Permit to dig
Draft a permit to dig before you break ground: service plans, CAT & Genny scan, safe digging, excavation support and edge protection. Print it for the issuing authority to review and sign on site.
Free to use — no signup, nothing stored. Use as a planning aid, then review against the actual site.
Issue · brief · sign off
Permit to work
printable · time-bound · signed
Permit to Dig — details
Fill in the permit, then print it for wet-ink signature. This tool drafts the form — only the named issuing authority on site can issue the permit and authorise work to start.
Validity window
A permit to dig is valid for the stated period only. Re-scan and re-assess if work stops and restarts, if the dig moves, or if ground conditions change. Treat any service not on the plans as live.
Plan the work
HSG47 is built on three elements that all have to be in place — planning, detection, and safe digging. This section covers planning.
Detect, identify & mark services
Safe digging
Authorisation
Signed on the printed permit. The issuing authority confirms the controls are in place; the person accepting the permit confirms they understand and will work to it.
Permit to Dig
A permit to dig is valid for the stated period only. Re-scan and re-assess if work stops and restarts, if the dig moves, or if ground conditions change. Treat any service not on the plans as live.
- Only the named issuing authority may issue this permit and authorise excavation to begin.
- Services found on site that are not shown on the plans must be treated as live until proven dead.
Plan the work
- Excavation to be carried out (location, dimensions, depth, method): __________________________
- [Critical] Current service plans obtained and reviewed — electricity, gas, water, telecoms, drainage
- [Critical] Date of service plans checked and confirmed current
- Service plans dated: __________________________
Detect, identify & mark services
- [Critical] CAT & Genny scan completed by a trained operator and the area marked up
- Surface indicators checked — valve/inspection covers, road patching, marker posts
- [Critical] Overhead services checked and controlled where present (GS6 — separate from buried services)
Safe digging
- [Critical] Trial holes / hand digging used to locate services within 500 mm of any indicated service
- [Critical] No mechanical excavation near marked services; insulated hand tools used near electrical services
- [Critical] Rule briefed: any service found that is not on the plans is treated as live until proven dead
- [Critical] Excavation support or battering plan in place for the depth (formal support generally needed from ~1.2 m)
- [Critical] Barriers / covers in place to protect the public and the workforce from the open excavation
- Safe ladder access provided; spoil and plant kept at least 0.5 m back from the excavation edge
Authorisation
By signing, the issuing authority confirms the controls above are in place. The permit holder confirms they understand the conditions and will work to them.
Close-out & cancellation
Completed on site when the work and any post-work watch are finished. The permit is only cancelled once every line is confirmed.
- Excavation backfilled / reinstated, or made safe and protected if left open
- All exposed services confirmed undamaged and reinstated/protected
- Barriers and covers removed or, if the dig remains open, confirmed secure
- Area left clean and safe; spoil and plant cleared
HSG47 in brief
Striking a buried cable, gas main or water pipe can kill, and excavation collapse remains one of the most serious risks in groundwork. HSE's HSG47 “Avoiding danger from underground services” sets out a safe system of work built on three elements that all have to be in place — plan the work, locate and mark the services, and dig safely. A permit to dig turns those three elements into a checklist somebody has to sign off before the first spade goes in.
Plans are not gospel
Get the current service plans for electricity, gas, water, telecoms and drainage, and check their date — but treat them as a guide, never a guarantee. Services move, get added, and are recorded wrongly. That is why a CAT & Genny scan by a trained operator is mandatory, and why the golden rule on this permit is: any service you find that isn't on the plans is treated as live until proven dead.
The 500 mm hand-dig rule
Once services are marked, keep mechanical excavation away from them. Plant stops at around 500 mm from a suspected service; the final clearance is done by hand or vacuum excavation, using insulated tools near electrical services. Pick a support or battering plan for the depth — formal support is generally needed from about 1.2 m — and keep spoil and plant at least 0.5 m back from the edge so they don't surcharge the trench wall.
Look up as well as down
Buried services aren't the only hazard on a dig. Overhead power lines are covered by HSE's GS6 and need their own controls — exclusion zones, goalposts or barriers — so this permit prompts for them too.
This template aligns with HSE's HSG47 and HSE excavation guidance. It drafts the form only — only the named issuing authority on site can issue the permit and authorise excavation to begin.
RamsDocs helps draft structured RAMS from your job details. It does not replace competent-person review, site-specific judgement or your legal duties.
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