If you are an OnSIP customer and have ever tried to dial 311 you may have noticed that the call does not go through. This is because 311 is not a standard emergency service; instead, it's a local routing for your city municipality or a Citizen Service Center. Simply dialing 311 in OnSIP will not result in the expected phone call. However, there is a solution.

As most of you may know, 311 is a non-emergency number used in many communities in both the United States and Canada; several European countries have begun to use 311 as well. It's an all-purpose number allowing residents to instantly obtain non-emergency services in their communities.

For New York City, the 10-digit number that maps to 311 is 212-NEW-YORK, or 212-639-9675. You will need to know your community's 10-digit number in order to proceed with the instructions below. You can Google "what is the number for 3-1-1 in my city" to find the local phone number to proceed below.

Now that you have obtained your 10-digit number, you are ready to begin. The first thing you'll want to do is log into app.onsip.com with your account information.

1. Navigate to "Administrators"
2. Click on "Outbound call settings"
3. Select "External phone number" and click on "Add external phone number"
4. Get that 10-digit number handy. Enter in a descriptive Name for this external phone number; enter the 10-digit number into the External phone number field; use the Report call activity under dropdown and select a user; and select an Outbound Caller ID.
5. Click on + Add extension, enter 311 in the Add extension field, and click on the + to add the extension.
6. Click on "Save and exit."

Your new external phone number for 311 has been created!