Colorado septic rules
Septic pumping rules in Colorado.
In Colorado, pumpers are licensed or permitted locally, by the county or local health department. 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 Colorado 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 county and local health departments
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Water Quality Control Division. Systems of 2,000 gallons per day or less are permitted by local counties and local public health agencies, each of which has adopted regulations at least as stringent as Regulation 43; larger systems go through CDPHE.
The state program- Pumper and hauler licensingLocal permit
No state pumper license was found on CDPHE's page; licensing is set by local regulations. Example: Mesa County requires a Systems Cleaner License for anyone in the business of cleaning on-site wastewater systems, with a separate application and license per vehicle, annual renewal by January 1, the license carried in the vehicle, and the company name, phone and license number painted on both sides.
Licensing details- Where septage can go
Set locally. Example: Mesa County requires disposal into a municipal sewage system that agrees to accept it, at a site designated by the Board of County Commissioners, or by another method approved in writing by the Department director.
Disposal rules- Records and reports
Set locally. Example: Mesa County licensed cleaners must submit a monthly activity report (customer name and address, amount pumped, location and method of disposal) within 30 days after the end of each month.
Reporting rules- Inspections
Some local agencies run a Transfer of Title inspection program; CDPHE publishes a map of the local agencies that do.
Inspection rules- The rule book
Regulation 43, On-Site Wastewater Treatment System Regulation (5 CCR 1002-43), plus each local agency's OWTS regulation
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 Colorado. 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 Colorado?
In Colorado, pumpers are licensed or permitted locally, by the county or local health department. No state pumper license was found on CDPHE's page; licensing is set by local regulations. Example: Mesa County requires a Systems Cleaner License for anyone in the business of cleaning on-site wastewater systems, with a separate application and license per vehicle, annual renewal by January 1, the license carried in the vehicle, and the company name, phone and license number painted on both sides.
Where do I get Colorado septic forms?
We did not find a statewide forms page for pumpers. Ask the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Water Quality Control Division or the county health department where the system is.
Does PortaPro come with Colorado 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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