# Your utility locate tickets expire on a clock that does not match the length of the job.

![A site supervisor checking locate ticket expiry and utility responses on a tablet beside a marked trench, used to show where excavation authorisation is actually tracked.](https://neurobird.com/utilitylocating/utilitylocating-hero.webp)
*The paint on the ground is evidence. The ticket behind it has a date on it.*

> Utility locating is the process by which an excavator notifies a one call centre before digging, facility owners mark their buried lines, and the resulting locate ticket authorises the work for a limited period. It is governed by state law rather than federal rule, so the notice period, the ticket life, the response window and the marking standard all differ by jurisdiction. The ticket is the permission, and it expires.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/utilitylocating/
- Product: Neurobird Utility Locating 811 Ticket Dispatch Platform
- Niche: utility locating 811 ticket
- Buyer: excavation contractors and utility locators
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-26

## What Neurobird Utility Locating 811 Ticket does

- Track ticket expiry against the planned duration of the dig, and prompt renewal before it lapses.
- Record which utilities responded and which are still outstanding before a crew breaks ground.
- Log remark requests when markings become unclear, since the marks are the working evidence.
- Keep the ticket history against the site, because a strike investigation asks for exactly that.

## How it works

1. **Notify** A ticket is raised for the excavation and recorded against the site, with its expiry date visible to the crew rather than buried in a confirmation email.
2. **Confirm marking** Responses from each affected facility owner are tracked, so ground is only broken once the site is marked or the ticket cleared.
3. **Maintain** Long jobs renew before expiry, and remarks are requested when conditions degrade the markings rather than after a line is hit.

## From the source material

> Duct structures marked in excess of 36 inches in total will require the underground facility notify the excavator and identify the size of the marked.

Source: Georgia Rules 515-9-4, Underground Facility Protection Act, https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/515-9-4

## Industry context

- **21 calendar days** A standard locate ticket expires after 21 calendar days, which is why long running projects need renewal or a large project arrangement. (source: Georgia Rules 515-9-4, https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/515-9-4)
- **24 hours** The locator or utility must be available within 24 hours and respond in that time so the site is marked or existing marks confirmed. (source: Georgia Rules 515-9-4, https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/515-9-4)
- **25-9-6** State law requires a locate ticket before mechanised excavation begins, with defined exceptions. (source: Georgia Rules 515-9-4, https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/515-9-4)
- **811** Before breaking ground an excavator should review the ticket to confirm every utility has responded by marking the site or clearing the ticket. (source: North Carolina Department of Labor, https://www.labor.nc.gov/call-you-dig/open)

## Pricing

- Single crew: $130 per month
- Contractor: $340 per month
- Multi state: $680 per month

## Questions

### What is an 811 locate ticket?

It is the record created when an excavator notifies the one call centre before digging. The centre passes the notice to the facility owners with buried plant in the area, who then mark their lines or confirm they have none. The ticket authorises the excavation for a limited period and identifies which utilities were notified. Because it expires, it is better thought of as a temporary permission than as a completed formality.

### How long does a locate ticket last?

It depends on the state. In Georgia a standard ticket expires after 21 calendar days, and the rules explicitly acknowledge that excavators on projects lasting months or years find repeated reapplication cumbersome. For those cases a large project ticket can be used, with a negotiated written agreement setting out the schedule for marking the project. That arrangement has to be established deliberately rather than assumed.

### What has to happen before breaking ground?

Every affected utility must have responded, either by marking the site or by clearing the ticket. Guidance is direct about reviewing the ticket to confirm this before digging. If weather or site conditions later make the markings unclear, a remark should be requested before work continues, because the paint on the ground is the working evidence of where the lines are.

### What about emergency excavation?

The duty does not disappear, it moves. Ohio requires an excavator beginning an emergency excavation to make every effort to notify a protection service before starting, or as soon as possible afterwards. The protection service then provides a reference number and a list of the utilities notified. That reference number is the only proof the emergency was handled properly.

### Is the software available now?

No. It is in development and open for early access. We are building the ticket and expiry model with contractors who run long jobs across more than one state.

## Sources

- [Georgia Rules 515-9-4, enforcement under the Underground Facility Protection Act](https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/515-9-4)
- [Ohio Revised Code 3781.29](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3781.29)
- [Maryland MOSH, safe digging](https://labor.maryland.gov/labor/mosh/moshsafediggingmonth.shtml)
- [North Carolina Department of Labor, call before you dig](https://www.labor.nc.gov/call-you-dig/open)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/