811 One-Call Centers and Dig Notice Requirements: WA, OR, ID, MT

Every state requires you to notify a one-call centre before excavating. The call is free, it is the law, and it only covers public utilities up to the meter. Anything private past that point stays unmarked unless you have it located separately.

Below are the one-call centres for the states we serve, with notice requirements. Rules change, so confirm with your state's centre before you rely on any of this.

Washington

Washington 811 / Dig Safe Washington. Call 811 or 800-424-5555, or file online at digsafewashington.com.

Notice: at least two full business days before you dig, and no more than ten. The day you call, weekends and legal holidays do not count toward the two days. Governed by RCW 19.122.

Excavators must also white-line the boundary of the excavation area before the locate. An emergency excavation is exempt from the two-day notice provided you notify 811 at the earliest practicable opportunity.

Washington 811 covers the entire state on one number. Effective January 1, 2026, an excavator may not begin excavation until every operator with facilities in the notice area has given a positive response.

Oregon

Oregon Utility Notification Center. Call 811 or 800-332-2344, or file online at digsafelyoregon.com.

Notice: at least two full business days before excavation, and no more than ten.

Mark the area of proposed excavation in white per OAR 952-001-0040. Wait until the legal start time on your ticket and confirm every operator listed has responded before you dig. Oregon's definition of excavation is broad and includes planting a tree, setting fence posts, installing a mailbox, or building a deck.

Idaho

Idaho has several one-number notification services rather than one statewide centre:

Dig Safe North Idaho 811 — Bonner, Boundary and Kootenai counties. 811 or 800-428-4950, digsafenorthidaho811.com

North Idaho 811 — Benewah and Shoshone counties. 811 or 866-242-5844, nid811.com

Digline — all other Idaho counties. 811 or 800-342-1585, digline.com

Notice: at least two business days before excavation, and no more than ten. Pre-mark the path of excavation in white paint per Idaho Code 55-2205. If an operator has not responded by the legal start time, issue a second request — operators then have an additional eight business hours.

Idaho Code 55-2210 exempts a short list of excavations from the notice requirement, including excavation less than fifteen inches deep outside a recorded facility easement on private property, and tilling to less than fifteen inches for agricultural practices. None of the exemptions apply if there is reason to believe a facility lies within the depth of the intended excavation.

Montana

Montana 811. Call 811 or 800-424-5555, or file online at montana811.org.

Notice: at least two full business days before you dig. Do not dig until every operator listed on your ticket has responded.

Locate tickets expire

Ticket life is set by each state, not by the one-call centre. In Washington, Oregon and Idaho the clock starts on the date of the original notice. In Montana it starts when the locate and marking is finished.

Washington — 45 days. Marks must be maintained for 45 days or until the project is complete, whichever comes first. Governed by RCW 19.122.

Oregon — 30 calendar days. Ticket life was reduced from 45 days effective January 1, 2026, per OAR 952-001-0010.

Idaho — four consecutive weeks from the date of notification, unless the excavator and the facility owner agree otherwise in writing, per Idaho Code 55-2205.

Montana — 30 days. If you have not excavated within 30 days of the locate and marking being completed, request a re-locate before you dig, per MCA 69-4-503. A notification also only covers work intended to start within ten days and finish within thirty days.

If the project runs past the expiration date, or the marks are disturbed or weathered away before then, request a re-mark using the original ticket number. Maintaining the marks once they are down is the excavator's responsibility.

If a locate is not completed

Utility locating contractors generally have two to three business days to complete a locate. If they cannot finish in that window, they are required to communicate the delay to the caller. That does not always happen. If there is ever a question about whether a utility has been located, call the locating concerns line for the utility in question. That number is listed on the dig request.

For Oregon work, the marking concerns numbers are collected in our Oregon utility marking concerns phone numbers by county.

What 811 will not mark

One-call centres notify facility operators, who mark their own lines up to the meter. They do not mark private utilities: electrical to shops, barns and outbuildings, irrigation, septic lines, private water lines, gas to a pool heater or fire pit, or anything a previous owner installed. Those are the owner's responsibility and they cause a large share of strikes.

Advanced Underground Utility Locating Inc locates private utilities across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and northern California. Spokane and Eastern Washington: 509-710-2621. Seattle, Tacoma and Portland: 509-954-8623. Bend and Medford: 541-678-0629. Eugene and Roseburg: 541-780-4149. Coos Bay and the Oregon Coast: 541-315-6728. Emergency service is available 24 hours.

Compiled September 2026 from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, Oregon 811, the Idaho Damage Prevention Board, and Montana 811. Verify current requirements with your state's centre before excavating.