Washington: 2 business days before you dig.
Dig Safe Washington (WA811) · RCW 19.122.030
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
2 business days
Two to ten full business days before the work-to-begin date. The day you call, weekends and holidays do not count. Mark your dig area in white paint before you call. Since 1 January 2026 the wait is not enough on its own: you may not break ground until every operator has given a positive response. Two days elapsing is not permission.
Ticket good for
45 calendar days from when the centre receives your notice
Worth knowing in Washington
Maintain the marks for 45 days or until the job is done, whichever comes first — past that you call for a new locate. The UTC publishes no tolerance width, so none is shown. The positive-response gate is the one that catches a travelling crew out: the ticket can be live, the two days can be up, and you still may not dig until every operator has answered.
Common questions about digging in Washington
- How much notice do you have to give before digging in Washington?
- 2 business days before you break ground, through Dig Safe Washington (WA811). Two to ten full business days before the work-to-begin date. The day you call, weekends and holidays do not count. Mark your dig area in white paint before you call. Since 1 January 2026 the wait is not enough on its own: you may not break ground until every operator has given a positive response. Two days elapsing is not permission.
- How long is an 811 ticket good for in Washington?
- 45 calendar days from when the centre receives your notice.
Check it yourself
Every figure here was read off RCW 19.122.030, 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 Washington?
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