Call 811 before digging a fence in Ohio and Pennsylvania

Who has to call, and why a fence counts

The excavator makes the call, and for a fence the excavator is whoever puts an auger, shovel or post driver in the ground. A fence is a long line of holes, and any one of them can hit a gas line, a water service or a buried cable. OHIO811 says to contact it whenever soil is disturbed, and it names tree planting, landscaping, fences, mailboxes and pool leveling as examples. Hand digging counts too.

The notice costs nothing. OHIO811 describes the notice as quick, at no cost and required by law, and PA One Call says its service costs nothing for homeowners digging on their own residential property.

• If you dig the holes yourself, you place the request.
• If you hire a fence contractor, the contractor performing the work places it. In Ohio, OHIO811 advises homeowners to confirm that it was done. In Pennsylvania, ask for the contractor's 11-digit PA One Call serial number as proof.
• In Pennsylvania, a homeowner should not call on a hired excavator's behalf.

On our jobs, the 811 request is handled as part of the job. Solid Rock Fencing builds fence and gate work in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and the crew places the notice for the dig. Whoever you hire, ask about the 811 notice before the first post, the same way you would ask about the gate swing. The estimate process is a good time to raise it.

The Ohio rules

Ohio's OHIO811, also called the Ohio Utilities Protection Service, asks for notice at least 2 working days before digging, not counting the day you call. Weekends and legal holidays are not working days. The notice also cannot be placed too early, because it may be made no more than 16 calendar days before digging. The definitions of excavator and working day sit in ORC 3781.25.

These numbers come from House Bill 227, which replaced the older figures of 48 hours and 10 working days. OHIO811's own summary lists June 9, 2026 as the effective date. We read that date on OHIO811's summary and did not confirm it in the enacted statute text, so check oups.org for the current rule before you plan around it.

The Pennsylvania rules

Pennsylvania's PA One Call, reached by dialing 811, requires notice not less than 3 business days and not more than 10 business days before excavation starts. The wording on the PA One Call excavator page is "not less than 3 business days nor more than 10 business days prior to commencing excavation work." A Public Utility Commission legal brief citing 73 P.S. 180(2.1) confirms the window, and the PUC tells homeowners and contractors to call at least three business days before any digging.

• Minimum notice is 3 business days, and the maximum is 10 business days.
• Complex projects need the full 10 business days and go through Coordinate PA.
• PA One Call can be reached by dialing 811, by calling 800-242-1776, or by filing a request online.
• Homeowners are asked to mark the proposed dig area in white, using chalk, paint or stakes, unless they give exact site information.
• On an active site, the ticket does not have to be refreshed every 10 business days as long as the markings are preserved and equipment has not been off the site for more than 2 business days.

A timeline for a fence job

The notice period is a fixed part of the schedule, so plan around it. Weekends and legal holidays matter in Ohio, and a Friday call behaves very differently from a Monday call. As an example, count a Friday call in Ohio this way. Saturday and Sunday are not working days, Monday and Tuesday are the two working days, and the earliest dig day is Wednesday. Confirm the date on your own ticket, because holidays shift the count.

What gets marked, and what the colors mean

After the notice, utility owners send locators who mark the ground with paint or flags. White is the excavator's own mark for the proposed dig. The rest follow a national color code. OHIO811 publishes the list below. PA One Call says its facility owners use a uniform color code but its pages did not list the colors, so treat this as the same standard and confirm on the PA One Call site.

Walk the fence line after the marks appear. A yellow flag near the road, a red line toward the house and an orange line along the driveway can all change where a post can go, and they are easier to deal with before the posts are laid out than after.

Marks are close, not exact

The paint tells you where to be careful, not exactly where the line is. PA One Call has facility owners mark within 18 inches horizontally of the outside edge of a line, and its guidance says prudent techniques such as hand digging are required inside that zone. A Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission brochure says marks can be off by 18 to 24 inches. A fence line that runs parallel to a marked utility deserves a hand-dug test hole before the auger comes out. We found no equivalent number on the OHIO811 pages we read, so we give none for Ohio.

Private lines are not marked

Some service lines on private property belong to the owner, and 811 locators may not mark them. OHIO811 says a private locator may be needed. A line to a detached barn, a yard light, a well pump or a pool is the usual example. Tell the crew about anything you buried yourself, and show them where the trench ran. If you do not remember, say so. A private locator is a better answer than a guess.

What to do after the lines are marked

1. Walk the lineLook at the paint and flags along the planned route. Note anything that crosses the line or runs beside it.
2. Talk through the layoutTell the crew about the marks, the gates and any private lines. Small shifts in post spacing or a gate location are easier on paper.
3. Leave the marks aloneDo not rake, mow or paint over them. Keep vehicles and animals off flagged areas where you can.
4. Check the ticket on dig dayConfirm the ticket is still valid on the day digging starts.
5. Dig carefully near marksUse hand digging close to marked lines. If the paint is destroyed before work is done, stop and notify again.
6. Report any damage at onceIf a line is hit or damaged, stop work and tell the utility owner. Do not cover it up.

Common mistakes

• Calling the day you want to dig. The waiting period is there so the lines can be marked.
• Calling too early. Ohio caps how far ahead you can place the notice, and the ticket runs out.
• Assuming a contractor called without asking. A quick question beats a gas line hit.
• Rubbing out or mowing over the paint, then digging anyway. In Ohio, destroyed markings mean stopping and notifying again.
• Skipping the call because the holes are shallow. OHIO811 lists fences among the jobs that need a notice.
• Forgetting a second state. If a job crosses the state line, each side gets its own notice under its own state's rules.
• Ignoring private lines to a barn, well or yard light, which 811 may not mark.

For the neighbor side of a new fence, see fence laws in Ohio and Pennsylvania. If you are ready to plan, ask for a FREE estimate. This page is general information and not legal advice. Confirm the current notice rules with OHIO811 or PA One Call.

Questions we hear