Educational Resources

In North Carolina there are several types of tickets. Let’s look at each ticket in-depth.

Normal
A normal ticket is requested when any excavation and/or demolition is planned. This is the standard type of ticket used and requires a 3 full working day notice. 

Retransmit
Until a ticket expires it may be resent to one or more of the members originally notified. The excavator may request to notify additional members, add more directions or contact numbers, or state that lines have not been marked correctly. Should a new facility member be added, they have 3 full working days to respond. For more on retransmit requests click here

Update
In the event the excavation and/or demolition activities continue beyond the 15 full working days (life of the notice), the excavator will need to update the notice per NC General Statutes.  Updates can be requested by the 12th full working day. Changes cannot be made to an update notification. Should changes occur, a new notice will need to be processed.

Emergency
Emergency excavation or demolition notifications from excavators are accepted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are transmitted immediately to the member operator. NC General Statues 87-117 (8) define emergency as “an event involving a clear and imminent danger to life, health, or property, the interruption of essential utility services, or the blockage of transportation facilities, including highways, railways, waterways, or airways that require immediate action.” Excavators falsely claiming an emergency exists may be subjected to the Underground Damage Prevention Review Board. False claims shall be punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor to include other penalties and/or action taken by that board per the NC General Statues 87-125 (c).  North Carolina 811 does not determine what is or is not an emergency notification. Statutes do not address the timeframe in which a facility operator must respond to an Emergency Excavation. Response times are subject to the facility operator’s internal protocols.

Report of Damage
The Underground Utility Safety and Damage Prevention Act requires that any excavator performing an excavation or demolition that results in any damage to a facility shall immediately upon discovery of the damage notify North Carolina 811 and the facility operator, if known, and provide the location and nature of the damage. NC811 will create a Report of Damage ticket and send it to any affected utility immediately. A report of damage can be entered anytime including after hours. A Report of Damage is not a locate ticket and cannot be used to get lines located. Also, a Report of Damage does not relieve the excavator from any responsibility regarding the damages. Contact 911 immediately and the facility owner if the damage has resulted in the discharge or electricity, the escape of any flammable, toxic, or corrosive gas or liquid, or endangers life, health, or property in accordance with the NC General Statutes.

Destroyed Marks
In the event the locate markings have been destroyed, the excavator may request a Destroyed Marks notice as long as the original notice is active and has yet to expire. This notice is resent to all or specific members to request a remark of the area requested on the original notice. As a reminder, the individual is responsible for preserving the markings once the area has been marked. Markings can be destroyed due to weather, grading, heavy traffic, etc.

Design/Survey
A design or survey ticket is requested for those responsible for designing underground facilities or those who require a general description and location of existing underground facilities in an area.  Since there will be no digging and, therefore, no risk to the underground utilities; the member utilities or their contract locators have 10 full working days to respond to a design/survey ticket instead of the usual 3 full working days. 

Three Hour
If a facility operator fails to provide the locate status to the NC811 Positive Response System, the excavator may proceed with their excavation if there are no visible indications of a facility at the proposed excavation or demolition area, such as a pole, marker, pedestal, meter, or valve. However, if the excavator is aware of or observes indications of an unmarked facility at the proposed excavation or demolition area, the excavator shall not begin excavation or demolition until an additional notice is made to NC811 detailing the facility and an arrangement is made for the facility to be marked by the facility operator within three hours from the time the additional notice is received by NC811. A three-hour notification can be entered anytime including after hours.

A design or survey ticket is created by request from companies or individuals responsible for designing underground facilities or those who require a general description and location of existing underground facilities in an area. The process of submitting a design/survey ticket is similar to submitting a location request for digging. A ticket can be requested by calling North Carolina 811, Inc. directly at 8-1-1 or by creating a design/survey ticket online through the Remote Ticket Entry (RTE) program. The information needed to complete the design/survey request includes:

Caller Information

• Company name
• Address
• Phone number
• Contact name

Location Information

• Address
• Street name
• Cross street name

Specific area covered by the design or survey request
Since there will be no digging and, therefore, no risk to the underground utilities; the member utilities or their contract locators have 10 full working days to respond to a design/survey ticket instead of the usual 3 full working days. It is recommended you reach out to the phone number listed on the locate to communicate with each member.

This response may include:

1. Designation of the underground facilities in the appropriate APWA color code using paint or flags.
2. Providing operator maintained facility records or the best available description of the underground facility in the proposed
   design area which may include drawings marked with a scale, dimension, and reference points.
3. Allow person submitting the design notice or any other authorized person to inspect drawing or other records at a location
   that is acceptable to the operator.

The member facility owner will respond to the design/survey request with one of the below positive response codes:

• 92 SURVEY DESIGN REQUEST ‐No Facilities in the Area
• 94 SURVEY DESIGN REQUEST ‐ Facility Records Provided
• 98 SURVEY DESIGN REQUEST ‐ Access to Facility Records Provided
• 100 Location request denied due to Homeland Security Concern. Member utility operator needs to confirm legitimacy of
  the proposed excavation and may need additional information.