Don’t assume you know what’s below. Protect yourself and those around you. Use GSOC this time and every time.
Whether you are a professional excavator or homeowner, in accordance with Minnesota State law, you must contact Gopher State One Call (GSOC) before starting any excavation project if you are using any machine-powered equipment of any kind, or explosives. You may be simply installing a new mail box or planting a tree, whatever the project may be, contacting GSOC before starting your project may allow you to avoid costly damages to underground facilities.
Please note: Gopher State One Call is not responsible for contacting locators to paint or flag your private facilities. To find out if you have private facilities, click here.
When you have an upcoming project that requires digging, your first step is to contact Gopher State One Call. You can do this by simply using GSOC’s Homeowner Online Locate Request system or by calling the One Call Center. Below is a brief overview of the One Call process:
When you contact GSOC with a dig request, a series of questions will be asked. To help prepare yourself in answering these questions, please review the questions and information descriptions here before your call in to Gopher State One Call.
Once you’ve determined that you are going to be starting a project that requires digging, you will need to contact Gopher State One Call (GSOC). Click here to learn more about contacting GSOC.
The easiest way to contact GSOC is online using GSOC’s Homeowner Online Locate Request application!
Benefits of using Homeowner Online Locate Request:
• Free
• Available 24/7
• Accessible from your smartphone or tablet
• An alternative to calling in your ticket
• Easy to use
• No training class required
• Simple online registration process
• Provides a reminder email the day you can dig
Access Homeowner Online Locate Request by clicking the link below! To view a training manual on how Homeowner Online Locate Request works, click below.
You can also contact Gopher State One Call by phone by calling 651-454-0002 or 800-252-1166.
When you contact Gopher State One Call, you will be prompted to answer a few questions about your dig project. Click here for a list of those questions.
To listen to a sample voice call, click here.
Once you have submitted your dig information, that information is created as a “ticket” which is sent to any utilities that may have underground facilities in the area of excavation. Those utilities will send a locator to the site to either paint or flag the area in question. Click here to view the color code chart to see which underground facilities are in the area of excavation.
Private underground facilities are found everywhere, including single family homes, farms, multi-family housing units, businesses, industrial areas, trailer parks, shopping centers and sometimes in the road right of way. Gopher State One Call encourages owners and operators of private underground facilities to include those facilities on to the GSOC System. However, most private facilities are not listed on GSOC. Unless the private facility owner participates in GSOC, privately or customer owned facilities will not be notified and may not be marked. Therefore, it is imperative that special precautions be taken by excavators as part of every excavation project. To find out whether or not you own a private facility, click here.
A good practice before digging is to check Gopher State One Call’s Positive Response site respond to determine if each utility company has visited your dig site or responded to your locate request. Gopher State One Call provides an online method to view and submit your Positive Response messages here. Facility Operators in Minnesota are required to provide Positive Response by either marking the ground or providing a Positive Response message to Gopher State One Call. To provide Positive Response to Gopher State One Call online, please click on the Submit Positive Response button below.
To login to the Positive Response site, you will need to know your organization's Facility Operator ID number. If you do not know your Facility Operator ID, click here to look it up.
Step 6: Dig
In accordance with Minnesota, you must wait 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) after you’ve submitted your dig information to begin your digging project.