Tennessee State Law (Quick Summary)

TENNESSEE 811 is Tennessee's statewide one-call notification system that was developed in order to provide excavators and the general public the ability to inform multiple owners of underground facilities of excavation with a single call. TENNESSEE 811 is a not-for-profit independent company that processes information from excavators and passes that information on to affected utilities. TENNESSEE 811 does not do any physical locating or marking of buried facilities in the field, therefore, TENNESSEE 811 is not responsible for incorrect marking or damages resulting from failing to mark in a timely fashion.

In one word - YES!   Tennessee's code, 65-31-101, (Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act) requires anyone who engages in, or is responsible for, the planning or performance of any type of excavation e.g.; grading, demolition, cultivating, augering, blasting, or boring to provide advance notice of at least three full business days to TENNESSEE 811 by dialing 811, 800-351-1111, or online via a Remote Ticket Entry program or E-Ticket program.  The on-line links are found on our website at tenn811.com.

The call-center is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to take ticket requests. TENNESSEE 811 must be contacted prior to excavation in order to comply with the state statute.

You may request a re-mark after an original locate request ticket has been placed and one of the following conditions exists:

• A facility is unmarked.

• Positive Response is not posted.

• Missing or destroyed markings.

• Unable to start work on time.

• The original ticket number is required to obtain an update ticket.

Facility owner/operators have no control over depth variation caused by human interference, weather, or other circumstances. As a result, facilities will only mark the approximate location, not the depth of buried facilities.

Locating is not an exact science; therefore, the actual location of the facility could vary from the position of the marks. Section 65-31-108-(c) An excavator shall exercise reasonable care to avoid damage caused by an excavation or demolition within the safety zone around the marked location of the underground utilities. For the purpose of this section, “safety zone” means a strip of land at least four feet (4′) wide, but not wider than the width of the utility plus two feet (2′) on either side of the utility.

(d) If, upon arrival at the site of a proposed excavation, the excavator observes clear evidence of the presence of an unmarked utility in the area of the proposed excavation, the excavator shall not begin excavating until an additional notice is made to the one-call. The excavator may then proceed, exercising reasonable care to avoid damage to the utility which may be caused by such excavation or demolition.

The approximate location is a strip of land at least four feet (4′) wide, but not wider than the width of the utility plus two feet (2′) on either side of the utility. Also known as the “safety zone”. 

Positive Response is a system housed at the TENNESSEE 811 call-center that allows any participating member, or their authorized locating contractor, to provide status of dig tickets sent to them by TENNESSEE 811. Once the member or the locating contractor determines the status of the ticket, such as clear or marked, they must then post that response to the system. The posted status is then attached to the ticket and stored on the Positive Response server. The posted status can then be retrieved by the requester of the ticket by clicking the link on our website under QuickLinks/PositiveResponse. Our website is located at tenn811.com.

It is very important to wait until the legal start date and time assigned. Beginning work earlier can result in forfeiture of your rights and protections granted under the Tennessee code, 65-31-101. TENNESSEE 811 will issue the earliest legal start date possible, usually three business days after you contact TENNESSEE 811.

A ticket remains valid for 15 calendar days after the legal dig start date requested on the TENNESSEE 811 ticket. It is, however, the excavator's responsibility to get the marks refreshed when needed. A ticket becomes invalid only if the work continues past 15 calendar days, or the locate marks are missing or need refreshing. In addition, if excavation has not commenced on a project within 15 calendar days, a new TENNESSEE 811 ticket will be required.

Each person responsible for such excavation or demolition shall serve written, telephonic or e-mail notice of intent to excavate or demolish at least three (3) working days prior to the actual date of excavation or demolition, but not more than ten (10) full working days prior to such time, unless a different period has been agreed to in writing by the person responsible for the excavation or demolition and the operator or designated representative. 

Should a period of time of fifteen (15) calendar days from the actual date specified to start excavation or demolition expire without the excavation or demolition being completed, then the person responsible for such excavation or demolition shall serve an additional written, telephonic or e-mail notice of intent to excavate or demolish at least three (3) working days prior to the expiration of time on the fifteenth calendar day.

Tennessee 811’s main goal is damage prevention.  The most important thing is that underground lines are located!  Therefore, Tennessee 811 will NEVER refuse a call based on who is, and is not, doing the work. This applies to new tickets, updates, 2nd and 3rd notices.

A private facility is a facility located on real property a person or business owns or occupies.  Examples of private facilities include electric, gas and/or communications lines owned by a business, or homeowner-owned underground sprinkler systems, invisible dog fences, or electricity to a detached garage. Because private facilities are not required to become TENNESSEE 811 members, they will not be notified of an intent to dig. It is the excavator's duty to notify the owners of private facilities of their intent to dig.