Texas septic rules
Septic pumping rules in Texas.
Texas 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 Texas 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
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), On-Site Sewage Facilities (OSSF) Program. TCEQ sets OSSF rules and licenses OSSF professionals statewide, but most OSSF permits are issued by local governments authorized as TCEQ agents; TCEQ regional offices are the permitting authority only where no local program has been authorized. Septage haulers register directly with TCEQ.
The state program- Pumper and hauler licensingState license
Anyone transporting domestic septage (septic tank waste), chemical toilet waste, grease trap or grit trap waste must register as a sludge transporter with TCEQ (form TCEQ-00481). Each vehicle needs a $10 sticker, an annual fee of $100 to $500 is billed based on volume hauled, and a copy of the current registration must be kept in each registered vehicle. Separately, OSSF installers, apprentices, maintenance providers and maintenance technicians must be licensed or registered by TCEQ.
Licensing details- Where septage can go
Transporters may deliver waste only to the disposal facilities listed on their registration (30 TAC 312.142(a)), and Texas facilities may not accept waste without TCEQ authorization for that waste type (30 TAC 312.143(a)). Waste may not stay in a vehicle tank more than four days, and storage at a fixed site needs written TCEQ approval (form TCEQ-10340) and is limited to 30 days (30 TAC 312.147). Grease trap waste and domestic septage are incompatible and may not be mixed without the facility's prior agreement.
Disposal rules- Records and reports
Each collection and disposal must be recorded on a trip ticket (waste manifest) under 30 TAC 312.145; a completed copy goes back to the generator within 15 days after the facility accepts the waste, and trip tickets are kept five years. Registered transporters must file an Annual Summary Report (TCEQ-00316) by July 1 covering June 1 through May 31. Registration updates are due within 15 days of any change.
Reporting rules- Inspections
Not confirmed from an official source. Ask the state program linked above, or your county health department.
- The rule book
30 TAC Chapter 285 (On-Site Sewage Facilities); 30 TAC Chapter 312, Subchapter G (sludge transportation); Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366
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 Texas?
Texas requires a state license or permit to pump or haul septage. Anyone transporting domestic septage (septic tank waste), chemical toilet waste, grease trap or grit trap waste must register as a sludge transporter with TCEQ (form TCEQ-00481). Each vehicle needs a $10 sticker, an annual fee of $100 to $500 is billed based on volume hauled, and a copy of the current registration must be kept in each registered vehicle. Separately, OSSF installers, apprentices, maintenance providers and maintenance technicians must be licensed or registered by TCEQ.
Where do I get Texas 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 Texas 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.tceq.texas.gov/goto/sludgetrans
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/registration/sludge/registration.html
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/registration/sludge/reporting.html
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/downloads/permitting/waste-registration/pub/rg-309.pdf
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/ossf/ossfgeneral.html
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/ossf
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/ossf/ossfpermits.html
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/ossf/ossfhomeowners.html
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/licensing/licenses/ossflic
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/downloads/permitting/waste-registration/forms/sludge/00481.pdf
- https://www.tceq.texas.gov/downloads/permitting/waste-registration/forms/sludge/00316.pdf
- https://www6.tceq.texas.gov/oars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.county
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
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- New Hampshire
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- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Keep the county's paperwork with the job.
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