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Well and septic checks, for real estate agents

A license lookup to bookmark, a checklist to print for buyers, and the difference between a septic inspection and a pump-out. Free, and no account.

Look up a contractor's license

Searches our copy of the official state rosters by name, business name or license number. Every result links to the state's own lookup, which is the final word. Bookmark this page to keep the lookup handy.

Septic inspector or septic pumper?

A pumper empties the tank. An inspector evaluates the system: the tank, its baffles and liquid level, the drainfield, and the permit records. A pump-out receipt is not an inspection report.

In Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina and Washington, the state license rosters we carry have a separate septic inspector class, and some county programs in Colorado, Indiana and Wisconsin do too. In those places a listing shows the inspector license where the contractor holds one, and our septic inspection pages list only licenses of that class.

Elsewhere, our data has no separate inspector license. A contractor who does inspections there holds some other license, such as an installer's or a pumper's, and the listing shows that license, which is not an inspection credential. Ask what the inspection covers, whether they open the tank and check the drainfield, and what training they have for it.

Well and septic checklist for home buyers

  1. Find out what the home runs on: a private well, a septic system, or both. The listing, the seller's disclosure and county records usually say.
  2. Ask the seller for the records: the septic permit and system drawing, pumping and repair receipts, the well completion report (the well log), and any past water test results.
  3. Book the septic inspection as soon as the contract is signed. Ask whether the inspector opens the tank and checks the drainfield. A pump-out on its own is not an inspection.
  4. Book the water test through a state-certified lab, and ask about a flow test for the well.
  5. Ask the loan officer, in the first week, what the loan needs from the well and the septic system.
  6. Check each contractor's license with the state. groundroster.com/verify links every result to the state's own lookup.
  7. If anything fails, get a written quote from a licensed contractor before the inspection window closes. Septic repairs and replacements usually need a permit from the local health department.
  8. Before closing, collect every report, and for any repair, the permit and the final approval.

From groundroster.com/buying, which covers each step. Print it from your browser; the page prints the checklist alone.

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