Septic companies in Florida

Who Regulates Septic Systems in Florida

Sources: Florida Department of Environmental Protection; The Florida Senate. Checked 2026-09-18.

Florida moved septic from one department to another and the move is still under way. The onsite sewage programme passed from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection, and which office issues your permit now depends on which county you are in. Establishing that is the first thing to do.

The transfer began in the 2020 legislative session in Senate Bill 712, signed on 30 June 2020 as Chapter 2020-150 opens in a new tab, the Clean Waterways Act. The same act required both departments to report recommendations back to the Governor and the Legislature opens in a new tab.

In the counties DEP has not taken over, the county health department still does the work. Under the Clean Waterways Act the county health department offices continue to do the permitting and inspection for septic tanks opens in a new tab, and permits in those counties are issued by the Environmental Public Health Program of the local county health department opens in a new tab.

The exception is real and it is growing. DEP has implemented the first phase of the transition opens in a new tab and now permits directly across Northwest Florida and in Marion County, where an application goes to DEP rather than to a health department. The county list further down this page says which office covers your address.

The rule moved as well as the programme. The amended onsite sewage rule, Chapter 62-6 of the Florida Administrative Code, took effect on 9 July 2025 opens in a new tab and covers private provider inspectors among other changes. A document citing Chapter 64E-6 is quoting the superseded health department rule.

Licenses and What to Check Before You Hire

Sources: Florida Legislature; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Florida Department of Health in Pasco County; Florida Department of Health. Checked 2026-09-18.

Florida registers people and authorises businesses, and both matter when you hire. Nobody may hold themselves out as a septic tank contractor or master septic tank contractor without being registered by the department opens in a new tab, and nobody may contract to construct, modify, alter, repair, service, abandon or maintain any part of a system without that registration opens in a new tab.

A master septic tank contractor opens in a new tab is one whose services are unlimited in the trade, reached after at least three years registered in Florida. The gap between registered and master is therefore scope and time served rather than a different trade.

The business credential is the one whose number people recognise. A certificate of authorization is required for a corporation, partnership, association or anyone practising under a fictitious name opens in a new tab, and the structure of the business decides whether one is needed at all opens in a new tab. A sole trader working under his own legal name will not hold one, so its absence is not by itself a warning.

Pumping is not a separate trade in Florida. Registered septic tank contractors and state-licensed plumbers may pump septic tanks with an active service permit from their local county health department opens in a new tab, and no tank or receptacle may be cleaned or emptied until that service permit is held opens in a new tab. The permit sits on top of the registration rather than in place of it.

Where the waste ends up is regulated separately again. DEP regulates septage management facilities under Chapter 62-640 opens in a new tab, meaning the stationary sites that treat domestic septage. That is a third permit, distinct from the truck and from the contractor.

We check Florida listings against the state register of septic tank contracting business authorizations, and 324 of the 928 Florida companies here carry one. That register lists businesses rather than people, so a sole trader working under his own legal name opens in a new tab can be properly registered and still be absent from it. The department's own lookup opens in a new tab is where an authorization number is confirmed directly.

Permits, Inspections and Selling a Home

Sources: Florida Legislature; Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Checked 2026-09-18.

Florida answers the question about inspections at sale in statute, and the answer is no. An inspection of a system may not be mandated by a governmental entity at the point of sale in a real estate transaction opens in a new tab. That is a prohibition written into statute rather than a gap somebody forgot to fill.

What is required is the permit before the work. Nobody may construct, repair, modify, abandon or operate a system without first obtaining a permit approved by the department opens in a new tab, and a permit for installation, modification or repair transfers with the title to the property opens in a new tab. The paperwork follows the house, so asking a seller for it is reasonable.

Some areas do run evaluations, on a five year cycle rather than at closing. Where such a programme applies, every system in the area must be evaluated once every five years opens in a new tab to assess how it is functioning, and the ordinance creating it may not mandate an evaluation at point of sale or require a soil examination opens in a new tab.

Springs basin management action plans target nitrogen from onsite systems opens in a new tab, which is why an upgrade can be required near a spring. Since 1 July 2022 an owner, or a contractor with the owner's authorisation, may hire a private provider to carry out inspections opens in a new tab instead of waiting for the department.

Keeping a System Working

Sources: Florida Legislature; Florida Department of Health in Pasco County; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Checked 2026-09-18.

An operating permit for an aerobic treatment unit runs for two years and must be renewed opens in a new tab, and no aerobic unit may be serviced until the service entity holds an annual written permit opens in a new tab of its own. Florida sets its own maintenance requirements for those systems opens in a new tab, above the EPA guide of an inspection every three years and pumping every three to five opens in a new tab.

Help Paying for Repairs

Sources: Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Seminole County, Florida; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Checked 2026-09-18.

Florida money is aimed at upgrades and water quality rather than at plain repairs. DEP runs an incentive programme encouraging owners to enhance conventional septic systems with advanced features that cut nitrogen opens in a new tab. In eligible parts of unincorporated Seminole County a homeowner can receive up to 10,000 dollars towards exactly that opens in a new tab.

The larger sums go to local government rather than to a household. The Water Quality Improvement Grant Program funds cities and counties for wastewater work including septic to sewer opens in a new tab, and Orange County Utilities runs a Wekiwa Springs septic-to-sewer programme opens in a new tab of that kind. Federal Section 504 loans and grants opens in a new tab remain the route that reaches one rural household on its own.

Find the Office That Permits Your County

Most Florida counties are permitted by the Department of Health office in that county, acting for DEP. Northwest Florida and Marion County are permitted by DEP directly. Checked 2026-09-18.

Questions People Ask