Ohio changed its ordinary excavation-notice window on June 9, 2026. The current rule says notice must generally be given at least two working days, excluding the notification day, and no more than 16 calendar days before excavation. An old page that says 48 hours and ten working days is not the current ordinary rule.
That window is only one record. Before a Northeast Ohio fence, drain, driveway, landscape, utility, or other ground-disturbing project starts, the file should also contain the dig area, responsible excavator, ticket number, notified-member list, every positive response, visible markings, and any separate permission.
The current rule is date-specific
Ohio Revised Code Section 3781.28 took effect June 9, 2026. Its ordinary notice period is at least two working days—not counting the notification day—and no more than 16 calendar days before excavation.
Do not calculate a project’s legal start date from this article. Weekends, legal holidays, special pipelines, emergencies, large projects, relocation or protection work, and other statutory provisions can change the path.
The section also distinguishes property-owner excavation from work performed by a hired excavator. For listed residential-property work by the owner, an exception may apply unless excavation is in a utility easement, public right-of-way, or an area where utility facilities are known to serve the property. When the owner hires an excavator, the statute says the excavator must comply. That is a prompt to identify the actual excavator and review the current law—not permission to assume an exception.
Keep eight records in order
- Complete scope. Name every planned excavation, including fence posts, drainage, grading, planting, signs, patios, driveways, utilities, and temporary access.
- Mapped dig area. Preserve the address, work limits, depth description, white premarks or other required site identification, and matching photos.
- Responsible excavator. Record whether the owner or a hired contractor will perform each excavation. Keep the exact company and individual information on the ticket.
- Dated notification. Save the submission date, proposed start, method, and complete request—not just a calendar reminder.
- Ticket and member list. Retain the reference number and every member utility OHIO811 says it notified.
- Positive-response table. Record each member, code, time, instructions, and follow-up.
- Visible-marking check. Photograph markings from stable ground and record missing, destroyed, removed, or no-longer-visible marks before work.
- Separate permission and closeout. Keep permits, right-of-way or easement decisions, private-facility locating, utility coordination, final restoration, and any completed-ticket record separately.
An 811 ticket does not identify a property boundary, approve a permit, authorize work in a right-of-way, or locate every privately owned facility.
Read each positive response as a status
OHIO811 describes Positive Response as the communication loop between notified member utilities and the excavator. The excavator receives a ticket and waits the two-working-day member-response period before checking every result (Positive Response workflow).
| Code | Published status | What to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| 001 | No conflict based on request information | Member, request scope, response, and site indicators |
| 002 | Member facilities marked up to privately owned facilities | Marking photos and the private-facility boundary |
| 004 | Locator coordination | Contact, revised timing, and completed response |
| 005 | Facility owner or operator coordination | Instructions and written resolution |
| 006 | High-profile or critical facility | Required additional commencement notice and attendance instructions |
| 999 | No timely response | Contact OHIO811 and preserve the follow-up; do not treat silence as clearance |
OHIO811 says to contact it when a response is 999, above-ground indicators suggest facilities but markings are absent, or markings were destroyed, removed, or are no longer visible. A code is a status, not a substitute for unresolved follow-up.
Separate member facilities from private lines
Code 002 expressly describes marking up to privately owned facilities. That boundary matters around irrigation, lighting, detached buildings, pools, propane, septic, private water or sewer, and other facilities that may not be covered by member marking.
Ask who owns each facility and what record covers the private portion. Do not infer “nothing underground” because a member reported no conflict or stopped at its ownership point.
Keep permits and site rights in another lane
The current Ohio Revised Code chapter addresses notification, premarking, utility participation, training, and marking duties. Local project records answer different questions.
For each scope, separately record:
- municipal or county permit;
- public right-of-way permission;
- easement or railroad coordination;
- property-boundary evidence;
- utility-owner approval for support, relocation, or protection;
- private-facility locating; and
- final restoration and inspection.
Do not let “811 complete” overwrite an unresolved permit or site-right question.
Source and method
Local Service Ledger reviewed the June 9, 2026 version of Section 3781.28, the current Chapter 3781 record, and OHIO811’s July 2026 Positive Response page on August 13, 2026. We mapped the ordinary statutory window and public response codes into an eight-stage evidence file. We did not interpret an exception, calculate a legal start date, file a ticket, inspect markings, or approve excavation.
Publication decision
This article is complete for editorial review but remains noindex and not approved for publication. A human must approve the final explainer before it can publish.