Pennsylvania 811 Law: When to Call PA One Call Before You Dig

In Pennsylvania you have to notify PA One Call (dial 811) at least 3 and no more than 10 business days before you dig with powered equipment, and that includes homeowners working on their own lot. The rule comes from the Underground Utility Line Protection Law (Act 287 of 1974, as amended, most recently by Act 127 of 2024), and the Public Utility Commission enforces it with fines of up to $2,500 per violation. The service is free for homeowners digging on their own residential property, and digging can start on the third business day after you call.

Do homeowners have to call 811 in Pennsylvania?

Yes, if they dig with powered equipment. The law covers any “excavator,” which it defines as anyone doing excavation or demolition work for themselves or for someone else. So a homeowner running a rented mini excavator, post-hole auger or trencher has the same duties as a contractor. “Excavation work” means moving earth, rock or other material with powered equipment or explosives. Digging with hand tools isn’t in that definition, and soft excavation with vacuum, air or water is excluded (Act 287, Sec. 1).

Don’t read that as permission to skip the call. PA One Call asks homeowners to contact 811 any time they plan to dig, and the PUC’s 811 brochure says even small jobs like planting shrubs or setting a mailbox post deserve a call. The service is free for homeowners digging on their own residential property, and you can file the request online or by dialing 811.

If you hire a contractor

The contractor places its own request. PA One Call tells homeowners not to call in for their contractor, because the contractor may not be protected by your notice. Ask for the contractor’s 11-digit PA One Call serial number before work starts.

How many days’ notice does Pennsylvania require?

Notice has to come in no fewer than 3 and no more than 10 business days before excavation begins (Sec. 5(2.1)). A business day is any day except a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, and the day you call doesn’t count. Work can lawfully begin on or after the third business day after notification. In a week with no holidays, that works out like this:

You call on	Earliest legal start
Monday	Thursday
Wednesday	The following Monday
Thursday	The following Tuesday
Friday	The following Wednesday

PA One Call suggests calling on a Monday or Tuesday if you plan to dig on a weekend, so the lines are marked in time. Utilities have until the end of the second business day after they receive your notice to respond, unless you gave a later date (Sec. 2(5)(v)).

Complex projects and emergencies

A complex project needs at least 10 business days’ notice, and the excavator has to take reasonable steps to work with the utilities, including scheduling a preconstruction meeting (Sec. 5(2.1), 5(3)). In a true emergency, which the law defines as a sudden or unforeseen danger to life, property or the environment, the waiting period doesn’t apply, but every utility has to be notified as soon as possible. Calling a routine job an emergency is itself a violation (Sec. 5(9), 5(22)).

How long is a PA One Call ticket good for?

Act 287 doesn’t put a fixed expiration date on a ticket. What it sets is a start window: your lawful start date falls between the 3rd and 10th business day after notice. Plan to start inside that window, and place a new request if the job slips past it. After work starts, you have to call again when:

• you leave the work site for more than 2 business days, unless you’ve made other arrangements with the utilities (Sec. 5(14));
• the location, scope or duration of the digging changes (Sec. 5(13));
• you find a line that’s unmarked or marked wrong; stay out of that area until you have enough information to dig safely (Sec. 5(20));
• the marks get wiped out or fade. On complex or large-area projects the law makes the excavator protect the marks or request a re-mark through PA One Call (Sec. 5(3)), and asking for a re-mark is the safe move on any job.

What do the colored utility marks mean?

Utilities mark their lines with paint, flags or stakes. Pennsylvania’s law requires temporary marks to follow the Common Ground Alliance best practices and the ANSI Z535.1 color standard (Sec. 2(5)(vi)), which use the APWA uniform color code:

Color	What it marks
Red	Electric power lines, cables, conduit and lighting cables
Yellow	Gas, oil, steam, petroleum or other gaseous materials
Orange	Communication, alarm or signal lines, cables and conduit
Blue	Potable (drinking) water
Green	Sewers and drain lines
Purple	Reclaimed water, irrigation and slurry lines
White	Proposed excavation area
Pink	Temporary survey markings

White is the excavator’s job. When you can’t give PA One Call exact work site information, the law requires you to outline the proposed dig area in white (Sec. 5(11)), and PA One Call tells homeowners they can use white paint, chalk or stakes. A clear white outline gets you marks where you’ll actually dig instead of a guess across the whole yard.

