, Closed Ext-Referred, Cancelled, Potential Duplicate and Duplicate Confirm, but the published column definitions do not define them. The closed date is filled in when a request is closed, though the dataset notes that not all request types use it.

The 311 page combines both systems. It counts any status beginning with “Closed” as closed; Cancelled and Duplicate Confirm as cancelled; and New, Reported, In Progress, Workorder Created, Potential Duplicate, Open and Pending as still open. A closed request means the City has closed the case; the status alone does not confirm the problem was fixed. The City lists the new datasets as updated daily. To see requests near you, use My district.