Senate Bill 133 updates Missouri’s Underground Facility Safety and Damage Prevention Act and took effect on August 28, 2025. These changes are intended to improve safety, reduce underground utility damage, and clarify responsibilities for excavators, utility owners, and locators. All Missouri 811 members should review the updates below to ensure continued compliance with state law.
Definitions and Terminology (§319.015)
New and updated definitions were added to better align Missouri law with current industry practices and technology.
New terms include best practices, careful and prudent excavation, electronic white lining, detectable underground location devices, locator wire, locator tape, reasonable care, and start date of work.
Missouri law continues to take precedence over national guidance when differences exist, including Missouri’s 24-inch tolerance zone.
Ticket Life Extended to 21 Days (§319.025)
Excavation notices submitted to Missouri 811 are now valid for 21 consecutive calendar days from the excavator’s stated start date of work and expire at 11:59 p.m. on day 21.
Weekends and holidays count toward the 21-day ticket life.
Locate request timelines remain unchanged and still require three working days.
A renewal ticket is required if work continues beyond 21 days.
Detectable Location Devices Required (§319.019)
All new underground facilities installed after August 28, 2025 must include a detectable underground location device such as tracer wire or locator tape, unless the facility is otherwise electronically locatable.
Storm and sanitary sewer mains or laterals installed deeper than six feet are excluded.
Electronic White Lining Recognized (§319.026)
Electronic white lining is now formally recognized in Missouri law as an acceptable method for designating excavation areas.
This option remains available through Missouri 811’s online ticketing system with no change to current practices.
Design Request Rules Clarified (§319.027)
The previous 10-day limit on design requests has been removed.
Design requests are for planning purposes only and do not authorize excavation.
A standard locate request must still be submitted before any digging begins.
Liability Responsibilities Clarified (§319.034 and §319.035)
Responsibility for underground utility damage is shared among excavators, utility owners, and locators.
Excavators who fully comply with Missouri law may not be held liable if damage results from incorrect or missing locate information.
Utility owners and locators may be held responsible for inaccurate markings, incorrect ticket responses, or failure to properly locate facilities.
Additional Information and Training
Missouri 811 is available to answer questions and provide free training and education on these law changes and safe digging requirements.
Training requests can be submitted at https://missouri-811.org/field-education-training/request-training/
Additional details are available at https://blog.missouri-811.org/sb-133-major-changes-to-missouris-underground-facility-law-coming-in-august
