About Colorado 811

Colorado 811 Is Your Communication Hub for Underground Public Utility Locates

Colorado 811, located in Golden, Colorado, officially known as the Utility Notification Center of Colorado is a free, state-mandated service that allows professional excavators and home/property owners to notify registered owner/operators of public underground utilities of any planned digging activity via a simple “One-Call” communication pathway – all you have to do is call 811 or put in your locate request ticket online.

Colorado 811 is a 501(C)(4) non-profit organization dedicated to public safety and damage prevention, and ensures reliable, timely, and accurate communication to allow property owners and professional excavators to dig safely, preventing accidental damage to underground public utility lines. Colorado 811 does not perform utility line locate services directly.

How Colorado 811 Works

Anyone planning to dig in Colorado, including landscapers, professional excavators, contractors, home and other property owners must – as mandated by Colorado Law - submit a request via Colorado 811 with details about the dig site before excavation starts. Once the locate request ticket has been created, Colorado 811 notifies the relevant public utility companies, that are then responsible for locating and marking their underground facility lines within 48 hours (not counting the day of ticket submission). To create an underground line locate request, call 811 or put in your locate request ticket online.

Why It's Important

Accidentally hitting an underground utility line can be dangerous, potentially causing injuries, loss of life, service disruptions, and environmental damage, and may result in fines. Therefore, it's crucial to have both public and private utilities located and marked before digging.

Difference Between Private and Public Underground Utility Lines

• Public Utilities: Mostly owned and operated by utility companies, native tribes, local, state, or federal governments. These utilities are part of a larger network, such as water mains, sewer, electricity, internet, cable TV, or gas lines, and are included and located via an 811 locate ticket request.
  
  

• Private Utilities: Often owned and operated by property owners, such as homeowners or HOAs. These private utilities serve individual properties and include systems like sprinkler systems, gas lines to backyard grills, invisible fences, septic systems, and buried water tanks. Private utilities are not registered with Colorado 811, are not part of an 811 locate ticket request, and must be located at the owner's expense by a private locating company.

  Private Utilities Information