Do I need to call 811 before digging in Virginia?

Yes. Virginia law says no person shall begin any excavation or demolition without first submitting a locate request to the notification center,^[1] which is Virginia 811. That covers homeowners as well as contractors. Virginia 811 says you must contact it for all digging projects, such as installing mailboxes, fences or landscaping.^[3] The request is free, and it takes a few working days for the utilities to mark their lines.

What counts as digging

The law's definition is broad. Excavation includes grading, trenching, digging, ditching and drilling, among other things,^[2] so regrading a yard, trenching for a drain or drilling post holes for a fence all count. Small jobs count too. As Virginia 811 puts it, "No matter how big or small your project is" the advice is the same: request markings before you dig.^[4]

How long it takes and what it costs

Virginia 811 asks you to contact it at least 3 working days before you dig, to give the member utilities enough time to mark the approximate location of their underground utilities. A working day is every day except Saturday, Sunday, and state and national legal holidays.^[3] Using Virginia 811's services is always free.^[3]

Once you have asked, the work may start only after the excavator has confirmed, on the notification center's online positive response system, that each utility has marked its lines, reported that none are in the area, or otherwise posted that excavation may begin.^[1] Look for the paint or flags, and the responses posted online, before work begins.

If you arrive and see clear evidence of a utility line that was not marked, wait: the law requires the excavator to make an additional contact with the notification center, and the operator of an unmarked line must respond within three hours.^[1]

Marks, tolerance zones and how long they last

If you are only digging in one part of your property, outline that area in white paint or white flags so the utilities do not mark your whole yard.^[3] A locate request covers an area no larger than one-third of a mile, and it is valid for 15 working days.^[1] When the 15 days are running out, or the markings on the ground become illegible, the excavator must ask for the lines to be re-marked.^[1]

Marks are approximate. Virginia 811 says state law mandates a two-foot tolerance zone on either side of the marks, and that in the tolerance zone only certain types of excavation are allowed, such as only being permitted to dig with hand tools.^[3] You need a new request each time you want to dig, even in an area that was marked before, because factors like erosion and plant growth can alter the location of buried lines and utilities may have added new ones.^[3]

What 811 does not mark

Public utilities mark to the point of consumption: gas to the meter, electric to the meter, phone and cable to the network interface device.^[5] Several lines you may hit are private and will not be marked. Virginia 811 says the line that connects your house to the water meter is considered private, as is the sewer line between your house and the cleanout.^[5] Its other examples include lines running from your home to a detached garage or shed, invisible pet fences, satellite or dish television lines, septic tanks and their lines, and propane tanks and lines.^[5] Tell any contractor what you know about these before they dig.

If a contractor is doing the work

On a hired job your contractor is responsible for contacting Virginia 811. Before any excavation takes place, you should confirm that they have contacted 811 and any non-member utilities to request that the approximate location of the buried utilities be marked with flags or paint.^[3] Make it part of the written scope who submits the request and when.

The law has teeth. Except for counties, cities and towns, an excavator who willfully fails to submit a locate request is liable to a notification-center member operator whose facilities are damaged for three times the cost to repair the damaged property, with punitive damages capped at $10,000 in any single cause of action.^[1] Beyond the legal exposure, hitting a gas, electric or communications line is dangerous.

When to call a licensed pro

For any job with a machine, a trench or work near a service line, hire a licensed contractor rather than digging yourself. Virginia's Board for Contractors defines a landscape service contracting specialty that covers altering a land area by excavation, clearing and grading, including removing stumps and roots below grade.^[6] Check the licence on DPOR's License Lookup.^[7] If the markings and the ground do not agree, or you find a line, a pipe or a tank that was not marked, stop and let the contractor and the utility sort it out.

For regrading in particular, see how a yard is regraded so water drains away from the house and how much yard grading costs in Virginia. Loclis lists licensed Virginia businesses by category: browse excavation and grading services or read more excavation answers. To get quotes for your own project, describe the job once.