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> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
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# Create a request type

You can create a request type for any kind of work that needs its own form, its own statuses or its own group of clients. You create request types in **Settings › Requests › Request types**. A new workspace already has one type, marked **Default**, so clients can submit requests before you set anything up.

## Create and save the request type

![Request types in Settings lists every type with its statuses and who can submit it. Create Request type (1) starts a new one.](https://getzendo.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/kb-q1-list.webp =800x411)

1. Open **Settings › Requests › Request types** and select **Create Request type**.
2. On the **General** tab, enter a **Name**. To call this kind of work something other than a request, fill in the **Singular label** and **Plural label**, for example `Project` and `Projects`. Then set an **Icon**, an **Icon color** and a **Background color**. See [Organise work into projects, tickets and jobs](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/organise-work-into-projects-tickets-and-jobs-1d06utn/).
3. In **Statuses**, add the statuses this type uses and arrange them in the order the work goes through. Use **Add statuses** for statuses you already have, or **Create new status** for a new one. Each status brings its state — Pending, Active or Completed — with it.
4. In **Who can submit**, choose **Everyone**, **Only your team** or **Clients who match a rule**. See [Decide who can submit a request type](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/decide-who-can-submit-a-request-type-1m352cm/).
5. On the **Request form** tab, build the form the client fills in. Without a form, the client sends only a title and a message. See [Build a Request Form](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/build-a-request-form-gxunie/).
6. On the **Automations** tab, choose who is assigned to new requests and what happens when a request changes. See [Automate a request type](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/automate-a-request-type-1m2cf6k/).
7. Select **Save**, then open **Preview** to see the type as a client sees it.

![A request type has three tabs: General, Request form (5) and Automations (6). The flow preview on the right shows what happens after a client submits, and Preview (7) opens the type as a client sees it.](https://getzendo.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/kb-q1-general.webp =652x574)

## A type needs a Completed status

Zendo counts requests by the state of their status, not by the status name. Automations that react to a state, subscription request limits and request counts all work this way. So if a type has no status in the Completed state, its requests never count as finished, and their orders never become Delivered. See [Understand statuses and the three states](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/understand-statuses-and-the-three-states-10e4jci/).

## A request type can also appear on the Front Desk

Turn on **Show this Request Type in the Front Desk** to show the type on your Front Desk. Then add a **Request type thumbnail** and a **Request type short description** of up to 500 characters. This can be used, for example, for request types for pre-sale or support questions.

## Checklists and custom fields

On the **General** tab, you can also add a checklist and custom fields. With a checklist, every request of this type starts with the same tasks. Custom fields hold information that your team keeps on the request. Your team fills them in; the client fills in the form. See [Use a checklist on a request](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/use-a-checklist-on-a-request-nztgnf/) and [Add custom fields to a request](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/add-custom-fields-to-a-request-1qrhajr/).

## Services and request types

In the service editor:

- **Automatic Request creation** makes a purchase create a request of a specific type.
- **Unlock Request types** makes the type available to the client who buys the service.

The **Used by** column in your list of request types shows these services. When you change the statuses or the access of a type, you also change what those services do.

## Related

- [Build a Request Form](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/build-a-request-form-gxunie/)
- [Decide who can submit a request type](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/decide-who-can-submit-a-request-type-1m352cm/)
- [Understand statuses and the three states](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/understand-statuses-and-the-three-states-10e4jci/)
- [Automate a request type](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/automate-a-request-type-1m2cf6k/)
- [Sell a fixed-price service](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/sell-a-fixed-price-service-1anzfy2/)