Homeowner decision guideU.S. national guidance

evaluate options

Reviewed and updated September 22, 2026

When are utility locates needed before a concrete project?

Safety boundaryStop work when a suspected utility conflict, damaged service or unexpected line is encountered. Do not touch, expose or attempt to repair a utility yourself; use the appropriate serving utility or emergency resource according to the observed hazard.

Help by phoneSpeak with a qualified concrete professional.

For a new concrete placement or replacement project, not repair-only work. Confirm scope and availability on the call.

Checking the call option…

What you can discuss

Explain your problem or project in your own words.
Ask about service in your area and scheduling.
Discuss the next step and what the provider needs to know.

Calls connect to an independent provider; we may receive compensation. Service area, scheduling and job acceptance are confirmed on the call.

Prefer to read first? Explore the guide

Arrange the applicable utility-location process before a concrete project involves digging or other ground disturbance. That can include preparation and removal work, not only a new slab. Contact the service responsible for the property’s area, describe the intended work and have the contractor confirm the local notification, response and safe-work requirements before starting. This answer does not set a national notice period or excavation clearance.

Also ask what the process covers. A notification service’s member utilities and privately owned lines are not automatically the same inventory. Identify possible owner-installed features and ask whether separate locating is needed. An old drawing, an earlier ticket or a lack of visible marks should not be treated as an all-clear without the required confirmation for the actual work area and timing.

More context for this decision

Details that can change the next step

Use the sections that match what you can safely observe. They add context without diagnosing the property from a distance.

Which underground utilities and private lines should be located before concrete excavation?

Before concrete excavation, resolve both the public one-call process and any facilities outside its actual coverage. The work area can contain service lines as well as privately installed irrigation, lighting, pool equipment, septic or other systems. Do not assume utility flags describe everything buried beneath a slab.

Describe the full work area

Include the proposed excavation, new footings or edges and any related ground disturbance. Give the contractor drawings, service records and the locations of equipment supplied from the house or another building.

Ask who submits the required notice, confirms responses and checks that the notice remains valid. Those tasks should have an identified owner in the work plan.

Confirm coverage rather than guessing

Minnesota's Gopher State One Call explains that nonparticipating private facilities may not be marked through its system and lists examples such as irrigation, septic and private power lines. Use that as a reason to ask your own state's service what is included—not as a nationwide statement of Minnesota law.

Where additional locating is needed, arrange an appropriate private locator or the responsible facility professional before excavation.

Resolve discrepancies before breaking ground

Tell the contractor when drawings, visible equipment and marks do not agree. Do not uncover a line yourself to settle the disagreement or assume an unmarked location is clear.

Ask how unexpected facilities or damaged markings will trigger a pause and reassessment.

Record to keep: the current notice, operator responses, private-locate information and the agreed work-area drawing. A completed request is a process step; it is not blanket permission to excavate wherever equipment can reach.

Separate condition, intended use and project scope

Which situation best matches the project?

The project includes demolition, excavation or base preparation

Describe the complete ground-disturbing scope before the locating request is made. Work limits can extend beyond the visible new slab, so ask the contractor to identify preparation, access and related excavation areas that need consideration. Establish who makes the notification and who verifies the responses. Do not let the task disappear between the homeowner, demolition crew and concrete installer.

Notice next: Keep the work-area description and notification records. Ask the contractor to confirm that the planned activity and location match the request before work begins.

Private or owner-installed features may be present

Tell the contractor about known irrigation, outbuilding services or other buried owner-installed features without assuming every one is covered by the public notification process. Ask the local service what its actual coverage includes and who can locate anything outside that scope. A buried feature’s absence from an old plan does not establish that it is absent from the ground.

Notice next: Collect available installation records and identify uncertainties. Arrange the appropriate separate assessment rather than asking the crew to discover an unknown line during excavation.

The scope, timing or markings no longer match the plan

Treat changed conditions as a reason to reconfirm the process. Ask the local service and contractor what is required when the work area moves, the schedule changes, marks are unclear or a response is missing. The applicable rules are local; this article does not provide a ticket duration, tolerance distance or universal waiting time. Confirmation must relate to the work that will actually occur.

Notice next: Pause the affected activity until the responsible parties resolve the mismatch. Preserve records and request updated guidance through the actual notification process.

Safe observation

What to record before contacting a professional

Use only safe, non-destructive observations and existing records. Do not create access or disturb a hazard to complete this list.

These observations organize a conversation; they do not diagnose the property or prove service availability.

