In order to determine whether your septic system qualifies for homeowner inspection,
we need to identify the septic permits on file with the County for your property.
You will need to provide the property parcel number for the property where the septic
system you intend to inspect is located.
The parcel number, as used on Assessor maps, the county Geographic Information
System (including web maps), and permit records is a 9 digit number that is unique
to each separate piece of real estate. This is the number you should enter on the
Septic Inspection web form.
You can find the parcel number on your property tax statement.
The statement includes a Geo ID or Geo Parcel Number or Parcel Number.
This is a 9 digit number.
If you are unable to use a Tax Statement to determine the correct
GeoID/parcel number please visit Jefferson County's
Parcel Map Webpage or the Assessors
Parcel Lookup Tool to locate this information about the property in question.
If, after checking tax statements, maps and property records, you are still uncertain about your parcel number,
or there are multiple septic systems on your property, please contact
Environmental Health Homeowner Authorization Program Staff. Submit your name, the physical site address of the septic system you wish to inspect along with a phone number to reach you and the parcel number will be researched for you.
Step Two - Confirming Your Parcel & Where to Get Help
Once you enter a parcel number, the system will tell you the address and owner of that parcel according to Jefferson County tax records. Once the parcel number and ownership is confirmed, you can go to the next step. If there is any question about the parcel, you will have options to look up
Assessor records for the parcel,
or to view it on a
county web map. If you are still unsure or can't find the correct parcel number, you may need to contact County
Homeowner Authorization Program Staff because there are multiple ways some of this automated information can be in error.
Once you have confirmed the correct parcel, we can give you basic information about your septic system and its inspection requirements. If the septic system is eligible for homeowner inspection, you will have the option to proceed to the registration step.
Not all septic systems qualify for homeowner self inspection. Please review the
Septic System Inspection Requirements if you have any questions. Some systems use a technology that requires a professional inspection. If your system is one of these, we will tell you that, and provide links to assist in getting your system professionally inspected.
If the County has no record of a septic system on your parcel you will need to work with a
Certified Operations and Monitoring Specialist or Licensed Designer to create a system location site plan for the property. Lists of these professionals are available at the
Jefferson County Public Health Webpage.
The site plan must show the septic system components such as the septic tank and general drainfield area along with the well (if applicable),house, garage, sheds and other outbuildings, driveways and the adjacent roadway.
A sample site plan can be viewed here: sample site plan. A blank site plan can be viewed here: blank site plan.
There are also a number of septic systems in Jefferson County that have little or no documentation in our records. If your system is one of these, we will ask you to contact the Environmental Health office, and together we will try to determine if there is enough documented information about your system in order for your septic system to qualify for the Homeowner Authorization Program. If there is not enough information to determine your system type and where its components are located you will be required to submit a system location site plan developed by a certified or licensed professional before your system will be eligible for the Homeowner Authorization Program.
All onsite sewage systems require an inspection by a certified professional at some frequency and for some actions. These are described in detail on the Septic System Inspection Requirements webpage.
As part of the registration process you will be given an Inspector User ID. You will need to use this Inspector User ID to access your Homeowner Authorization Program account. You will enter your name, email address and then select a simple password for your account. You will need to record this information for future access but it can be acquired through the "forgot my password" link on the registration/log-in webpage.
At this time our process requires you to have an email account you are able to access at the time you wish to complete this step. If you do not have an email account visit
about.com for a list of free email services and to get guidance about setting up a new account.
Once you've provided the necessary information, we will send you a confirmation email with a link that you must click to complete the registration process. This is a security step to make sure no one else is signing up to report inspections of your septic system.
Once your registration is confirmed, you will have access to the training videos and certification tests that will qualify you for inspecting your own septic system. You may continue on to view the training materials at the time you register, or you may come back to this site another time, log in with your User ID and password, and enter the training program.
The training program contains 2 training videos and online tests for each. Once you've completed each on-line video training, you can take the test for that video. To become authorized, you must get 80% of the questions correct on each test. If you do not score 80 % or above you will be able to retake the test after you have reviewed any questions you missed.
When you pass the test, you must click the authorization link to complete the authorization process and pay the required $12.00 fee. This will allow our system to identify you as an authorized homeowner septic inspector, and give you access to the septic inspection report options.
A step-by-step Field Guide with inspection checklists will be available for you to download, print, and use for reference as you inspect your septic system. Fill out the checklists as you perform the inspection; you will use this information in the next step.
If you own more than one system that you will be inspecting you will need to provide a list of the parcel numbers and addresses to the Health Department. This allows us to identify you as an Authorized Homeowner Inspector in those septic cases.
As an Authorized Homeowner Septic Inspector, you can log in using your Inspector ID and password at any time and submit inspection reports for your septic system. To submit a report, enter the information you recorded in the Field Guide checklist or inspection checklist into the online reporting form along with the date the inspection took place. The data will be electronically sent to us. Jefferson County will maintain the submitted Monitoring Inspection records in our Septic System database as required by State regulations. You can view inspections completed at the Authorized Homeowner page when you log in with your User ID and password.
We highly recommend that you keep a hard copy of all septic system inspection records for your information as well as future property owners.
Click below to go to Jefferson County Environmental Health Services.
