State guide
Ohio
Ohio’s household sewage program is state-framed by the Ohio Department of Health, but permits are issued locally by city or general health district boards of health. The rules also recognize soil evaluators and designers as separate roles, and counties often maintain their own lists of installers, service providers, and soil scientists.
Checked against official sources on October 4, 2026. Rules and links change; confirm with the office listed before you act.
- Who regulates septic permits
- Ohio household sewage systems are regulated through local boards of health under state law and rules adopted by the Ohio Department of Health.
- Who can do the soil or perc test
- A board of health may perform site review, soil evaluation, and design services, but Ohio rules also allow independent soil evaluators and recognize separate designer and installer roles.
- State fee
- Beginning January 1, 2017, seventy-four dollars of each permit fee for installation of a new or replacement HSTS, SFOSTS, or Type 2, 3 or 4 GWRS is transmitted to the director of health; alteration permits transmit thirty-five dollars.
Official resources in Ohio
Official statute stating that boards of health approve or deny installation, operation, or alteration permits.
Official sewage treatment system rules covering site review, soil evaluation, design, permits, and fees.
Official Ohio EPA permit for certain discharging household systems.
Representative county health page with local applications and lists for soil scientists, designers, installers, and service providers.
Key facts for Ohio
- Ohio boards of health issue permits for installation, operation, or alteration of sewage treatment systems in their jurisdictions.
- A soil evaluator is defined as a person who conducts a soil evaluation for siting and designing a sewage treatment system.
- The rules allow an owner to obtain a soil evaluation from an independent agent instead of the board of health.
- Boards of health may charge fees for site review, soil evaluation, design, and permits.
- Beginning January 1, 2017, $74 of each new or replacement HSTS permit fee is transmitted to the director of health.
County septic and soil-evaluation offices in Ohio
| County office | city | phone | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Public Health District - Sewage Delaware | Delaware | 740-368-1700 | Local program page for HSTS site review, design review, installation permits, and county lists for soil scientists, installers, service providers, and designers. |
| Geauga Public Health - Household Sewage System Geauga | Not published* | Not published* | County page for new-system site evaluations, permits, and county-registered installers and service providers. |
| Licking County Health Department - Sewage Treatment Program Licking | Newark | Not published* | County sewage page says designs are based on site-specific soils and includes septic providers; guidance says to have a soil evaluation by a certified soil evaluator. |
| Wayne County Health Department - Sewage Treatment Systems Wayne | Not published* | Not published* | County page says Environmental Health offers services from site and soil evaluation to system design and inspections, and publishes a soil scientist/designer list. |
| Medina County Health Department - Sewage Treatment Systems Medina | Medina | Not published* | County page for sewage treatment system requests and evaluations; checklist says the health department can conduct a complete evaluation of the HSTS. |
* Not published: the official page doesn't list it. Call the office to confirm before you rely on it.
What to do next
- Contact the local city or general health district first, because Ohio permitting and local fee schedules are county or district based.
- Ask whether the district will do the site review and design or whether it expects a private soil evaluator or designer package.
- If your site may need a discharging system, confirm both local board requirements and Ohio EPA NPDES requirements before design work.
Not seeing your county office or county?
Not every county office publishes its rules online. Try these, in order:
- General Start with the statewide information above.
- Closest verified Nearest places where we have verified local data outside this state (distance from Ohio's population center, for comparison only):
- Union County Health Department — Septic Inspection and Permits, Indiana · about 127 miles
- Jackson County Health Department - Environmental Health Division, Michigan · about 150 miles
- Kanawha-Charleston Health Department - On-Site Sewage System, West Virginia · about 158 miles
- Call to confirm Ask the official office.Ohio Revised Code 3718.023
Website →Phone not shown: use the contact page on the official website above.Your city or county office: Local governments →Not sure who handles it locally? USAGov's free help line, 1-844-872-4681, or the Ohio page on USA.gov can point you to the right office. - Know the current info? Tell us with a link to the official page.