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No, in Maryland you must call Miss Utility or dial 811 before you begin an excavation project: Title XII 12-124. Notice to one-call system. (a) In general. -- A person that intends to perform an excavation or demolition in the State shall initiate a ticket request by notifying the one-call system serving the geographic area where the excavation or demolition is to be performed of the person's intent to perform the excavation or demolition. (b) Information required. -- Notice provided to a one-call system under subsection (a) of this section shall indicate: (1) the location of the proposed excavation or demolition; (2) whether the proposed excavation or demolition is within rights-of-way owned or controlled by the Department of Transportation, an administration of the Department of Transportation, or the Maryland Transportation Authority and, if so, the entity and the permit number or authorization number obtained from that entity; and (3) the type of work to be performed in connection with the proposed excavation or demolition.

Any person who intends to perform an excavation, demolition or any disturbance of the earth in Maryland, must first call Miss Utility (811).

By dialing 811, which is the national one-call number or you can also reach Miss Utility at 1-800-257-777 or visit the Miss Utility website at www.missutility.net.

If you are a homeowner and intend to personally hand dig on your own property to a depth of six inches, by law you do not need to call Miss Utility; however, it is highly advised that you make the “Free” call, in order to be certain of your underground utility locations to dig at any depth.

No. Miss Utility (811) is a clearing house for notifying the utility owners that someone is about to dig near their facilities. It is the utility companies that either do the marking with colored paint or flags or a contract locating company hired to do it for them. hyper link to this section of Title XII.

Yes! Tickets are only good for 12 full business days after the day on which the ticket is transmitted by the on-call system to an owner member. Title XII § 12-125. Repeat notification. (a) In general. -- A person shall repeat the notification required under § 12-124 of this subtitle if the person: (1) has not completed or will not complete the excavation or demolition within the time period authorized by the ticket; or (2) intends to expand the excavation or demolition beyond the location indicated in the notice under § 12-124(b) of this subtitle. (b) Additional requirements. -- A person shall repeat the notification regardless of: (1) any delays by an owner-member in marking its underground facilities; or (2) an agreement between the person and an owner-member regarding the time for marking underground facilities.

The 811 system or One Call is a free nationwide service, provided by underground utility owners to any person who intends to excavate, disturb or demolish. Miss Utility of Maryland is the local 811 conduit for obtaining a ticket prior to excavation of any type.

Owner members (utility owners) have two full business days to respond to a Miss Utility ticket. For example, a locate request submitted on a Monday will require a member response by midnight on a Wednesday. There are some exceptions, however. If your request falls on a recognized holiday, the response to your request will be delayed by one day. Also, a utility owner may request a 24 to 48-hour delay in certain circumstances. Title XII § 12-126. Marking requirements….

After two FULL business days call 1-866-821-4226 or log onto www.missutility.net/maryland/ticketcheck. Have your ticket number and contractor ID (10- digit phone number given to the call center) to see the status of your request. If you provide an email address when requesting a ticket, you will automatically receive a copy of your ticket status by the beginning of the third business day.

It is the responsibility of the excavator to contact the one-call system “Miss Utility” (811) to file a Code 6- Locate discrepancy or Code 7 – Not complete/In progress dispute. Title XII § 12-127. Excavation after notice that facilities marked or not in vicinity.

If you have re-notified the one-call system (811) and filed a discrepancy and still no markings are made, you may proceed with caution using all means available to expose the underground facility in a safe manner. Title XII §12-127 (e) - Effect of knowledge of unmarked facility.

You can call “Miss Utility” (811) and inquire about the excavation activity you have observed. If you know that an underground facility is at the location where the excavation is occurring you can also contact the utility owner directly and inform them of your concerns. Each utility has a damage or safety division which can investigate your concerns. Go to the utility’s corresponding website and click any safety or damage heading to inquire about an unmarked excavation.

You can call “Miss Utility” (811) and inquire about the excavation activity you have observed. If you know that an underground facility is at the location where the excavation is occurring you can also contact the utility owner directly and inform them of your concerns. Each utility has a damage or safety division which can investigate your concerns. Go to the utility’s corresponding website and click any safety or damage heading to inquire about an unmarked excavation.

With few exceptions, all entities that own or operate underground facilities in the state of Maryland, must be members of the one-call “Miss Utility” (811) system. Title XII § 12-123. Owner-member of one-call system.

If you do not follow the law and are reported to the Maryland Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Authority (the Authority) you can be subject to civil penalties and mandatory damage prevention training. Any time you dig without a Miss Utility ticket there is potential for life-threatening occurrences.

By calling 811 or www.missutiltiy.net to notify all affected utilities of your intention to dig or demolish in their area. By planning ahead by calling at least two full business days before you plan to begin your project. By being patient and waiting until your Miss Utility ticket has cleared, which can be checked by calling Miss Utility at 1-866-821-4226 or by contacting www.missutility.net/searchstatus with your ticket number to check to see your status. By knowing the law through proper damage prevention training; which is available to any interested person provided free of charge by the MD/DC Damage Prevention Committee. Training schedules are available on the Miss/Utility website or by contacting either Dora Parks dparks@missutiltiy.net or Susan Sullivan ssullivan@missutility.net.

The newly revised Title XII statute went into effect in March 12th. If you experienced a damage, damaged a facility or were cited for a violation of the Title XII law for an event prior to March 11, 2021 you are governed by the original Miss Utility law. For more information on how the law has changed, and how it will affect you, please refer to the Title XII Comparison Table available below under "New Title XII Law"

Click on the "Check a Company's Status for Compliance" button below to see a list of companies who have not satisfied their adjudicated requirements set down by the Authority.

The MD Authority is a "quasi" state agency, but receives no tax payer dollars to support its activities; which include but are not limited to the investigation of reported violations of the "Miss Utility" law. The fee constitutes a small portion of the actual cost of NPV process. Any fines relating to the successful prosecution of a reported NPV go directly to the Authority's Education & Outreach fund, which can only be used for the stated purpose in the fund's title: Education and Outreach