Septic inspections when a home is sold

Which states require a septic inspection when a home is sold, where it's a county rule or a disclosure, what the inspection covers, and published national ranges for one.

Updated October 18, 202639 official sources

On this page5 sections

1What a septic inspection costs
2What your state requires
3Have it inspected anyway
4What the inspection covers
5What to ask the inspector

If the house you're buying or selling has a septic system, the state or county may require an inspection before the sale, and even where it doesn't, an inspection tells the buyer what they're taking on. Here's what each state's rule says, what an inspection covers and what one costs.

What a septic inspection costs

These are published national ranges from cost guides. They aren't quotes.

Inspection	Published range
A routine or visual inspection	$150 to $450 per inspection^1-4
A full inspection, or one for a home sale	$300 to $900 per inspection^{1-2, 4-5}

No cost guide gives one price for an inspection with pumping, and HomeGuide notes some companies include the pumping in the inspection price. Where yours doesn't, add a pumping visit, $250 to $600 per pumping.^{3, 6-9}

What your state requires

A few states require a septic inspection before a home is sold. Others limit the rule to shoreland, waterfront or cesspools, leave it to counties and cities, or cover the septic system in the seller's disclosure form. These are the states where we could cite the rule; for any other state, ask your county health department.

State	What the state's rule says
Alaska	Some local governments in Alaska have their own rule: the Municipality of Anchorage, for example, requires a Certificate of On-Site Systems Approval before title can transfer on any property served by a well or septic system. The certificate confirms a professional engineer has inspected and tested the system.¹⁰
Colorado	Some counties have their own rule. Larimer County, Colorado, for example, requires a septic system to be inspected by a certified third-party inspector when the property's title is transferred, with exemptions such as systems installed in the last three years, inheritances and transfers to a trust. State Regulation 43 lets each local board of health choose whether to require these inspections.^11-12
Delaware	Delaware requires a septic system to be pumped out by a Class F licensee and inspected by a Class H licensee before a property is sold or transferred. Sheriff sales, auctions, short sales and cash sales get up to 90 days after the sale, and for a new property a completion certificate from the past 24 months, an inspection in the past 36 months or a service contract can count instead (7101, section 3.31.13).¹³
Florida	Florida law says no government entity may require a septic system inspection at the point of sale in a real estate transaction (Fla. Stat. 381.0065). A consolidated government's septic tank phase-out deferral program isn't affected.¹⁴
Idaho	In Idaho, the seller's property disclosure form covers the septic system, asking its type and about any problems (Idaho Code 55-2508). Before selling a property with an extended treatment package system, the owner must tell the buyer about its operation, maintenance and monitoring requirements.^15-16
Indiana	Some counties have their own rule. St. Joseph County, for example, requires a septic inspection when a property inside the St. Joseph Aquifer System is sold, unless it has sold or had a new system installed within the last 15 years.¹⁷
Iowa	Iowa requires a septic system serving a building where people live, gather or work to be inspected before any transfer of ownership, by an inspector the Iowa Department of Natural Resources certifies (567 IAC 69.7). A failing system must be brought up to current standards, or the buyer can sign a binding agreement to do the work later.¹⁸
Kansas	Some counties have their own rule. Johnson County, for example, requires an inspection of a private septic system within the first 60 days after a property is bought, everywhere in the county except DeSoto, Gardner and Edgerton.¹⁹
Maine	In Maine, the rule applies only in the shoreland area: a buyer of property with a septic system there must have it inspected by a state-certified inspector before buying, or within 9 months after if weather prevents it. A malfunctioning system must be repaired or replaced within a year, and the seller must say in writing whether it malfunctioned in the 180 days before the sale (30-A M.R.S. 4216).²⁰
Maryland	In Maryland, the seller of a home must give the buyer either a property condition disclosure statement, which covers the home's water and sewer systems, or a disclaimer statement (Real Prop. 10-702).²¹
Massachusetts	Massachusetts requires a septic system to be inspected at or within two years before the property's title is transferred, or within three years if it was pumped at least once a year. The buyer gets a copy of the full inspection report, and if weather prevents it, the inspection can wait up to six months after the sale (310 CMR 15.301).²²
Michigan	Some counties have their own rule. Washtenaw County, for example, requires a home's well and septic system to be inspected and evaluated by a county-certified inspector before the property can be sold.²³
Minnesota	In Minnesota, before signing a sale agreement, the seller must give the buyer a written disclosure of how the home's sewage is handled, describing the septic system and its location, and attach any earlier inspection report the seller has (Minn. Stat. 115.55).²⁴
Missouri	Some counties have their own rule. Stone County, for example, requires a property transfer certificate before a property is sold if its septic system is more than 10 years old, and the system has to pass an inspection.²⁵
New Hampshire	In New Hampshire, before developed waterfront property is sold where any part of its septic system is within 250 feet of the reference line, the buyer must have a state-licensed septic system evaluator inspect it. A seller's evaluation done within 180 days may be accepted, and older or unapproved systems also need a permitted designer's check for failure (RSA 485-A:39).²⁶
New Jersey	In New Jersey, since June 2, 2012, any cesspool, privy, outhouse, latrine or pit toilet on a property that changes hands must be abandoned and replaced with a conforming septic system. A cesspool that isn't malfunctioning may stay after some transfers, such as one between family members (N.J.A.C. 7:9A-3.16).²⁷
New Mexico	In New Mexico, before a property with a septic system is sold, the seller must have the system evaluated by a qualified evaluator on a department-approved form, and for a conventional system the buyer gets a report. No evaluation is needed if a final inspection or a transfer evaluation was done within 180 days of the sale (20.7.3.902 NMAC).²⁸
North Carolina	In North Carolina, the seller's residential property disclosure statement covers the water supply and sanitary sewage disposal system, though the owner may instead state that they make no representations about the property's condition (G.S. 47E-4).²⁹
Ohio	Some counties have their own rule. Summit County, for example, bars the sale or transfer of a property served by a septic system until the seller gets a septic system evaluation report from the county health district or files one by a registered evaluator.³⁰
Oregon	In Oregon, the seller's property disclosure statement covers the septic system: whether the property is on an on-site septic system, when it was installed, whether by permit, any repairs, any evaluation report and whether and when the tank has been pumped (ORS 105.464).³¹
Rhode Island	In Rhode Island, the rule at sale covers cesspools only: a cesspool serving a building that's sold must be removed or abandoned within 12 months of the sale. Where it isn't known how the property's wastewater is handled, a system inspector must check for a cesspool before the sale (250-RICR-150-10-6.57).³²
South Carolina	In South Carolina, some cities have their own rule. Folly Beach, for example, requires a septic tank inspection before a house is sold, unless the tank was built or inspected within the last 60 days.³³
South Dakota	In South Dakota, the seller's property condition disclosure form covers the septic system: it asks about the septic or leaching field, whether the sewer system is public or private, and when the septic tank was last pumped (SDCL 43-4-44).³⁴
Texas	In Texas, the seller of a one-unit home must give the buyer a written disclosure notice, and the notice's list of the property's items includes the septic system (Prop. Code 5.008).³⁵
Washington	In Washington, starting February 1, 2027, a seller must get the septic system inspected at the time of property transfer by a third-party inspector authorized by the local health officer. The local health officer may waive it where the system is up to date on its routine inspections by an authorized third-party inspector. Sellers already have to give the buyer all available maintenance and repair records with the seller disclosure statement (WAC 246-272A-0270).³⁶

