The New 2025 Law is Now Effective

The new 2025 Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act is in effect to enhance public safety, minimize risks to excavators, prevent disruptions and aid in the expansion of vital public services.

What has changed and how it will impact your business.

These are a few of the key areas that are addressed in the new legislation.
The new legislation contains other substantial changes to the existing law.

Notification Timelines

The definition of day/days has been changed. A locate request must be submitted at least 2 days, NOT including the day of the notice, but no more than 10 days prior to the proposed excavation. Notice expiration will be 25 days with extensions allowed between day 20 and 25. Day/days do NOT include weekends, JULIE recognized holidays and the day of the notice.

Pre-Marking

All locate requests will require pre-marking, by physically marking the proposed excavation or route, electronic white lining (when available) or with verbal pre-marking when the description provided is explicit enough to limit markings to the actual excavation area.

Positive Response

The use of an electronic positive response system, offered through JULIE, will be required by excavators and facility owners or operators no later than January 1, 2026. Training on how to use the new electronic positive response system and its codes will be forthcoming. For questions about Positive Response, please contact memberinfo@julie1call.com.

Reasonable Control Measures

Up to 2 additional days advance notice may be requested by a JULIE member to respond to locate and mark, or provide a no conflict response, when notice volume in a particular place exceeds the reasonable control measurement of the JULIE member. This additional advance notice ONLY applies to excavations where the project owner is a JULIE member or their contractors/sub-contractors. The JULIE Board of Directors passed this policy which creates responses for members and their contractors/sub-contractors to use in Positive Response for Beyond Reasonable Control Requests. Click the button below for a graphic that illustrates scenarios of the Beyond Reasonable Control.

Watch Our Online Law Tutorials

Our free online training courses cover 10 key aspects of the new 2025 law in short 10-minute learning modules.

Click on the icon to learn more

View more documents pertaining to the law

Webinar videos

A 90-minute in-depth look at the new law

Hear answers to frequently asked questions

Learn how the new law will impact you in this 60-minute webinar

Top things you need to know about the JULIE law

Have Questions?

Not sure who to call? Click below to view our territory map.

David Van Wy

Northern Illinois Region
815-351-5002

Brian MacKenzie

Central Illinois Region
217-725-2433

Roger Watwood

Southern Illinois Region 217-299-5977

Lucy Martinez

Northern Illinois Region/Bilingual
815-985-3119

Thank you for your continued diligence in working to prevent underground utility damages in Illinois.
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