Septic Inspection
A septic inspection in Oregon is a DEQ-regulated evaluation of an onsite system, usually run through the county, with a fee set by rule.
A septic system inspection in Oregon produces the Existing System Evaluation Report a buyer needs when a property has an onsite system. The fee is set by DEQ rule, OAR 340-071-0800, and rose 33 percent on 2026-07-01. The home inspection excludes the system as an underground item.
A regulated document, not a private opinion
Unlike most inspection types, the septic evaluation produces a document an agency defines. DEQ charges for the Existing System Evaluation Report under OAR 340-071-0800 Table 9A.
Counties administering the onsite programme publish their own line items for the same class of fee. The county office, not DEQ, is where the current figure lives.
Why this site prints no number
The published table predates a 33 percent increase DEQ states took effect on 2026-07-01, authorised by the legislature and approved by the Environmental Quality Commission.
Every figure in the superseded table is roughly a third low. The honest statement is the one DEQ itself makes: the fee is set by rule, and the county onsite programme has the current schedule.
Where Oregon septic systems are
Rural and unincorporated Oregon, where permit authority is usually the county or a DEQ contract agent. The county pages on this site record which agency holds the permit.
A general home inspection reports on the plumbing it can see inside the house. The tank, drainfield and distribution box are underground and excluded by OAR 812-008-0204(1)(h).
Asked and answered
Oregon rule does not assign it. The Existing System Evaluation Report is a DEQ onsite programme document with a fee set in OAR 340-071-0800. Who orders and pays for it is a term of the sale agreement. Buyers commonly order it during the contingency period because the home inspection excludes the system as an underground item.
The agency part is set by rule. DEQ charges for the Existing System Evaluation Report under OAR 340-071-0800 Table 9A. It states those fees rose 33 percent on 2026-07-01, so the published table is out of date. Ask the county onsite programme for the current schedule. What a private evaluator adds on top is not published by any agency.
No Oregon rule sets a duration for the site visit. The practical clock is the county. The Existing System Evaluation Report is issued through the county onsite programme or a DEQ contract agent, and their scheduling sets the timeline. Order early in the contingency period, since the home inspection cannot stand in for this document.
Questions are taken verbatim from live Google People Also Ask results for this inspection type. Answers rest on Oregon rule text and the records cited above.