Iowa law states that if you are excavating, including digging, you must call Iowa One Call at least 48 hours in advance to minimize the risk of damaging any underground facilities (electric, gas, communications/television, water, and sewer). The day of the notice, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays do not count toward the required 48-hour notice. The one-call system provides two easy ways to obtain locating and marking of underground facilities. It’s fast, it’s free, it’s the law.
Call or Click
The national 811 three-digit dialing system allows easy access to Iowa One Call. You can simply dial 811 to be connected to a live person at the call center. (If you are near the Iowa border or out of the state, dial 1-800-292-8989). During this five-minute phone call, the call center representative will gather information about your excavation that will be transmitted to the facility operator and locators.
You may also create a ticket on our website. Generating a ticket online allows you to create precise drawings and descriptions of your proposed excavation. The NextGen system offers detailed mapping tools to easily communicate the extent of your project with the locators.
From the time the notice is transmitted, the facility operators have 48 hours (excluding the day of the notice, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) to locate their infrastructure with spray paint and flags. Note: Iowa One Call is neither a utility nor a locating service. Iowa One Call owns no facilities and does not locate underground facilities.
The Iowa One Call system processes over 540,000 tickets and coordinates more than 2.7 million locate requests per year in communities throughout Iowa.
Quick Facts About Us
- Iowa One Call was started as a voluntary service in 1980 by Northwestern Bell (now CenturyLink) and Iowa-Illinois Gas & Electric (now MidAmerican Energy Company) to maintain the integrity of their utility systems.
- Since January 1, 1993, all owners and operators of underground facilities are required by Iowa state law to participate in Iowa One Call. There are over 1,500 members in the state.
- Requests can be made by phone or online. Simply dial 811 (or 1-800-292-8989) or create a ticket at iowaonecall.com. Both services are free of charge. The cost is paid in full by participating underground facility operators.
- Iowa One Call’s Board of Directors is elected by operators, excavators, and other persons who participate in the notification center. Directors do not receive compensation for serving on the Board.
- An annual report of Iowa One Call is filed with the Iowa Utilities Board and is available for review.
- Iowa One Call is neither a utility nor a locating service. Iowa One Call owns no facilities and does not locate underground facilities.
When do I use IOC?
Contact IOC anytime you plan to excavate. Whether it’s a small or a large construction or homeowner project (such as putting up a fence or clothes line, planting trees or shrubbery, landscaping, building a home addition, deck, foundation, or replacing a driveway or sidewalk, etc.) you must submit a locate request at least 48 hours (not counting the day of the notice, weekends and/or legal holidays) prior to excavation. IOC will notify the owners/operators of underground facilities who are IOC members and who have facilities in the area of planned excavation, of this planned excavation activity.
Reasons Not to Contact IOC
The Iowa One Call service exists to provide notification service for utility location requests only. IOC should NOT be contacted for any of the following reasons:
- To report any type of service outage due to weather conditions.
- To report any excavation outside of the state of Iowa.
- To resolve any type of utility billing problem.
- To request any type of facility removal or relocation (including meter removals prior to demolition of a building).
- To request initiation of any type of utility service.
- To provide maps, plans or drawings of the proposed excavation.
Do all underground facility owners/members/operators participate in IOC?
No. While all underground facility owners/operators are required by state law to participate in the One Call system, there may be some non-compliant underground facility owners/operators who do not participate in IOC. Thus, all underground facilities may not be included in the location notification request. The IOC Customer Service Representative (CSR) will remind you of this fact after reading you the list of underground facility owners/operators to be notified. The CSR will advise you that if you know of any other utilities in the area you need to notify them yourself.
The Underground Facilities Information Act
The law requires persons planning excavations to contact the One Call system before excavating, and requires owner/operators of underground facilities to participate in the One Call system. This law, as amended, went into effect January 1, 1993. A copy of the law, as amended, is found here.
