Five steps to a safe excavation

  • Step 1: Plan your job and pre-mark your dig area with white paint, flags and/or stakes.


  • Step 2: Call 811 or make an online request for utility locates at least two full working days before any excavation starts, excluding the date of your call, weekends and legal holidays. It’s the law!

    • Upstate New York: Call 811 or 1-800-962-7962 | digsafelynewyork.com
    • Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk and the Rockaways: Call 811 or 1-800-272-4480 | newyork-811.com

  • Step 3: Wait the required time for utilities to locate and mark their buried lines.


  • Step 4: Respect the marks when digging.


  • Step 5: Dig with care and follow hand-excavating rules.

  • Step 1: Plan your job and pre-mark your dig area with white paint, flags and/or stakes.


  • Step 2:  Call 811 or make an online request for utility locates at least 72 hours before any excavation starts, excluding weekends and legal holidays. It’s the law!

    • Massachusetts and Rhode Island: Call 811 or 1-888-DIG-SAFE (344-7233) | digsafe.com

  • Step 3: Wait the required time for utilities to locate and mark their buried lines.


  • Step 4: Respect the marks when digging.


  • Step 5: Dig with care and follow hand-excavating rules.

Know what's below. 811 before you dig.
Mechanical digging with spotters