Report an issue
Issues are how citizens surface a problem in their community — a pothole, a broken water main, a failing school, whatever needs fixing. Every issue goes on the public register with a status that anyone can track.
Before you can file
You need three things:
- A verified email (see Create an account).
- A primary community — you can only file issues in your home constituency (see Join a community).
- Basic details of the problem — title, description, category.
Filing an issue
- Click Report issue from the top nav or the community page.
- Fill in the form:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Title | 5 characters minimum. Short and specific — "Burst water main on Abakpa Rd" beats "Water bad" |
| Description | 10 characters minimum. What's happening, since when, how it affects people |
| Category | Infrastructure, Health, Education, Security, Environment, Utilities, Transport, or Other |
| Location | Optional. A street, landmark, or coordinates — anything that helps someone find the spot |
| Photos | Up to 5 images, 5 MB each. JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP |
| Video | Optional. One clip, 10 MB and 20 seconds max. MP4, WEBM, MOV |
- Click Submit.
About the video attachment
Everything about the video is optional. A report with no photo and no video is a complete report — text alone has always been enough, and nothing about how issues are ranked, routed, or responded to changes based on whether media is attached.
If you do attach a clip:
- The length limit is checked in your browser before anything uploads, so an over-long video costs you no data. If your phone shot it in a format we don't accept, you'll be told immediately rather than after a wait.
- CivicOS grabs a still frame from the start of the clip and uses it as the preview image.
- Readers never download your video automatically. The issue page shows the preview frame and the file size, and fetches nothing until someone presses play. This matters on metered mobile data, which is how most people read CivicOS.
Your issue is created with status OPEN and appears in your community's feed immediately.
The status lifecycle
An issue moves through statuses set by community admins or the assigned organization:
- OPEN — just filed, no one has acted on it yet.
- UNDER_REVIEW — an admin or agency is looking at it.
- IN_PROGRESS — work is happening (repair crew dispatched, etc.).
- RESOLVED — the problem is fixed.
- CLOSED — no action will be taken (with a reason).
You get a notification every time the status changes.
After you file
- You and every other member of the community can upvote the issue to push it up the feed.
- Anyone with a verified account and community membership can comment.
- Representatives, government admins, and NGOs can post official responses — clearly labelled comments that show up differently from citizen replies.
- An organization may take responsibility (an assignment) and post progress updates — public statements about what's being done.
If your issue is off-topic or abusive
Anyone can flag an issue for review. A moderator looks at flagged content and can hide it (with a resolution note that's audit-logged) or dismiss the flag.
Good issues vs. bad issues
Good: a specific problem with a place, a time, and an effect.
Burst water main on Abakpa Rd near Junction 4. No supply since Monday morning. Affects roughly 200 households. Photos attached.
Bad: vague, opinion-heavy, or aimed at a person.
Government is useless.
Bad issues get flagged and hidden. Good issues get resolved.
Next: Voting →