Membership: What to Expect

By removing the burden of direct contact from excavators and homeowners to facility service providers, Georgia 811 provides a streamlined free service that results in increased instances of notification before digging. What does that mean for members? It means more opportunities to mark facilities before digging occurs, resulting in fewer damages.

Georgia 811 members receive notification when excavation is planned in their service area and members are then able to coordinate locate technicians to properly mark their underground facilities. This helps excavators avoid facility damage and thus costly facility repairs. In addition to facilitating the notification process for members, Georgia 811 also provides training opportunities and support via the Member Services and Liaison Departments.

• Be prepared to locate your underground facilities with paint using the appropriate American Public Works Association (APWA) color code for the type of facility.
• Be prepared to pay Georgia 811 Membership Fees: see 2024 Billing Explanation
• Be prepared to create a Service Area Map that outlines where all of your facilities are located  This will allow us to keep record of the areas in which you operate so we can accurately disseminate locate requests.
• Be prepared to respond to the Positive Response Information System (PRIS)
  • As a Member of Georgia 811 it will be your legal responsibility to respond to your locate requests using PRIS. This is a system that is used as a communication method between the facility member and the excavator.  This allows the excavator to know if all of the underground facilities have been located before excavation begins or if there is an issue in locating the facilities. This will help to prevent a possible damage to your facility and open communication lines if there is an issue.  Also, failure to respond to PRIS will result in a late notice fee for your company. To avoid this fee, you must respond on or before the “Response Due Date” that is provided on each locate request and for all of your facility types listed on the request.
• Be prepared to activate your membership within 90 days after submitting your membership agreement.

On September 1, 2022, the Georgia Underground Facility Protection Act (GUFPA) was changed to include a requirement for mandatory Georgia 811 membership for local governing authorities that own traffic control devices and traffic management systems. To provide adequate time for initial budgeting and staffing, the starting date for enforcement of the requirement to locate these facilities is January 1, 2024. O.C.G.A.§ 25-9-3 provides the following definition of these facility types.

• Traffic Control Devices:
  • All electronic or electrically powered roadway signs, sign structures, or signals of a local governing authority or the Department of Transportation and all associated underground infrastructure on which the public relies for informational, regulatory, or warning messages concerning the public rights of way.
• Traffic Management Systems:
  • A network of traffic control devices, monitoring sensors, and personnel of a local governing authority or the Department of Transportation, with all associated communications and power services, including all system control and management centers.

If your local government owns and/or operates either of the above facility types, please fill out the form below to request a Georgia 811 Member Agreement. The onboarding process for new members takes approximately 90 days, and those governments who complete their membership by January 1, 2024, will be added as Georgia 811 members free of charge. It is recommended that local governments begin the membership process early so that cost estimates can be generated in preparation for the expiration of free membership. For additional information about traffic membership, visit the Traffic Member FAQ page.