Updated: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
At some point in time, either in your yard or around town, you’ve probably noticed small colored flags and spray paint marking the ground. The flags and paint mark are used to mark where underground utilities are located and are most often used when someone is planning to dig. Getting a proposed dig site marked like this is a simple, free process through Gopher State One Call (GSOC).
Gopher State One Call, which is often referred to as “GSOC,” is Minnesota’s official one call notification system. The non-profit organization acts as a vital communication link between underground facility operators, homeowners, and excavators within the state, as well as an educational resource for promoting safe digging to protect our communities, infrastructure, and environment.
In Minnesota, it’s required for anyone planning to dig to contact GSOC and submit a ticket – also known as a “locate request” – prior to digging. Tickets have a 48-hour waiting period after submission, excluding the day of submission, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. This means that if you submit a ticket on Monday, you can start digging on Thursday. If you submit on a Thursday, you can start digging on the following Tuesday. Tickets can be submitted online at gopherstateonecall.org, using the GSOC app, or by calling 8-1-1.
After a ticket has been submitted, GSOC notifies facility operators, who are typically public utility companies, with underground utility lines near that area. The 48-hour waiting period – which begins at 12:01 a.m. the business day after the request is made – is then used by those facility operators to respond by sending locators to the work site and mark their underground facilities or confirm if there is “no conflict” within the proposed excavation area. The locators will use flags, spray paint, stakes, and/or “whiskers,” which look like a tuft of colorful cat whiskers, to mark the underground lines in accordance with the American Public Works Association (APWA) color code. This makes it easy to identify which utility types have been marked. Here’s a key to the APWA color code:
If you notice marks in your yard but did not submit a ticket with GSOC, it’s likely that repairs are being done to a utility buried under your property. If you’d like to find out more about the ticket that was filed for that project, you can visit gopherstateonecall.org and go to “Find a Ticket” to access GSOC’s Search & Status platform. There, you can search your address or select it on a map to see tickets in that area.
Whether you submitted a ticket or someone else did, it’s crucial to preserve and maintain the location of flags and paint until the digging project is completed. Obscured or displaced markings may lead to accidental damages and/or injuries. If you have questions about maintaining marks or need to request a remark, reach out to GSOC.
Anytime time you see flags or paint now, you’ll know there’s excavation on the horizon! Submitting tickets through GSOC prior to breaking ground is free, easy, and the law, and it helps prevent damage to underground utilities, injuries, and the disruption of essential services. Learn more at gopherstateonecall.org.