Have it inspected anyway

EPA's advice to buyers is to have the system inspected by a septic service provider before you buy, and it notes that your local or state government or your mortgage lender may require it.³⁷ Penn State Extension points out that a system can look fine from above ground while hiding years of problems, and that without an inspection a buyer usually has no grounds to ask for repairs or a lower price once the sale is final. It suggests asking for a septic inspection contingency in the purchase agreement.³⁸

What the inspection covers

EPA lists what an inspector checks for a home sale:³⁷

Pumping and maintenance records, and the system's age
How much sludge and scum is in the tank
Signs of leaks, such as a low water level in the tank, and of backups, such as staining above the outlet pipe
The condition of the tank and its inlet and outlet pipes
The drain field, for signs of failure like standing water
The distribution box, to make sure the drain lines get equal flow
The records, to check the system meets local rules

Some inspection standards require the tank to be pumped as part of the inspection: the Pennsylvania Septage Management Association and National Onsite Wastewater Education and Research Foundation (PSMA/NOF) standard, for one.³⁸ Penn State Extension notes that a PSMA/NOF inspection isn't a warranty or guarantee that the system will keep working for any period of time.³⁸

What to ask the inspector

Whether they're licensed or certified to do inspections for a sale in your state, where the state requires it.
Whether the tank will be pumped as part of the inspection, and whether that's in the price.
Whether the inspection includes the drain field, not only the tank.
What the written report will say, and when you'll have it.

EPA suggests asking your local health or environmental department for a list of inspectors in your area.³⁹ Each company on this site is listed with its phone number where it has one, and you can also use the request form and pick an inspection.

State rules from state legislatures, agencies and county health departments; inspection advice from the US EPA and Penn State Extension; ranges compiled from HomeGuide, Angi, Fixr and Forbes Home, checked October 2026.