The 18-inch tolerance zone: digging near the marks

The law’s tolerance zone is the space within 18 inches horizontally of the outside wall or edge of a line. Utilities have to mark within that range, and inside it the excavator has to use careful methods such as hand-dug test holes or vacuum excavation (Sec. 1, 2(5)(i), 5(4)). Because the 18 inches is measured from the edges of the pipe or cable, a large main or duct bank makes the zone wider than 3 feet.

In practice that means stopping the machine short of the paint, hand-digging until the line is found, and only then bringing the bucket back. When a drainage trench or wall footing has to cross a marked line, expose the line first and keep it supported; the law also requires excavators to support and protect exposed lines during backfilling (Sec. 5(6)(ii)).

Lines 811 won’t mark on your property

PA One Call passes your request to its member utilities, and they mark the lines they own. The law doesn’t count someone who serves only their own property through their own line as a facility owner (Sec. 1), so lines you own yourself, such as power run to a detached garage or a yard light, a line to a well pump, or irrigation, generally aren’t part of an 811 request. The PUC brochure doesn’t say private lines get marked, so don’t assume they will. Pull them from your own records or hire a private locating service before digging near them.

What to do if you hit a utility line

• Report any damage right away to the line’s owner, even a dent, gouge or groove (Sec. 5(7)).
• If gas or another flammable, toxic or corrosive gas or liquid escapes, call 911 and the line’s owner immediately, take reasonable steps to protect people and property, and stay on site to help responders (Sec. 5(8)).
• An excavator who strikes or damages a line must file a report of alleged violation with the PUC through the One Call System within 30 days (Sec. 5(16)).

Who enforces Pennsylvania’s 811 law, and what are the fines?

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission enforces the law under Act 50 of 2017. Its Damage Prevention Committee reviews alleged violations and can respond with warnings, administrative penalties or required damage-prevention training. Under Sec. 7.10:

• Penalties run up to $2,500 per violation.
• They run up to $50,000 per violation when it results in injury, death or $25,000 or more in property damage.
• Paying a penalty late adds $100 a day, up to $5,000, and so does failing to finish a required education program within 60 days.

The law has no exemption for homeowners, and a penalty doesn’t replace a lawsuit: the utility or anyone injured can still sue for damages (Sec. 7.10(d)). Act 127 of 2024 extended the law through December 31, 2031, and the PUC says it requires every stakeholder to file violation reports, allows daily fines for repeat violations and gives the committee 270 days to act on new cases. The PUC also lists landscaping projects among the most common sources of line damage.

What to ask your contractor before the digging starts

• What’s the PA One Call serial number for this job, and what’s the lawful start date?
• Will you outline the dig area in white if the address alone doesn’t pin it down?
• Who is finding private lines, like a garage feed or irrigation?
• Will the crew hand-dig or vacuum-excavate within 18 inches of the marks?
• If the job pauses for more than 2 business days, who calls in the new ticket?

Sources

• Underground Utility Line Protection Law, Act 287 of 1974 as amended (73 P.S. § 176 et seq.), PA One Call
• PA One Call, homeowner FAQs
• Pennsylvania PUC, PA One Call and Act 50 enforcement
• Pennsylvania PUC, Damage Prevention Committee
• Pennsylvania PUC, Safe Digging Month release (April 16, 2026)
• Pennsylvania PUC, Know What’s Below brochure (PDF)
• APWA Uniform Color Code (PDF)

Last checked November 14, 2026.

Common questions

How many days before digging do I have to call 811 in Pennsylvania?

At least 3 and no more than 10 business days before you start, not counting the day you call, weekends or legal holidays. Complex projects need at least 10 business days’ notice. Work can begin on or after the third business day after you call.

Do I need to call 811 to dig a small hole in Pennsylvania?

The law applies to digging with powered equipment, including augers and mini excavators, and it covers homeowners. Hand digging falls outside the law’s definition, but PA One Call and the PUC ask everyone to call before any digging, even for shrubs or a mailbox post. The call is free for homeowners on their own property.

Does a PA One Call ticket expire?

The law sets no fixed expiration date. Your legal start window runs from the 3rd to the 10th business day after notice, and you must call again if you leave the site for more than 2 business days, change the scope or location, or find unmarked or wrongly marked lines.

What is the fine for not calling 811 in Pennsylvania?

The PUC can impose up to $2,500 per violation, or up to $50,000 when the violation causes injury, death or $25,000 or more in property damage. You can also be sued for the cost of the damage.

This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.

See every Pennsylvania building, digging and contractor rule on our Pennsylvania guide. Related: Pennsylvania drainage law between neighbors · Pennsylvania clean fill rules · PennDOT driveway permit.