North Dakota septic rules
Septic pumping rules in North Dakota.
North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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
North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality (Septic Pumper Program and Septic Systems installer licensing), with local public health units. NDDEQ permits septic pumpers and licenses onsite system installers statewide, and DEQ says installers must obtain both a state license and a local public health permit before beginning work.
The state program- Pumper and hauler licensingState license
A person in the business of servicing septic systems must obtain a permit from NDDEQ (NDAC 33.1-21-02). Permits expire December 31, with renewal accepted until March 1 of the following year. Servicers and their employees must pass an annual DEQ exam and attend a DEQ training course once every five years. Each servicing vehicle must display a DEQ septic pumper plate on the rear and the servicer's name on the side, and DEQ may inspect equipment. Class I servicers (three or more vehicles or any portable toilet vehicle) need DEQ approval of land application sites.
Licensing details- Where septage can go
Septage must be disposed of at a department-permitted wastewater treatment facility, except that land application at acceptable sites is allowed if no other reasonable disposal method is available; Class I servicers need written pre-approval of land application sites (NDAC 33.1-21-02-08). A rural single-family owner applying their own septage to their own property needs no permit but must follow land application guidelines.
Disposal rules- Records and reports
Servicers must keep records of all servicing and disposal activities for at least five years (origin of septage, disposal or application site, acres, dates, vegetation, gallons applied) and submit an annual report of disposal activities with the permit renewal.
Reporting rules- Inspections
Not confirmed from an official source. Ask the state program linked above, or your county health department.
- The rule book
NDAC 33.1-21-02 (septic system servicers); NDCC 23.1-07.1 (onsite wastewater treatment system installers)
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 North Dakota?
North Dakota requires a state license or permit to pump or haul septage. A person in the business of servicing septic systems must obtain a permit from NDDEQ (NDAC 33.1-21-02). Permits expire December 31, with renewal accepted until March 1 of the following year. Servicers and their employees must pass an annual DEQ exam and attend a DEQ training course once every five years. Each servicing vehicle must display a DEQ septic pumper plate on the rear and the servicer's name on the side, and DEQ may inspect equipment. Class I servicers (three or more vehicles or any portable toilet vehicle) need DEQ approval of land application sites.
Where do I get North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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://deq.nd.gov/WQ/2_NDPDES_Permits/
- https://deq.nd.gov/publications/wq/2_NDPDES/SepticPumper/PumperManual.pdf
- https://deq.nd.gov/Forms/WQ/2_NDPDES/SFN4869_SepticApp.pdf
- https://deq.nd.gov/Forms/WQ/2_NDPDES/SNF60533_SepticDisposal.pdf
- https://deq.nd.gov/Forms/WQ/2_NDPDES/SFN60534_SepticLandApp.pdf
- https://deq.nd.gov/Forms/WQ/2_NDPDES/Septic_LandAppSiteApproval.pdf
- https://deq.nd.gov/publications/WQ/3_WM/NDWaterArticles/2025-08-OnSiteWastewaterTreatmentSystems.pdf
Other states
- Alabama
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- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
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- Wisconsin
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Keep the county's paperwork with the job.
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