Tennessee septic rules
Septic pumping rules in Tennessee.
Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Division of Water Resources, Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems. TDEC Division of Water Resources issues septic construction permits and installer and pumper permits statewide through its Environmental Field Offices, while contract counties (Blount, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Madison, Sevier, Shelby and Williamson per TDEC) run their own septic permitting under T.C.A. 68-221-403.
The state program- Pumper and hauler licensingState license
A Septic Tank Pumping Contractor Permit (CN-0765, $200) is required to remove and dispose of domestic septage from septic tanks, holding tanks, portable toilets and similar facilities. Truck inspections by the local Environmental Field Office are required for all new permits and annual renewals, and applicants must provide written permission from the treatment plant official or, for land application, the landowner and disposal site operator. No exam is required for pumpers (the installer permit requires one).
Licensing details- Where septage can go
Land disposal of domestic septage requires a separate Domestic Septage Disposal Site Permit (CN-1047, $400), which must be issued before the pumper permit application. Pumpers using a public wastewater treatment plant must provide written permission from the proper official.
Disposal rules- Records and reports
Not confirmed from an official source. Ask the state program linked above, or your county health department.
- Inspections
Not confirmed from an official source. Ask the state program linked above, or your county health department.
- The rule book
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-48-01 (Regulations to Govern Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems); T.C.A. 68-221-401 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.
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 Tennessee?
Tennessee requires a state license or permit to pump or haul septage. A Septic Tank Pumping Contractor Permit (CN-0765, $200) is required to remove and dispose of domestic septage from septic tanks, holding tanks, portable toilets and similar facilities. Truck inspections by the local Environmental Field Office are required for all new permits and annual renewals, and applicants must provide written permission from the treatment plant official or, for land application, the landowner and disposal site operator. No exam is required for pumpers (the installer permit requires one).
Where do I get Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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.tn.gov/environment/permits/water/septic-systems-permits.html
- https://www.tn.gov/environment/permits/water/septic-systems-permits/ssp/permit-water-septic-system-related-permits.html
- https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/water/land-based-systems-unit/wr_sds_septic-installers-pumpers-faq.pdf
- https://tdec.tn.gov/etdec/DownloadFile.aspx?row_id=CN-0765
- https://tdec.tn.gov/etdec/DownloadFile.aspx?row_id=CN-1047
- https://www.tn.gov/environment/permits/water/septic-systems-permits/ssp/permit-water-3rdparty-ssds.html
- https://www.tn.gov/environment/permits/water/septic-systems-permits/ssp/wr-sds-contacts-by-region.html
- https://www.tn.gov/environment/permits/water/septic-systems-permits/ssp/wr-sds-regulations-to-govern-subsurface-sewage-disposal-systems.html
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
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- Massachusetts
- Michigan
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- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
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- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Keep the county's paperwork with the job.
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