Michigan septic rules
Septic pumping rules in Michigan.
Michigan 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 Michigan 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
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division, Septage Waste Program. EGLE licenses septage businesses and vehicles under Part 117 with the assistance of participating county health departments, while onsite wastewater (septic) system permitting is a required service of local health departments under the Public Health Code, with EGLE oversight and training.
The state program- Pumper and hauler licensingState license
No one may service septic tanks, or contract to, without a septage waste servicing license and a septage waste vehicle license issued by EGLE under Part 117 (MCL 324.11701 and following). Licenses run on a 5-year cycle with annual fees. Each business names a responsible agent who must have 30 continuing septage education (CSE) credit hours to renew. Vehicles are inspected (new vehicle and annual inspection forms), must display the EGLE seal, and must show the words "licensed septage hauler" and the license number on both sides. Portable toilet waste is septage under Part 117.
Licensing details- Where septage can go
A servicer working in a receiving facility's service area must dispose of septage at that receiving facility or another receiving facility serving that area (MCL 324.11708), with an exception for owners of storage facilities of 50,000 gallons or more. Land application requires an EGLE site permit and must follow 40 CFR Part 503 record keeping. Food establishment septage must be mixed 1 part to 3 parts domestic septage before land application or disposal at a treatment facility.
Disposal rules- Records and reports
Servicers must keep at their place of business a complete record of septage transported or disposed of, the disposal locations and any complaints, report it to EGLE annually (MCL 324.11703(5)), and keep records for at least 5 years. EGLE mails annual fee invoices at the end of January, and the return must include how much septage was pumped the previous year and where it went, plus soil results, agronomic rates and cropping plans for land application sites.
Reporting rules- Inspections
Not confirmed from an official source. Ask the state program linked above, or your county health department.
- The rule book
Part 117, Septage Waste Servicers, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.11701 and following), as amended by 2004 PA 381; 40 CFR Part 503
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 Michigan?
Michigan requires a state license or permit to pump or haul septage. No one may service septic tanks, or contract to, without a septage waste servicing license and a septage waste vehicle license issued by EGLE under Part 117 (MCL 324.11701 and following). Licenses run on a 5-year cycle with annual fees. Each business names a responsible agent who must have 30 continuing septage education (CSE) credit hours to renew. Vehicles are inspected (new vehicle and annual inspection forms), must display the EGLE seal, and must show the words "licensed septage hauler" and the license number on both sides. Portable toilet waste is septage under Part 117.
Where do I get Michigan 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 Michigan 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 .
- https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/drinking-water-and-environmental-health/septage
- https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/drinking-water-and-environmental-health/septage/septage-waste-program-faqs
- https://www.michigan.gov/egle/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Forms/DWEHD/Septage/EQP5921-Regulation-of-Septage-Disposal-in-Michigan-Septage-Volume-Form.pdf?rev=4288b326561f4514b52238e29207342b&hash=E711EA9FEB4977E5227F6BE706ABA7B9
- https://www.michigan.gov/egle/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Forms/DWEHD/Septage/EQP5836-Initial-Application-for-License-to-Remove-and-Transport-Septic-Tank-Waste.pdf?rev=3a3eab032c0a46b78c8d4b8bf6afc869&hash=B74E487D01539DD90B5F014ED83A7698
- https://www.michigan.gov/egle/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Forms/DWEHD/Septage/EQP5901-Annual-Vehicle-Inspection-Form.pdf?rev=e9c2cd087cb9444ab4e88e9cdbff844c&hash=6FAA3A35AAC4488BA52F071E0A3ADF3E
- https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-451-1994-II-3-117.pdf
- https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/drinking-water-and-environmental-health/onsite-wastewater-management
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Keep the county's paperwork with the job.
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