Florida 811 Rules Before You Dig

Florida's underground damage prevention law is the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act, Chapter 556 of the Florida Statutes. It created Sunshine 811, the statewide one call center that notifies utility owners when someone plans to dig. If you excavate anywhere in Florida, from a fence post hole to a mile of directional bore, this law sets the rules for when you can start and how you have to dig near buried lines.

This guide summarizes those rules for contractors, subcontractors, and property owners in the Tampa Bay area. It is a plain language summary, not legal advice; the statute and Sunshine 811 have the final word.

Who has to call 811 in Florida?

Sunshine 811's answer is simple: anyone who is digging. Chapter 556 covers excavation and demolition broadly, including trenching, boring, drilling, grading, post setting, and similar work that moves earth. A handful of narrow exemptions exist, covered further down, but if you are a contractor working with equipment, assume the law applies to you.

Step by step: from ticket to shovel

1. Submit your locate ticket

Notify Sunshine 811 by calling 811 (or 800 432 4770) or by submitting a ticket online through Sunshine 811. Under section 556.105, the notice must include:

• Your name, your employer, and the employer's street address
• A representative's name and phone number, plus an email address if available
• The county, city or closest city, and street address or closest intersection
• The construction limits of the work area
• The start date and how long the work is expected to take
• Whether machinery will be used
• Who the work is being done for, the type of work, and the approximate depth

Be specific about the dig area. Vague tickets lead to incomplete marks, and incomplete marks lead to strikes.

2. Wait 2 full business days

Florida requires notice at least 2 full business days before you dig, or 10 full business days for excavation beneath state waters. Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and state and national holidays, and a notice received after business hours counts as received at the start of the next business day. A ticket called in Thursday afternoon generally means you can dig Tuesday, not Monday.

3. Check the positive responses

Each utility owner, called a member operator, must respond within the same 2 full business days, either by marking its lines or by reporting that it has nothing in your area. Before you dig, the law requires you to verify those positive responses. If you know a facility is in the area, it is not marked, and the operator has not responded, you must contact that operator before you proceed.

4. Read the marks

Operators mark their lines with paint or flags using the American Public Works Association uniform color code:

Marks show the approximate horizontal location of a line. They do not tell you its depth, and they can be off by inches or more, especially where records are old.

5. Dig with care inside the tolerance zone

In Florida, the tolerance zone runs 24 inches from each outside edge of a marked facility. Inside that zone, section 556.105 requires the excavator to use increased caution, and spells out the methods: hand digging, pot holing, soft digging, vacuum excavation, or similar procedures to identify the facility. Any mechanized equipment used in the zone must be supervised.

This is where hydrovac work fits. A vacuum excavation truck exposes the line with water and air instead of a bucket, so you can confirm its exact position and depth before your equipment gets close. See how potholing and daylighting works.

6. Keep the marks current

A locate ticket and its marks are valid for 30 calendar days. If your job runs longer, or if marks are destroyed by traffic, rain, or other trades, stop work near the affected facility and request a remark through Sunshine 811. Knowingly removing or destroying valid marks is itself a misdemeanor under section 556.107.

7. If you hit something, stop

Sunshine 811's guidance is to stop digging after any contact, no matter how minor it seems. Under the statute you must notify the facility owner immediately, using the contact information on your ticket, and stop any activity that could cause further damage until repairs are made. If gas or another hazardous substance is escaping, call 911 and evacuate the area.

What if a utility never marks its lines?

If an operator fails to mark within the allowed time, section 556.105 allows the excavator to proceed with reasonable care and detection equipment. In practice, proceeding blind next to a line you suspect is there is exactly how strikes happen. Contact the operator, and if the line must be found before work continues, verify it in the ground with potholing.

Exemptions from the notice requirement

Section 556.108 lists the situations where you do not have to notify Sunshine 811. The most common ones are:

• Homeowners digging entirely on their own single family lot, 10 inches deep or less, with due care and without encroaching on a utility easement or right of way.
• Excavation of 18 inches or less for certain surveying and pest control work, state agency road maintenance, and some utility repair work, generally without mechanized equipment.
• Hand tool work by utility operators on their own facilities, limited to 30 inches where another company's permanently marked facilities share the right of way.
• Normal agricultural, railroad, and certain industrial activities that stay off marked utility rights of way and easements.

Exemptions are narrow. If you are a contractor and you are unsure, call.

Penalties for skipping the rules

Under section 556.107, violations such as failing to give proper notice, excavating improperly in a tolerance zone, or continuing to dig after marks are gone are noncriminal infractions carrying $500 plus court costs per infraction. Certain violations involving federally regulated hazardous materials pipelines carry $2,500 plus court costs. Citations can come from the State Fire Marshal, fire chiefs, law enforcement, or code inspectors, who can also order work to stop. The fines are usually the smallest cost of a strike; repair bills, downtime, and liability for injuries are far larger.

Where hydrovac fits in your 811 process

Hydrovac excavation never replaces the 811 call. It works with it. Once lines are marked, vacuum excavation lets you:

• Confirm the true position and depth of every marked line before mechanical digging
• Excavate inside the tolerance zone using a method the statute names directly
• Verify crossings ahead of directional drilling
• Find lines when marks and records do not agree

In Tampa Bay's sandy soil and shallow water table, a vacuum excavated test hole also stays small and dry, which makes the utility much easier to see.

Frequently asked questions