Frequently Asked Questions

A. The call is free. The information you will receive will benefit you in completing your project. Don’t assume the liability for damaging an unmarked underground line or risk the possibility of causing death or injury because you didn’t call.

A. MS state law, section 77-13-5 (1) says: In addition to complying with all other applicable regulations and requirements of federal, state, county and municipal authorities, no person shall engage in excavation of any kind, before meeting the notification requirements of this chapter. The only exception is stated in section 77-13-5 (3) : Compliance with the notice requirements of this section shall not be required of: (a) persons plowing less than twenty-four (24) inches in depth for agricultural purposes; (b) persons who are moving or otherwise displacing, by hand, earth, rock or other material or mass of material on or below the ground at a depth of less than twelve (12) inches on property they own; and (c) persons, other than the property owner, who are moving or otherwise displacing, by hand, earth, rock or other material or mass of material on or below the ground at a depth of less than twelve (12) inches, except when such excavation is in a clearly marked underground facility right-of-way. Why risk the possibility of damage to property, injury and death?

A. The Customer Service Representative (CSR) will ask for information about the location and type of work to be done. The specific location information will be compared to service area information provided by member utilities. If a conflict occurs, the member utility will receive a notice of your intent to dig. The CSR will provide a reference number and a list of the member utilities that MS811will notify.

A. The ticket number consists of the date, time and the number of tickets taken for that day.

A. Verification that you called MS811 in compliance with MS State law and it is good for 14 calendar days.

A. We do not have a list of non-compliant companies.

A. It is required by MS excavator law to give a complete mailing address.

A. In regard to an emergency locate request, MS state law states: The advance notice provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any person making an excavation at times of emergency involving danger to life, health or property or a customer service outage. However, every person who shall engage in such emergency excavation shall take all necessary and reasonable precautions to avoid or minimize interference with or damage to existing underground utility lines and underground facilities in and near the excavation area, and shall notify as promptly as reasonably possible the operators of underground utility lines or underground facilities in and near the emergency excavation area specifically designating whether such excavation is an emergency excavation as defined herein. In the event of damage to or dislocation of any underground utility lines or underground facilities caused by any such emergency excavation work, the person responsible for the excavation shall immediately notify the operator of the damaged or dislocated underground facilities of the damage or dislocation.
The law does not address a different response time in an emergency for the operators to come mark their lines, so the standard three (3) working-days’ notice still applies. Common sense dictates that the sooner an operator is notified, the sooner he will be able to respond. It is certainly in the best interest of the operator and the excavator for the lines to be marked before further damage, injury or even death occurs from striking an unmarked line.
A Short Notice request is not addressed in our MS state law. This is merely a request submitted on behalf of the excavator requesting an expedited locate. Most operators will try to honor such a request if their backlog of pending locate requests will allow them to do so. By law, they still have three (3) working-days to locate their lines.
In regard to both Emergency and Short Notice requests, effective July 1, 2015 MS excavator law says:
If an operator can locate its underground utility lines or underground facilities in the excavation area only by excavation and has given proper notice of such, that operator shall be allowed a reasonable amount of additional time, not to exceed four (4) working days from the day the original notice was provided in accordance with this chapter, to mark the approximate location of the underground utility lines or underground facilities.

A. Most of the utility lines on private property are owned by the property owner and the property owner will need to locate and mark those lines themselves, but in most cases, the utility company will only mark from the street to the meter or if there is no meter to the property line.The law does not address a different response time in an emergency for the operators to come mark their lines, so the standard three (3) working-days’ notice still applies. Common sense dictates that the sooner an operator is notified, the sooner he will be able to respond. It is certainly in the best interest of the operator and the excavator for the lines to be marked before further damage, injury or even death occurs from striking an unmarked line.
A Short Notice request is not addressed in our MS state law. This is merely a request submitted on behalf of the excavator requesting an expedited locate. Most operators will try to honor such a request if their backlog of pending locate requests will allow them to do so. By law, they still have three (3) working-days to locate their lines.
In regard to both Emergency and Short Notice requests, effective July 1, 2015 MS excavator law says:
If an operator can locate its underground utility lines or underground facilities in the excavation area only by excavation and has given proper notice of such, that operator shall be allowed a reasonable amount of additional time, not to exceed four (4) working days from the day the original notice was provided in accordance with this chapter, to mark the approximate location of the underground utility lines or underground facilities.

A. The confirmation number that we provide at the end of the call is only good for 14 calendar days from the date & time the locate request ticket is processed or entered into the system by MS811. If the work exceeds that time-frame you will need to call back to have the number updated at least 3 & not more than 4 working days prior to the expiration date. During this time frame your markings may be destroyed due to mowing of yard, children pulling up flags & rain, which may lead to you needing another request put in for Remarking.

In regard to both Emergency and Short Notice requests, effective July 1, 2015 MS excavator law says:
If an operator can locate its underground utility lines or underground facilities in the excavation area only by excavation and has given proper notice of such, that operator shall be allowed a reasonable amount of additional time, not to exceed four (4) working days from the day the original notice was provided in accordance with this chapter, to mark the approximate location of the underground utility lines or underground facilities.

A. In order to complete your ticket you will have to provide accurate directions as to where your excavation will take place on the site. We can add a note on the ticket for them to contact you, before locating, for an on-site meeting.In regard to both Emergency and Short Notice requests, effective July 1, 2015 MS excavator law says:

If an operator can locate its underground utility lines or underground facilities in the excavation area only by excavation and has given proper notice of such, that operator shall be allowed a reasonable amount of additional time, not to exceed four (4) working days from the day the original notice was provided in accordance with this chapter, to mark the approximate location of the underground utility lines or underground facilities.

A. You should notify any companies, that you are aware of, who are not compliant with MS excavator law. Please encourage your local facility owners to become a member of MS811 and become compliant with the state law.

A. Not unless excavation is involved. Call 911 and contact the utility companies, directly, to have their services discontinued to prevent any hazards to persons or utilities. In the event of an emergency, MS811 may be able to assist in identifying any underground utility that is involved.