Safe Digging Resources & Frequently Asked Questions

Ontario Dig Authority distinguishes between infrastructure based on ownership rather than physical location. Public infrastructure is defined as infrastructure owned by utility companies up to the demarcation point (such as a gas meter or water meter). Private property and private lines refer to any privately owned buried infrastructure that extend beyond that demarcation point.

Ontario Dig Authority only provides notifications for public utility-owned buried infrastructure. If you are excavating on private property, you may need to obtain a separate private locate to identify privately owned buried facilities.

Examples of infrastructure considered private property include:

• Gas lines extending to BBQs, fire pits, or pool heaters.
• Electrical lines supplying power to sheds, workshops, or detached garages.
• Water and sewer pipes (including septic systems and weeping tiles) beyond the main shut-off.
• Custom property features such as wiring for outdoor landscape lighting, security cameras, or electric gates.

UIOs must respond to standard locate requests within the legislated timeline.

• Single Address Requests: within 5 business days
• Advanced Requests: within 10 business days

Once the locate has been completed or cleared, the UIO must update 360 Feedback within 3 business days.

If you receive a complaint, you must take action within 5 calendar days.

You can either:

• Remediate the issue identified in the complaint and notify Ontario Dig Authority in writing once the issue has been addressed; or
• Dispute the complaint by providing a written response to Ontario Dig Authority explaining why the complaint is being disputed.

Responses must be submitted within 5 calendar days of receiving the complaint from Ontario Dig Authority.

Learn More About the Complaint Process

Registered Underground Infrastructure Owners (UIOs) are responsible for annual membership fees and notification delivery fees associated with receiving locate requests through Ontario Dig Authority. For current fee information, please visit the Fees page.

When responding to a locate request, Underground Infrastructure Owners must provide clear, accurate, and complete information related to the proposed excavation area. Depending on the response type, this may include:

• Confirmation that underground infrastructure is present and has been located and marked.
• The date the locate was completed.
• Locate documentation, sketches, maps, or supporting records.
• Any restrictions, conditions, or precautions required when working near the infrastructure.
• A clearance or no-conflict response when no infrastructure is affected by the proposed excavation.
• Contact information for follow-up questions or coordination, if required.

Responses must be submitted through 360 Feedback and within the prescribed legislative timelines:

Single Address Requests: Response required within 5 business days.
Advanced Locate Requests: Response required within 10 business days.

Providing complete and timely responses helps promote safe excavation practices and compliance with the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012.

A locate request notification is a notice issued by Ontario Dig Authority to registered Underground Infrastructure Owners when an excavator submits a request to dig within a specified area.

The notification contains information about the proposed excavation, including:

• The excavation location.
• The scope of work.
• The proposed start date.
• Additional details provided by the excavator.

Ontario Dig Authority’s system distributes the notification to all registered infrastructure owners whose assets may be impacted by the proposed excavation. Upon receiving the notification, infrastructure owners must review the request and provide the appropriate response or confirmation through Ontario Dig Authority, as permitted under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012.

A renegotiation status is used when the original Work to Begin date needs to be changed and both the excavator and the UIO agree to a new date.

A successful renegotiation must be agreed to by both parties. It is not enough for one party to change the date without confirmation.

Renegotiation moves the Work to Begin date, but it is not a final locate response. The request is not complete until the UIO updates the status to the appropriate final response, such as cleared or completed.

Emergency Locate
Emergency locate requests involve situations where the loss of an essential utility service creates an immediate safety, environmental, or public risk. Once confirmed as an emergency, notified Infrastructure Owners must respond within 2 hours.

Priority 0 Locate
Priority 0 locate requests do not meet the emergency criteria but involve work where delays could result in significant hardship. For Priority 0 notifications, Ontario Dig Authority requests that Infrastructure Owners expedite their response where possible; however, expedited completion is not guaranteed, and Infrastructure Owners are not legally required to complete the locate before the standard legislated timeframe.

Current legislation does not require the participation of First Nations, the Province of Ontario or the Government of Canada to register all their infrastructure, but all other infrastructure that crosses onto a public right of way is required to register with Ontario Dig Authority.

Any privately owned infrastructure will not be notified by Ontario Dig Authority. For example, you may have a gas line that goes from your gas meter to your pool or barbecue, or you may have an electrical line that goes from your house to your garage or you may be on a septic system or well. This would not be covered under an Ontario Dig Authority Request to dig. You may need to contact and hire someone to find these pipes and cables for you.

Learn more about private locates

All registered underground infrastructure owners who receive a locate request notification are required to provide a response. If, after reviewing the request, you determine that your infrastructure is not located within the proposed excavation area, you must advise the excavator accordingly by issuing a clearance, as applicable. Providing a response ensures that excavators know your infrastructure has been considered and helps prevent unnecessary delays to excavation activities.