The ticket originates at the state Call Center who receives calls from the excavator or homeowner in advance of digging. The address or description of the area is then compared with utility facility maps in that area.

A "dig ticket" or dig request is sent to utilities who have facilities in the dig area. Locators for the utility or a contract utility locating firm receives a copy of the dig request. They travel to the ticket address to mark the underground utility lines. After the ground is painted, the locator then checks the info about site markings and facilities were found into the computer.

The worked ticket is sent from the laptop to the server which stores it in a database, and closes the ticket.