What is Legal Notice?

Legal notice is defined a location request called in at least two full working days (not including the day you call in the request) but not more than 10 working days before the excavation is scheduled to begin.

[ Show me the law! ]

"Two full working days" does not include the day you call in the location request, and it does not include weekends or public holidays. [ Which holidays does Dig Safely New York observe? ] Aside from meeting your legal obligations, giving two working days notice allows our member utilities enough time to manage the (often) hundreds of location requests they get each day.

**Example of two full working days**
Sun	Mon Dig\|Safely. New York is called	Tue Two full	Wed working days	Thu Excavation can begin	Fri	Sat

**Second example of two full working days**
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed Dig\|Safely. New York is called	Thu Two full	Fri working days	Sat Excavation can begin
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat

**Third example of two full working days, including a holiday**
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed Dig\|Safely. New York is called	Thu HOLIDAY	Fri Two	Sat full
Sun working	Mon days	Tue Excavation can begin	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat

Most excavators understand and agree with the two full working days requirement.

However, our Field Representatives have found many excavators don't understand the 10 working days maximum. Larry Bishop, (retired) Operations Manager for Dig Safely New York, likes to explain it this way:

A lot of people ask me why they can't call in more than 10 days in advance and there's two reasons, really. If you remember, one of the things that you are asked for when you call Dig|Safely. New York is for the starting date of the excavation. And let's say you call in a dig for 30 days down the road sometime. The utilities have a choice - they can either stake-out the site right away, or they can sit on the location request until it becomes due. If they stake it immediately, the law says that they [the utility] are responsible for maintaining those marks until your starting date, and the locator is going to have to go back and check the site every few days in case it rained real hard or kids decided to play with the flags. On the other hand, if the utility waits until the work date is almost here, they have to keep track of all those location requests and every day brings a bigger chance that one of them will get lost.

What if I cannot give legal notice?

Always call Dig|Safely. New York before you dig, even if legal notice cannot be given. The utilities will do their best to get to your site and stake-out their facilities before you begin. However, if a damage occurs you could be held liable for the damage. Short notice is not legal notice.