> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.holace.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Requesting an Investigation (Firm Side)

> From a journey, dispatch an outside investigator and track the request through to a returned report.

When a HoLaCe firm needs an outside investigator — to walk a habitability property, photograph a scene, interview a witness — it doesn't leave HoLaCe to do it. The journey itself is the dispatch desk: pick the right service provider, attach context, send the request, and watch the status update as the work progresses.

This is the firm-side counterpart to the [SP admin assignment workflow](/portals/sp-admin/assigning-requests). What you submit here lands on **Adrianna's queue at Innate Fox** within seconds.

\[Screenshot: Journey detail page with the Investigations tab selected and an active "Investigation in progress" status pill at the top]

## Where the action lives

Open any journey, then click **Investigations** in the journey's inner nav. This panel is part of the **parallel-services** system — investigations don't move the avenue forward, they run alongside whatever stage the case is in. See [Service Providers Overview](/portals/service-providers-overview) for the parallel-services concept in full.

## Creating a new request

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click New Investigation Request">
    Top-right of the Investigations panel. The button is hidden if no service provider is set up for your firm yet — see your firm admin or HoLaCe support.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the service provider">
    A modal opens with the providers wired into your firm. **Innate Fox** is the canonical investigation partner for habitability work. (MyFile Runner, the court-filing partner, is shown alongside but appears as *coming soon* until Q3 2026.)

    \[Screenshot: Service Provider picker modal with the Innate Fox tile highlighted]
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill the request form">
    Required and recommended fields:

    * **Investigation type** — currently `HOUSING_CA` (California habitability). More types unlock as HoLaCe partners expand into other states and case types.
    * **Property address** — full street address. The address is what the SP and contractor will see and navigate to.
    * **Unit number** — apartment/suite, when applicable.
    * **Tenant name** and **phone** — your client. The investigator may need to coordinate access.
    * **Landlord name** — for context; not required.
    * **Priority** — `STANDARD`, `URGENT`, or `EMERGENCY`. This drives the SLA the SP commits to. See [Assigning Requests](/portals/sp-admin/assigning-requests) for the SP-side SLA table.
    * **Preferred date** — when the firm would like the field work to occur.
    * **Special requirements** — gate codes, animal warnings, language preferences for the tenant interview, anything the field investigator should know before showing up.
    * **Description** — free-form context for the investigator.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit">
    HoLaCe creates the `InvestigationRequest`, links it to this journey, and notifies the chosen provider. A new card appears in the panel with status `PENDING`.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Tracking the request

The Investigations panel on the journey shows a card per request with a live status badge:

| Status           | What it means                                              |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| `PENDING`        | Submitted; SP hasn't assigned an investigator yet          |
| `ASSIGNED`       | SP picked an investigator (you'll see their name)          |
| `IN_PROGRESS`    | Field investigator is on-site or actively working the form |
| `PENDING_REVIEW` | Investigator submitted; awaiting your review               |
| `COMPLETED`      | You approved the submitted report                          |
| `ON_HOLD`        | SP paused — usually waiting on tenant access               |
| `CANCELLED`      | Request withdrawn                                          |

\[Screenshot: Investigation card on a journey with an "Assigned to Vince Soria" subtitle and a blue "Assigned" status badge]

You can drill into any card to see:

* The investigator's name and contact (when assigned).
* The scheduled date.
* A live link to the investigation detail (read-only until the report is submitted).
* A status timeline (`InvestigationRequestStatusUpdate` records).

## Attaching context

If something changes mid-flight — the tenant just messaged you about a new violation, you've gotten a related document — you can append notes from the request card. The investigator sees these in their assignment instructions on next refresh.

## Cancelling

If a case is settled before the investigation runs, click **Cancel Request** on the card. Status moves to `CANCELLED`, the SP and the assigned investigator are notified, and the work is removed from their dashboards.

<Note>
  When the request returns with status `PENDING_REVIEW`, the next step is on the firm side: see [Reviewing Investigation Results](/portals/firm-side/reviewing-investigation-results) for what to do with the submitted report.
</Note>

<Note>
  Forward-link: the journey's investigations panel is documented end-to-end in [Case Management → Journey Tabs → Investigations](/case-management/journey-tabs/investigations).
</Note>