Sunshine 811: Call Before You Dig in Panama City

Florida's Real Call-Before-You-Dig Program

Sunshine State One-Call of Florida, Inc. — known as Sunshine 811 — is the legitimate, statutorily recognized statewide utility-notification service covering Panama City and every corner of Bay County. It's the communications link between anyone digging and the utility companies whose lines run underground nearby, coordinating a markout before work begins. It's the only call-before-you-dig service we ever point customers to for a Florida project — there isn't a separate local or county-specific program.

The Law Behind the Call

Florida Statutes Chapter 556 legally requires excavators — a category that includes homeowners hiring a contractor, landscaping companies, and subcontractors doing any digging — to notify Sunshine 811 at least 48 hours before digging begins, so member utility operators can come out and mark buried gas, electric, water, sewer, cable and telecom lines. This isn't an optional courtesy call; it's a statutory requirement tied directly to Florida law.

A Nuance Worth Getting Right

Here's the detail that trips people up: calling a specific utility company directly does not satisfy the legal requirement. Only a request placed through Sunshine 811 covers every affected utility operator in the area at once. If someone tells you they "called the gas company" before digging and skipped Sunshine 811 entirely, that project wasn't actually in compliance with Florida law, whatever their intentions were.

When You Need to Call

Any project that involves digging — a new fence post, a landscaping project, a new structure's footing, trenching for a utility line of your own — should start with a call to Sunshine 811 well before the digging itself begins. That includes homeowner-scale projects, not just large construction jobs: a single fence-post hole is still a dig, and it still deserves the call. Confirm the exact notice window for your specific project directly with Sunshine 811 rather than assuming a fixed number of days applies to every job.

How This Connects to Dumpster Placement

Placing a roll-off dumpster on the surface of a driveway or yard generally doesn't itself require a locate call — but any excavation-adjacent work on the same project, like setting fence posts or trenching nearby, does. If your project involves both a dumpster and some digging, it's worth handling the Sunshine 811 call early in your planning, well ahead of either the digging or the delivery. Knowing where utility lines actually run can also help determine the safest, most practical spot for a container to sit.

Where This Fits Alongside a Dumpster Rental

We're not a utility-locating service, and we always point customers straight to Sunshine 811 for that part of a project. If your job involves both digging and debris removal — a renovation, a fence replacement, a landscaping overhaul — call us and we'll help you think through the dumpster side while you handle the Sunshine 811 call on your own timeline.

Sizing While You Plan the Dig

Most fence, landscaping and small footing projects generate enough debris for a 10 or 15 yard container. Larger excavation-adjacent construction work more often calls for a 20 yard or bigger.