WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Thank you for submitting your locate request to Indiana 811. What’s next? The following information will be helpful to you.
- After-hours calls to Indiana 811 will be limited to Damage and Emergency tickets. All other ticket types will only be processed during our normal operating hours, which are Monday through Friday, 7:00am-6:00pm ET. For more information, please see our Hours and Holidays.
- Make sure the locate technicians have access to the proposed excavation area and that there are no animals present at the site.
- You are responsible for having private lines marked on the property. Private lines are lines that are owned and maintained by the property owner. These may include propane gas lines from your storage tank, an electric or water line to your pool, lines to septic tanks, electric lines to sheds or landscape lighting, lawn sprinkler systems and more. Find out more information about private locating.
- If facility locates are required, the member utilities shall respond by marking their lines at the proposed excavation area in the color code representing their facility.
Before work can commence, Indiana Law requires that you check Indiana 811’s Positive Response system to verify that all member utilities have responded. Once responses are viewed, this information is automatically logged within the system. To check responses, do one of the following:
- If you have an Exactix account, log in and view the Responses tab from within the ticket.
- If you do not have an Exactix account, enter the ticket number and phone number using this tool to view the ticket text and responses.
A list of the Positive Response codes used can be found here.
If applicable, process an additional notice online or contact Indiana. 811 at 811/800-382-5544 after viewing the responses if:
- There is no response listed by the requested start date and time.
- The response indicates the markings are not complete by the requested start date and time.
- You have questions concerning the response provided
- Click here to learn more about positive response.
Now that the members have responded, you can begin digging with care.
- The law mandates a two-foot tolerance zone on either side of the marks which means all outer limits of the underground facility, including above, below, and in a full radius surrounding the underground facility.
- In the tolerance zone, only certain types of excavation are allowed, such as only being permitted to dig with hand tools. The size of the tolerance zone will depend on the size of the underground facility, which is sometimes noted by the utility locating technicians.
Example: If a water line is marked as six inches wide, the tolerance zone on all sides of the line is two feet three inches from the mark. Only use mechanical equipment outside of the tolerance zone. When working within the tolerance zone, be sure to expose the line(s) by safely digging using soft digging techniques such as digging with hand tools. Learn more by reading the Indiana Dig Law.
The original ticket shall remain valid until 11:59 p.m. ET on the expiration date if the markings are not disturbed, damaged, or no longer visible.
Update your ticket online if one of the following applies:
- The digging will not be completed by that date
- The markings become no longer visible
- The work can not be changed
How to Update:
- If you have a Pro account, use Copy to update an existing ticket.
– If you do not have a Pro account and are a frequent user that would like to upgrade your account, register here to take the self-guided training course. - A Copy ticket creates a new ticket and lets you change any field.
– You can update locate instructions and remove areas where work is complete to help locators. Be sure to update the map, if needed. - Attachments do not carry over to a Copy ticket. Please remember to reattach any needed files.
– Only tickets created online can include file attachments.
Some key benefits are:
- Created in under 2 minutes
- Include attachments (pictures, plans, etc.) when creating a ticket
- Access to satellite/aerial view maps when selecting the dig site
- Create, additional notice, or update a ticket, and check positive response 24×7
Calling our PRO Excavators!
We welcome you to become more involved in our grass roots damage prevention community by joining us at your local Damage Prevention Council meeting. We have three councils throughout the state. View meeting dates and times near you on our designated DPC page.