3-1-1 system

3-1-1 is a special telephone number supported in many communities in Canada and the United States. The number provides access to non-emergency municipal services. The number format follows the N11 code for a group of short, special-purpose local numbers as designated in the North American Numbering Plan.

3-1-1 creates a central hub for constituents to be able to access a variety of city services. The number 3-1-1 is intended in part to divert routine inquiries and non-urgent community concerns from the 9-1-1 number which is reserved for emergency service. A promotional website for 3-1-1 in Akron described the distinction as follows: "Burning building? Call 9-1-1. Burning Question? Call 3-1-1."

Many cities also accept 3-1-1 comments through online interfaces. An Open 311 application programming interface is also available for these services.

The first use of 3-1-1 for informational services was in Baltimore, Maryland, where the service commenced on 2 October 1996. 3-1-1 is intended to connect callers to a call center that can be the same as the 9-1-1 call center, but with 3-1-1 calls assigned a secondary priority, answered only when no 9-1-1 calls are waiting. This system is intended to extend the system such that true emergency callers are answered quickly with highest priority.

The largest 3-1-1 operation in North America operates in New York City, which was implemented in 2003.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reserved the use of 3-1-1 for non-emergency municipal services throughout Canada on 5 November 2004. The first Canadian 3-1-1 service opened in Calgary, Alberta on 18 May 2005.

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