South Carolina · Georgia

Septic Permits in South Carolina & Georgia

Two states, two completely different processes, and one contractor licensed to file in both. Here is how it actually works, and what we handle for you.

SCDES

South Carolina permitting

County health

Georgia permitting

5 yrs vs 12 mo

Permit validity

We file it

Both states

The short answer

Every new or replacement septic system needs a permit in both South Carolina and Georgia, and without it your county will not issue a building permit. In South Carolina the permit comes from SCDES, the site evaluation fee is $150 by regulation, and the permit is valid five years. In Georgia it comes from the county Board of Health, the permit is valid twelve months, and the county must inspect before backfill. We file both.

The short version, side by side

This table is the thing most people are actually looking for, and as far as we can tell nobody else in the CSRA has published it.

	South Carolina	Georgia
Who issues the permit	SC Department of Environmental Services (SCDES), via ePermitting	County Board of Health, through the health district
Permit validity	5 years	12 months
Site evaluation fee	$150, set by regulation	Set by the county health district
Who does the soil evaluation	Certified department staff or a licensed Professional Soil Classifier	County environmental health staff
Final inspection	A Tier 3 installer may self-inspect their own installation	County Board of Health inspects before backfill, every time
Decision window	Varies	20 days on a complete application
Tank sizing	1,000 gal to 4 bedrooms, +250 gal per bedroom	Same, plus 50% additional capacity for a garbage grinder
Repair area	50% reserve area required	Reserve area required
Well setback	75 ft private well, 100 ft public well	Set by state rule and county

Sources: South Carolina Regulation 61-56 and SCDES; Georgia Department of Public Health Rule 511-3-1 and the East Central Health District. Georgia fee figures are deliberately not published here until we have them confirmed in writing.

Read the detail for your side of the river

South Carolina permits (SCDES)

The ePermitting process, the $150 site evaluation, backhoe pits above the Fall Line, five year validity and Tier 3 self-inspection.

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Georgia permits (county health)

Richmond, Columbia, McDuffie and Burke counties, the twenty day clock, and why the county has to inspect before you backfill.

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SC vs GA compared

Every difference that actually costs you time or money, in one place.

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Or just let us handle it

Filing a septic permit is not hard, it is just slow, and it is easy to lose two weeks to an incomplete application. We file in both states as part of the job. You do not chase anybody.

We handle the permit. Both states.

Site evaluation coordinated, application filed, inspection scheduled. It is included in an installation, not billed as an extra.

Request an Estimate Call (803) 2-PUMP-IT

Doing it yourself

You do not have to use a contractor to file. If you would rather handle it yourself, these are the official pages. They open in a new tab.