Who issues a septic permit in Florida?

It depends on your county. Responsibility for onsite sewage permitting moved from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection, and DEP has taken over county by county rather than all at once. In counties DEP has taken on, DEP issues the permit; elsewhere the county health department still does, on DEP's behalf.

Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System — Florida's official term for what everyone else calls a septic system. If you are searching state records and getting nowhere with the word 'septic', search OSTDS instead. It is the single most useful thing to know about Florida septic paperwork.

Do I need a permit to replace a failed drain field?

Yes. Repairs and modifications to an existing system need a permit, not just new installations. Your contractor normally pulls it, but the permit is attached to your property and it is your record afterwards — ask for a copy.

Florida septic permits: DEP or your county health department?

Florida is midway through moving septic permitting from the health department to DEP, and it is doing it county by county. That transition is the reason your neighbour's answer about where to get a permit may be wrong for you.

Learn the acronym first: OSTDS

Florida calls a septic system an Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System, and its records, forms and permits all use OSTDS. Searching Florida records for “septic” will miss most of what you want. This one word is worth more than any other advice on this page.

The permitting office depends on your county

Permitting authority moved from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection, and DEP has been taking counties on in stages rather than all at once. In the counties DEP has assumed, DEP issues the permit directly. In the rest, the county health department continues to do it.

The practical consequence: call before you assume. Start with DEP’s onsite sewage programme; if your county has not transitioned, they will send you to the county health department. Advice from a neighbour who built five years ago may simply be out of date now.

What needs a permit

A new system on a new build.
Replacing or repairing an existing system, including a failed drain field.
Modifying a system — an addition that increases the bedroom count usually triggers this, because capacity is sized on bedrooms.
Abandoning a system when connecting to sewer.

Your contractor normally pulls the permit. Ask for a copy anyway. It becomes part of the property record and it is the document that answers questions when you sell.

The contractor has to be registered, and the business authorised

Florida separates the two. An individual is registered as a Registered Septic Tank Contractor or a Master Septic Tank Contractor; the company they qualify holds a business authorisation. Both live in DEP’s Operator Certification Program database, and both have expiry dates.

609 authorised businesses and 715 registered contractors are currently active — all of them listed here by county, with the authorisation number and expiry on each. What the registration types mean →

Florida has more septic systems than almost anywhere

Around 30% of Florida’s population is on an onsite system — an estimated 2.6 million of them, roughly a ninth of the national total. That scale is why Florida’s permitting and its data infrastructure are both unusually developed, and why the transition between agencies has taken as long as it has.

Getting the records for a property

Ask the permitting office for your county, with the address and parcel number, for the construction permit, the final installation approval, the system’s location and capacity, and any repair permits since. DEP also publishes county-level data on recent construction approvals, final approvals and repair permit counts.

Common questions

Who issues a septic permit in Florida?: It depends on your county. Responsibility for onsite sewage permitting moved from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection, and DEP has taken over county by county rather than all at once. In counties DEP has taken on, DEP issues the permit; elsewhere the county health department still does, on DEP's behalf.
What is an OSTDS?: Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System — Florida's official term for what everyone else calls a septic system. If you are searching state records and getting nowhere with the word 'septic', search OSTDS instead. It is the single most useful thing to know about Florida septic paperwork.
Do I need a permit to replace a failed drain field?: Yes. Repairs and modifications to an existing system need a permit, not just new installations. Your contractor normally pulls it, but the permit is attached to your property and it is your record afterwards — ask for a copy.
How do I find the septic permit for a property I am buying?: Ask the office that issued it — DEP or the county health department, depending on the county. Ask for the construction permit, the final installation approval, the system's location and capacity, and any repair permits since. DEP also publishes county-level data on construction and final approvals.

Sources

Florida DEP — Onsite Sewage Program
Florida DEP — Septic tank contractor registration and search — the source this site republishes
US EPA — Septic Systems

Last reviewed August 2026. General information about how these licensing systems work, not legal or engineering advice. Tell us if something is out of date.