Datasets:

referencesource
/

septic-inspection-at-property-transfer

citation stringclasses 7 values	derived_fields listlengths 1 1	exemptions stringclasses 3 values	id stringclasses 7 values	requirement_status stringclasses 7 values	source stringclasses 7 values	source_quote stringclasses 7 values	state stringclasses 7 values	url stringclasses 7 values	verified_fields listlengths 2 4	responsible_party stringclasses 2 values
7 Del. Admin. Code § 7101-3.0	[ "state" ]	If an inspection has occurred within the previous 36 months and the property owner can provide proof of the pump out and inspection and the system is not a cesspool or seepage pit, then the inspections referred to in Section 3.31.13 will suffice	delaware	For all properties utilizing an OWTDS that are sold or otherwise transferred to other ownership, the persons must have the system pumped out and inspected by a Class F and Class H licensee, respectively, prior to completion of the sale	https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/delaware/7-Del-Admin-Code-SS-7101-3.0	3.31.13 For all properties utilizing an OWTDS that are sold or otherwise transferred to other ownership, the persons must have the system pumped out and inspected by a Class F and Class H licensee, respectively, prior to completion of the sale. An extension will be given to sheriff sales, auctions, short sales and cash...	Delaware	https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/delaware/	[ "citation", "exemptions", "requirement_status" ]	null
Iowa Code 455B.172	[ "state" ]	null	iowa	requires that every home or building served by a private sewage disposal system have that system inspected prior to the sale or deed transfer of the home or building. All inspections must be conducted by an inspector that has been certified by the Iowa DNR	https://www.iowadnr.gov/environmental-protection/water-quality/private-sewage-disposal-and-septage/time-transfer	Iowa's Time of Transfer (ToT) inspection law, as established in Iowa Code 455B.172, requires that every home or building served by a private sewage disposal system have that system inspected prior to the sale or deed transfer of the home or building. All inspections must be conducted by an inspector that has been certi...	Iowa	https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/iowa/	[ "citation", "requirement_status" ]	null
310 CMR 15.301	[ "state" ]	null	massachusetts	a system shall be inspected at or within two years prior to the time of transfer of title to the facility served by the system	https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/massachusetts/310-CMR-15-301	Inspection at Time of Transfer . Except as provided in 310 CMR <https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/massachusetts/310-CMR-15-301> 15.301 (2), 15.301(3), and 15.301(4), a system shall be inspected at or within two years prior to the time of transfer of title to the facility served by the system. An inspection conduc...	Massachusetts	https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/massachusetts/	[ "citation", "requirement_status" ]	null
Sec. 115.55 MN Statutes	[ "state" ]	null	minnesota	Before signing an agreement to sell or transfer real property, the seller or transferor must disclose in writing to the buyer or transferee information on how sewage generated at the property is managed	https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/115.55	(a) Before signing an agreement to sell or transfer real property, the seller or transferor must disclose in writing to the buyer or transferee information on how sewage generated at the property is managed. The disclosure must be made by delivering a statement to the buyer or transferee that either: (1) the sewage goe...	Minnesota	https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/minnesota/	[ "citation", "requirement_status", "responsible_party" ]	the seller or transferor
Section 485-A:39	[ "state" ]	the buyer may accept an evaluation prepared for the seller of the property if the evaluation was completed within 180 days of the date of property transfer	new-hampshire	Prior to the transfer of any developed waterfront property using a septic system, where any portion of the septic system is within 250 feet of the reference line as defined in RSA 483-B:4, XVII, the buyer of the property shall, at the buyer's expense, engage a New Hampshire licensed septic system evaluator to conduct a...	https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/l/485-a/485-a-39.htm	I. Prior to the transfer of any developed waterfront property using a septic system, where any portion of the septic system is within 250 feet of the reference line as defined in RSA 483-B:4, XVII, the buyer of the property shall, at the buyer's expense, engage a New Hampshire licensed septic system evaluator to conduc...	New Hampshire	https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/new-hampshire/	[ "citation", "exemptions", "requirement_status", "responsible_party" ]	the buyer of the property shall, at the buyer's expense, engage a New Hampshire licensed septic system evaluator
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19.15-12	[ "state" ]	null	rhode-island	Any cesspool found to be serving a building or use subject to sale or transfer shall be removed and replaced with an OWTS or the building served by the cesspool shall be connected to a public sewer system within twelve (12) months of the date of sale or transfer	https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE23/23-19.15/23-19.15-12.htm	(a) Any cesspool found to be serving a building or use subject to sale or transfer shall be removed and replaced with an OWTS or the building served by the cesspool shall be connected to a public sewer system within twelve (12) months of the date of sale or transfer. (b) Should the manner of wastewater disposal be unkn...	Rhode Island	https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/rhode-island/	[ "citation", "requirement_status" ]	null
WAC 246-272A-0270	[ "state" ]	The local health officer may: (A) Remove the requirement for an inspection at the time of property transfer if the local health jurisdiction has evidence that the OSS is in compliance with (e) of this subsection and the OSS was inspected by a third-party inspector authorized by the local health officer	washington	Beginning February 1, 2027, obtain an inspection, as required in WAC 246-272A-0260 (5), by a third-party inspector authorized by the local health officer	https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-272A-0270	(k) At the time of property transfer: (i) Provide to the buyer, all available OSS maintenance and repair records in addition to the completed seller disclosure statement in accordance with chapter <http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.06> 64.06 RCW for residential real property transfers; (ii) Beginning Febru...	Washington	https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/washington/	[ "citation", "exemptions", "requirement_status" ]	null

Septic system inspection at property sale: which states require it

Canonical, always-current version: https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/ Machine-readable: https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/data.json — this mirror is a point-in-time copy.

Last verified: 2026-08-18
Stale after: 2027-08-18 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy — it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
Records: 7

For each US state whose statute, code or environmental agency states a position: whether a septic (onsite sewage) system must be inspected when the property is sold or the deed transfers, who must obtain it, and any exemptions. The sibling of well-water-testing-at-property-transfer, and it carries a date that will make today's answers wrong: Washington's WAC 246-272A-0270 requires, verbatim, 'Beginning February 1, 2027, obtain an inspection ... by a third-party inspector authorized by the local health officer' at the time of property transfer — so every page and model answering 'no statewide requirement in Washington' becomes wrong on that date. Iowa Code 455B.172 already requires a certified time-of-transfer inspection before deed transfer; Massachusetts Title 5 is the flagship law (mass.gov currently 403s our fetcher — use the 310 CMR 15.301 regulation text). Most states have no statewide rule and the requirement is county-level or the lender's; those statements are records too. Answers 'do I need a septic inspection to sell my house in [state]', 'what is a time of transfer inspection', and 'when does Washington's septic inspection rule start'. States whose authority states nothing get no record.

Provenance — what every record carries

Every record carries source (the URL the value was read from) and source_quote (a verbatim quote from that page stating it). A value you cannot check against its page is indistinguishable from an invented one; these can all be checked. Each record is also individually addressable on the canonical site at its url.

Licence position

unknown

Facts are not copyrightable; what this dataset takes from each source is a fact plus a short attributed quote linking back to the page that states it.

Sources

Fields

See any record in data/records.jsonl — field names are self-describing, and the canonical page for each record renders them with labels: https://referencesource.org/septic-inspection-at-property-transfer/

Downloads last month: 33

Number of rows:

Total file size:

25.3 kB