Septic System Inspection Requirements

If you own a septic system, you are required by state and local code to check your septic system on a regular basis to make sure it is working properly. How often you need to check your septic system depends on the type of system you have:

Property owners have two options for getting their on-site system inspected:

• Hire a Professional Operations and Monitoring Specialist or Licensed Septic System Designer
• If eligible, you can conduct the inspection yourself (DIY).
  

Professional Inspection Requirements 

All on-site sewage systems require a professional inspection by a Certified O&M Specialist or Licensed Designer at some frequency. View a table showing the required frequency of inspection by a professional (PDF) A professional inspection is also required in the following cases:

• At the time of sale of property or transfer of title an inspection by a professional is required to be on file in compliance with the required inspection frequency.
• At the time of application for a building permit or other governmental actions such as land divisions, conditional use permit, boundary line adjustment, an inspection by a professional, compliant with the required frequency, must be on file. An inspection that involves more than a standard monitoring inspection may be needed for some building projects.
• In general, community and commercial septic systems must be inspected by a professional in Jefferson County. Authorized homeowners connected to a community septic system may inspect their own individual septic tank (and pump chamber if applicable) unless a maintenance contract or Homeowners Association Agreement requires a professional inspection.

Please visit the certified professionals page for a current list of professionals operating in Jefferson County.

Homeowner Inspection 

If you own a septic system in Jefferson County, you may be eligible to inspect your own septic system. See the Homeowner Authorization for Septic Inspections page for more information.

View O&M Inspection Reports on File

Monitoring inspection reports completed by professionals are filed to Online Responsible Management Entity. You can view reports that have been entered since June 2010 by going to the site and entering either your address or parcel number. The information is available for viewing after it is ‘locked' into the system by the inspector.