What to record

Prepare an accurate description or sketch of all planned ground-disturbing work, not only the finished concrete footprint.
Collect known buried-service, irrigation and outbuilding records and label missing information as unknown.
Save the request reference, responses and any instructions supplied by the local service.
Photograph visible marks from safe access and note changes without moving marks, uncovering lines or treating a photograph as clearance.

Stop and get appropriate help

Keep people away from damaged or suspect utilities and follow the responsible utility’s safety instructions.
Pause ground disturbance when responses, work-area coverage or private-line questions remain unresolved.

Move from information to action

Who is the useful next contact?

Local utility-notification service

Use the actual service for its request, response and scope requirements. Confirm the state or area served rather than applying another location’s process.

Who submits the request and verifies every required response?
Does the request cover the entire planned disturbance?
Which known or possible private features need separate attention?
What must happen if the date, work area or visible conditions change?

Private-line locating professional, when needed

Use this contact for features outside the confirmed scope of the notification service. Ask what can be evaluated and what limitations remain.

Who submits the request and verifies every required response?
Does the request cover the entire planned disturbance?
Which known or possible private features need separate attention?
What must happen if the date, work area or visible conditions change?

Serving utility or emergency resource for a hazard

Use this route instead of an ordinary concrete service call when a suspected damaged utility or immediate danger is involved.

Who submits the request and verifies every required response?
Does the request cover the entire planned disturbance?
Which known or possible private features need separate attention?
What must happen if the date, work area or visible conditions change?

Contact guidance explains who may help and what to prepare. It does not verify a provider, price, license, arrival time or acceptance of this request.

Checking whether the call request form is available

No request details are needed while this check is pending.

This status does not confirm provider availability, service area or job acceptance.

Short answers

Questions people ask before the call

Does a previous locate cover a new concrete project?

Do not assume so. Confirm the applicable validity, area and response requirements with the actual service for the current work.

Does a boundary survey locate underground services?

Boundary and utility questions have different purposes. Arrange the utility process rather than treating a property survey as clearance for excavation.

Can the absence of marks be taken as permission to dig?

Only the actual process and required responses can establish the next step. Resolve missing information instead of interpreting silence or an unmarked yard as an all-clear.

Where this guidance applies

The explanation, safe observations and comparison questions apply as general U.S. homeowner guidance.

Permits, adopted codes, licensing, property responsibility and provider availability must be confirmed for the actual location and scope.

A ZIP code can help screen service availability; it does not establish a local fact, price, permit rule or provider commitment.

Sources and boundaries

What supports this guide?

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association — CIP 32 — Concrete Pre-Construction ConferenceAgree responsibilities, specifications, scheduling, site operations, acceptance criteria and handling of changes before placement. Boundary: Qualitative concrete-material guidance, not an adopted local code, structural design, mix order, repair warranty or property diagnosis. No numerical specifications or use schedules are imported. The homeowner checklist is an editorial adaptation, not a requirement to hold a commercial-scale conference. Scope: national. Source checked 2026-09-22.
City of Oakdale, Minnesota — Locating Property Lines | Oakdale, MNFences, mowing lines, sidewalks and utility equipment do not by themselves establish a boundary; records and qualified surveying can be needed to resolve its location. Boundary: No Minnesota statute, setback, surveying method, service referral, penalty or utility-notice period is generalized. Used for the evidentiary distinction between a visible fence and a verified boundary, and for surveyor routing. Scope: local. Source checked 2026-09-22.
Common Ground Alliance / 811 Before You Dig — 811 Before You DigArrange utility-location notification before ground disturbance; do not rely on old assumptions about buried facilities. Boundary: State notice periods, ticket duration, mark tolerance and private-line arrangements must be verified locally; no digits are presented as a call path. Scope: national. Source checked 2026-09-22.
Tennessee 811 — HomeThe Tennessee service distinguishes member facilities from private/non-member lines; homeowners elsewhere must ask their own service about exclusions. Boundary: No Tennessee timing, legal obligation or coverage is asserted nationally. Used to prompt confirmation of private-line exclusions with the local service. Scope: state. Source checked 2026-09-22.
Gopher State One Call — What Does NOT Get MarkedOpening private-facility warning; examples of private utilities Boundary: No Minnesota notification period or responsibility rule generalized nationally; used to explain why coverage must be checked. Scope: state. Source checked 2026-09-23.

No underground line has been located or declared absent.

No local notification period, ticket validity or digging tolerance is stated.

Private-line coverage and the limitations of any locating method need property-specific confirmation.