Do You Have to Call 811 Before Installing a Fence in Tennessee?

Yes. Digging fence post holes is excavation, and Tennessee requires a utility locate before excavation begins. The call is free. Skipping it is not.

A privacy fence means twenty to thirty holes, two feet deep or more, in a straight line across a yard. That is a very efficient way to find a buried line if nobody checked first.

How It Works

Contact Tennessee 811 — dial 811 or file the request online — before any digging. Give the address and mark out the work area. Member utilities are notified and send locators to flag their buried lines with paint and flags.

Plan on about three full business days. Weekends and holidays do not count. A request filed Thursday afternoon often means you are not clear until the middle of the following week. This is the single most common reason a fence start date slips, and it is entirely avoidable by filing early.

The marks are color-coded by utility type: red for electric, yellow for gas and oil, orange for communications, blue for water, green for sewer.

The Part That Costs People Money

811 does not mark private lines. This catches homeowners constantly.

The locate covers public utility lines up to the meter. Anything installed by you or a previous owner is private and nobody is coming to flag it:

• Irrigation and sprinkler lines
• Invisible dog fence wire
• Landscape lighting
• Gas line running to a grill, fire pit or pool heater
• Electric to a detached garage, shop, shed or dock
• Water line to a barn or outbuilding
• Septic lines and field lines

On rural and lakefront property around Loudon, Blount and Roane counties, private runs to outbuildings and docks are extremely common and almost never documented.

If you know something is buried out there, say so before we dig. Even a rough idea helps. We would rather hand-dig a section than cut a line that was not on any map.

Who Is Responsible

Whoever does the excavating carries the obligation. Hire a professional and filing the locate is part of the job — we handle it. Dig it yourself and it is on you.

Cutting an unmarked line without having filed a locate can mean paying for the repair, and on a gas or high-voltage line the consequences are considerably worse than a bill.

What to Do Before We Arrive

• Leave the flags and paint alone. Marks are what the crew works from. If a mower took them out, tell us rather than guessing.
• Point out anything private. Sprinklers, dog fence, gas to the grill, power to the shed.
• Say where the septic field is if you are on septic.
• Clear the fence line so locators and the crew can actually see the ground.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to call 811 before installing a fence in Tennessee?

Yes. Tennessee requires notification before excavation, and post holes count. Call 811 or file online before digging. It is free.

How long does the locate take?

Roughly three full business days. Weekends and holidays do not count toward it.

Does 811 mark private lines?

No. Only public utilities up to the meter. Irrigation, invisible fence, landscape lighting, gas to a grill and power to a detached building are all private and unmarked.

Who is responsible for calling, me or the contractor?

Whoever excavates. A professional contractor files it as part of the job. Doing it yourself makes it your responsibility.

We Handle the Locate

Filing the 811 request is part of every job we do. It is one of the quieter reasons to use a licensed contractor — we have been digging in these counties since 1973 and we know where the surprises usually are.

Call (865) 988-9935 or request a free quote.

Loudon County Fence — veteran-owned, Lenoir City, Tennessee. TN Unlimited Contractor License #54371.