Tennessee: 3 working days before you dig.
Tennessee 811 · T.C.A. §65-31-108(c)
Read off the statute on . If it has moved since, tell us and we will re-read it.
A waiting period is not always permission. Some states also require that every operator has answered before you break ground, and some require you to mark your own dig path first. Where we have read that requirement, it is in the notes on this page. Where this page is silent, we have not checked it yet — silence here is not the same as absence. We are working through the rest and dating each one as it lands.
Notice before you break ground
3 working days
Three working days ahead.
Tolerance zone
24" each side, at least 48" total
Tennessee calls it a safety zone: at least four feet wide, no wider than the utility plus two feet each side. Hand dig where practical, or use pneumatic tools or a method the operator approves.
Worth knowing in Tennessee
Same four-foot floor as Kentucky. A bare '24 inches' understates the zone on small-diameter fiber, which is most of what this board carries.
Common questions about digging in Tennessee
- How much notice do you have to give before digging in Tennessee?
- 3 working days before you break ground, through Tennessee 811. Three working days ahead.
- What is the tolerance zone in Tennessee?
- 24" each side, at least 48" total. Tennessee calls it a safety zone: at least four feet wide, no wider than the utility plus two feet each side. Hand dig where practical, or use pneumatic tools or a method the operator approves.
Check it yourself
Every figure here was read off T.C.A. §65-31-108(c), not off a summary — summaries of these get the unit wrong, and the unit is usually a weekend. Read the source.
Running a crew in Tennessee?
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