Arkansas septic rules
Septic pumping rules in Arkansas.
Arkansas requires a state license or permit to pump or haul septage. Below: who regulates, what pumpers have to keep, and where to find the official forms. Checked against official sources on October 8, 2026.
The rules
What a pumper in Arkansas should know.
A guide, not legal advice. Counties and local health departments can add their own rules on top of the state's, so check with the county where the system is.
- Who regulates septic systemsRun by the state
Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Environmental Health, Onsite Wastewater program. ADH licenses septic tank cleaners statewide; its authorized agents (Environmental Health Specialists assigned to each county) inspect pumper vehicles and land application sites.
The state program- Pumper and hauler licensingState license
No one may engage in septic tank cleaning or the transportation of septage, sewage or sludge for compensation without an ADH Septic Tank Cleaner License (Rules Pertaining to Septic Tank Cleaners, Section VII). The licensee must pass an ADH examination. The license is $25 per year (plus $25 for each pumper vehicle after the first), runs from July 1, and renewal requires current inspection reports for each vehicle. Each pumper vehicle is inspected yearly with the tank full by the authorized agent in the licensee's county, must carry an ADH decal, and must show the firm name, license number and tank capacity on each side of the tank in letters at least 4 inches high; tank pumper vehicles need at least 1,000 gallons capacity (portable toilet and marine vehicles exempt). The licensee's name and license number go on every customer receipt.
Licensing details- Where septage can go
Land application is allowed only at sites inspected, approved and on file with ADH, with a notarized landowner permission statement, maps and setbacks (for example 1,000 feet from any place of habitation). Disposal at a sewage treatment facility requires a current contract with each facility on file with ADH. Holding tank, portable toilet and marine sanitation device wastes may never be land applied and must go to a public sewer system the licensee has a contract with (Section V).
Disposal rules- Records and reports
Each pumper vehicle must carry a bound service record listing the operator, the date and location of each tank or facility pumped, the vector and pathogen reduction method, and the date and location of disposal (Section VI(H)). For each land application site the licensee keeps a permanent bound site record of each application, volume, date, method and the person applying, kept at least five years and available to regulators on request (Section V).
Reporting rules- Inspections
Not confirmed from an official source. Ask the state program linked above, or your county health department.
- The rule book
ADH Rules Pertaining to Septic Tank Cleaners (effective March 25, 2024), under Ark. Code Ann. 17-45-101 et seq. and 20-7-101 et seq.
Official forms
Get the forms from the source.
We link to the state's own pages instead of keeping copies, because forms change. Your county may use its own forms as well, and those are the ones an inspector will expect.
We did not find a statewide forms page for pumpers in Arkansas. Ask the state program or your county health department for the current forms.
In PortaPro
Upload your county's form once. Fill it from every job.
- Your form, filled from the job
Upload the current PDF from your county or the state, place the fields on it, and bind them to job data. Each pump-out fills it with the customer, site, tank, gallons pumped and technician, and you download a finished PDF.
How Regulatory Forms works- Service reports on the driver's phone
Every account comes with a septic inspection checklist and a pumping service report with gallons pumped and a disposal manifest. Drivers fill them on site and they are filed with the job.
PortaPro for septic companies- Prefer paper for now
Print our free septic pumping service report. It has the fields most programs ask for.
Free septic service report
Questions
Do I need a license to pump septic tanks in Arkansas?
Arkansas requires a state license or permit to pump or haul septage. No one may engage in septic tank cleaning or the transportation of septage, sewage or sludge for compensation without an ADH Septic Tank Cleaner License (Rules Pertaining to Septic Tank Cleaners, Section VII). The licensee must pass an ADH examination. The license is $25 per year (plus $25 for each pumper vehicle after the first), runs from July 1, and renewal requires current inspection reports for each vehicle. Each pumper vehicle is inspected yearly with the tank full by the authorized agent in the licensee's county, must carry an ADH decal, and must show the firm name, license number and tank capacity on each side of the tank in letters at least 4 inches high; tank pumper vehicles need at least 1,000 gallons capacity (portable toilet and marine vehicles exempt). The licensee's name and license number go on every customer receipt.
Where do I get Arkansas septic forms?
We did not find a statewide forms page for pumpers. Ask the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Environmental Health, Onsite Wastewater program or the county health department where the system is.
Does PortaPro come with Arkansas forms built in?
No. Forms change, and counties use their own, so PortaPro doesn't ship copies. You upload the current PDF from your county or state once, place the fields on it, and PortaPro fills it from each job: customer, site, tank, gallons pumped and technician. When the agency updates its form, you upload the new one.
How current is this page?
We read the official sources listed at the bottom on October 8, 2026. Rules and forms change, so treat this as a starting point and confirm with the agency before you rely on it. This is not legal advice.
Sources
Official pages we read on .
Other states
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Keep the county's paperwork with the job.
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