What Is an Underground Utilities & Sitework Qualifying Agent?
An underground utilities and sitework qualifying agent is the licensed individual whose license lets a business legally do excavation and underground utility work in states that license it, and who actively supervises that work as an employee of the business.
What does an underground utilities and sitework contractor license cover?
There's no common definition of this trade. It usually covers earthwork (excavation, grading, trenching and backfill to prepare a site), underground utility lines such as water mains, sanitary sewers and storm drains installed by open trench or by boring and other trenchless methods, and the utility connections that run those lines from the main to a defined end point near the building, such as the meter or the property line. Some states license earthwork and underground piping together. Others split them, or fold them into a broader heavy civil license that also covers roads, paving and other public works. The license generally stops where the building's own systems begin. Water and sewer lines from that end point into the building belong to a plumber, underground electrical wiring belongs to an electrician (a utility contractor may be allowed to install empty conduit but not pull wire or make connections), underground fire mains often need a fire protection license, and buildings belong to general contractors. Paving may be part of the same license or a separate one (learn more about your state here).
What does a qualifying agent do in underground utilities and sitework?
The qualifier is the licensed person responsible for the sitework and underground utility work the business contracts for. The work is built from plans, often prepared by a civil engineer, and the qualifier makes sure the business builds to those plans, follows the utility's and the local government's specifications, and gets the work tested and accepted before it is buried or connected. Crews run heavy equipment such as excavators, loaders, dozers and directional drilling rigs, with operators, pipe layers and laborers, often in public rights-of-way and around existing live utilities.
Two safety duties set supervising this work apart. The first is locating buried utilities: before digging, the excavator must request a locate through the state's one-call center (811), and federal rules require the estimated location of underground installations to be determined before an excavation is opened. The second is trench safety: federal rules require protection from cave-ins for workers in excavations 5 feet or deeper, and a competent person must inspect excavations daily. A qualifier who only lends a name isn't supervising, and that's a license rental. See our guides on how the qualifying agent relationship actually works and renting or leasing a contracting license.
Is this work licensed, and can another license cover it?
There's no single pattern. Some states have a dedicated underground utility or excavation license covering mains and utility lines. Others use a broad general engineering or heavy civil license, often with narrower specialty classes for earthwork, pipelines or sewer systems. Others make it part of the general contractor license, which may cover some or all of this work. In some states sitework may not be licensed at the state level at all, and cities, counties, utilities and public owners set their own requirements. Other licenses overlap at the edges. Some states let a general contractor build utility mains without subcontracting, but not the connections from the mains to the buildings. Plumbers typically handle a building's own water and sewer lines, and in some states also lines out to the main. Electricians handle underground electrical wiring, and underground fire mains often need a fire protection license (learn more about your state here).
What does it take to get licensed in underground utilities and sitework?
Where the work is licensed, each state sets its own requirements, and where it isn't, the city, county, utility or public owner does. See our guides on what experience is required, how to gain experience, and what education is required.
What safety rules apply to this work?
Two sets of rules apply everywhere, whether or not the state licenses the work. OSHA's excavation standards require underground utilities to be located before digging, cave-in protection for trenches 5 feet or deeper, and daily inspections by a competent person, and some states run their own OSHA-approved plans. Call-before-you-dig laws require excavators in every state to notify the one-call center through 811 before digging and to wait for utilities to be marked, with notice periods and other details varying by state.
What else should you know?
Most of what applies to any trade is covered in our guides. See starting a contracting business without a license and how long you have to replace a qualifying agent for when a business needs a qualifier, renting or leasing a contracting license for why renting isn't an option, and the state-by-state directory for how requirements differ. See all ten trades on our trades page, and the full list of guides on our guides page.
How do you find an underground utilities and sitework qualifier or a business hiring one?
findQualifier.com is a public, searchable board of licensed professionals advertising their availability to work as a qualifier, by state and trade. Browse available qualifiers, browse businesses looking to hire, or post a listing.