# Do I need utility locates before digging for a build in Ontario?

> Ontario law requires a locate request before any digging on a build: Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call), five business days ahead, free.

- Canonical HTML: https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/guides/locates/
- Section: Home > Guides > Locates before you dig
- Business: JDT Construction Inc., Hamilton, ON, Canada (serves Hamilton)
- Phone: (905) 818-0106 | Email: johnny@jdtconstruction.ca
- Page updated: 2026-11-05

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Guides

Yes. Before any digging in Ontario, including in Hamilton, a locate request goes to Ontario Dig Authority, formerly Ontario One Call, at least 5 business days ahead. It is free and required by law for any project that breaks ground, whatever the size or depth. The utilities then mark their buried lines, and a project that changes needs a new request. JDT Construction requests locates before any footing is dug.

## Who do I contact?

Ontario Dig Authority. In its own words: “Ontario One Call is now operating as Ontario Dig Authority.” It describes the service as “It's Free. It's Easy. It's the Law.” [(Ontario Dig Authority, read November 5, 2026)](https://www.ontarioonecall.ca/) It does not mark anything itself: it passes the request to every owner of buried lines in the area, and each one sends a locator.

## How far ahead?

At least 5 business days. Ontario Dig Authority's steps: “At least 5 business days before you dig, submit a locate request.” Then each utility marks its lines, and you dig respecting the marks and the locator's instructions. If the project changes, “You MUST request a new locate if your project changes.” [(Ontario Dig Authority, read November 5, 2026)](https://www.ontarioonecall.ca/)

**Ontario Dig Authority's three steps before digging**

| Step | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| \1. Request | At least 5 business days ahead, online or by phone; it notifies every owner of buried lines |
| \2. Locates | Each utility sends a locator to mark its lines with paint, flags or stakes, free |
| \3. Dig | Respect the marks and the locator's instructions; a changed project needs a new request |

## Does a small job need one?

Yes. “Locates are required for any project that breaks ground, no matter the size or depth of the excavation.” [(Ontario Dig Authority, read November 5, 2026)](https://www.ontarioonecall.ca/) Deck footings, fence posts, a porch, a garage slab and the footings of an addition all break ground. The free public locates cover the utilities' lines; lines you own yourself, like a feed to a detached garage, are not theirs to mark.

## Where does this fit in a build?

Before the footings, which is also the first inspection the City makes on most permits: the City's footing inspection comes “Prior to pouring footings” [(City of Hamilton, Building Inspections, read November 5, 2026)](https://www.hamilton.ca/build-invest-grow/construction-renovation/residential-building-renovation/building-inspections). The order is: permit issued, locates done, footings dug, footing inspection, pour. The stages that follow are in [the inspections on a build](https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/guides/inspections/). On a JDT Construction Inc. job the locate request is part of getting the site ready, for [decks](https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/builds/general-contracting/decks/), [covered porches](https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/builds/general-contracting/covered-porches/), [garages](https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/builds/general-contracting/garages/) and [additions](https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/builds/additions/) alike.

Published by JDT Construction Inc., Hamilton. Updated November 5, 2026. Free to share and quote, with a link back to this page.

## Planning a build?

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[Call (905) 818-0106](tel:+19058180106) [Request a quote](https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/request/)

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JDT Construction Inc. Call (905) 818-0106. Full site: https://www.jdtconstruction.ca/