Georgia septic rules a homeowner should know

1. The work is done by certified companies, not certified individuals alone

Georgia’s requirements start with employment: to be certified you must be employed by a certified company and be at least 18. That is why the state publishes company rosters, and why the name to check is the business name on the quote — not the name of whoever turns up in the truck.

2. Certification runs in two-year cycles

Certifications expire on 28 February and renew every two years, in even-numbered years. A roster is therefore accurate as of its publication date and drifts from there. The rosters this site republishes were published August 21, 2026.

People who do both installation and pumping have a continuing education requirement of eight hours in total, rather than eight for each role.

3. Certification is a state matter; the permit is a county matter

Installing, replacing or substantially repairing a system needs a county permit, a site evaluation and an inspection before the work is covered over. No amount of state certification replaces that. How county permits work →

4. Pumpers need a county permit for the truck

A pumping company must hold a current county septage removal permit as well as state approval, and the county cannot inspect a new company’s truck or issue that permit until the state certification exists. Both gates, in that order.

5. The roster is a certification list, not a quality list

This is the rule most worth internalising. Appearing on Georgia’s roster means the state certified the company for that category of work. It says nothing about insurance, pricing, availability, how long the company has traded or the quality of any particular job. Nobody is ranked, nobody is reviewed and nobody pays to appear — here or on the state’s own document.

6. “County of business location” is not a service area

Both rosters are organised by where the business is based. Certification is statewide, so a company two counties away is not barred from working at your address. If your county page looks thin, the neighbouring counties listed at the bottom of it are the real answer.

Where to go next

• Verify a contractor’s certification
• Installer or pumper — which do you need?
• Find septic records for a property
• Certified companies in your county