PortaPro

Georgia septic rules

Septic pumping rules in Georgia.

Georgia requires a state license or permit, and local health departments can add their own. Below: who regulates, what pumpers have to keep, and where to find the official forms. Checked against official sources on October 8, 2026.

Go to the forms

The rules

What a pumper in Georgia 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 systemsState and local

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), Environmental Health, Onsite Sewage program. DPH sets the rules and the Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems and certifies pumpers, while County Boards of Health issue septage removal permits and enforce locally; EPD regulates the disposal facilities.

The state program
Pumper and hauler licensingState and local

Sewage pumpers must be certified by DPH (Rule 511-3-1-.16): applicants must be at least 18, employed by a certified company, and score at least 70 on the pumper exam ($50 per exam). Pumper companies must hold a current County Septage Removal Permit. Annual continuing education is 6 hours for pumpers and 8 hours for companies that both install and pump. No one may remove or dispose of septic tank contents without a septage removal permit from the County Board of Health where the business is based, filed at least 10 days before starting and renewed annually (Rule 511-3-1-.11). Vehicles must show the firm name and permit number on both sides in letters at least 2 inches high and have watertight tanks.

Licensing details
Where septage can go

Septage must be discharged to a system approved by the Environmental Protection Division: a public or community sewage treatment plant, a septage handling facility, or a permitted land disposal site (Rule 511-3-1-.11(3)). The permit application must include written authorization from the treatment plant, handling facility or land site.

Disposal rules
Records and reports

Permitted pumpers must keep a manifest of the date and location of each system serviced and the date and location of final disposal, give the owner written documentation of the tank's condition (including damaged or missing components), and send a copy to the local environmental health office; missing or damaged tees must be reported to the owner in writing (Manual Section I).

Reporting rules
Inspections

Not confirmed from an official source. Ask the state program linked above, or your county health department.

The rule book

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1 (On-Site Sewage Management Systems), including 511-3-1-.11 and 511-3-1-.16; DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems

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.

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 Georgia?

Georgia requires a state license or permit, and local health departments can add their own. Sewage pumpers must be certified by DPH (Rule 511-3-1-.16): applicants must be at least 18, employed by a certified company, and score at least 70 on the pumper exam ($50 per exam). Pumper companies must hold a current County Septage Removal Permit. Annual continuing education is 6 hours for pumpers and 8 hours for companies that both install and pump. No one may remove or dispose of septic tank contents without a septage removal permit from the County Board of Health where the business is based, filed at least 10 days before starting and renewed annually (Rule 511-3-1-.11). Vehicles must show the firm name and permit number on both sides in letters at least 2 inches high and have watertight tanks.

Where do I get Georgia septic forms?

From the state's own pages, linked on this page. Many counties and local health departments use their own forms on top of the state's, so check with the county where the system is too.

Does PortaPro come with Georgia 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

Keep the county's paperwork with the job.

Try PortaPro free with your own county forms, or book a walkthrough.

Start free trial

7-day free trial · Cancel anytime