Who may run a perc test is a state decision. In Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio the local or state health agency usually sends its own evaluator. In Texas, Virginia and North Carolina a private licensed professional can do it, and the health department accepts the report. Minnesota requires a state license to design the system. Hire the wrong kind of person and the hole you paid for will not count.
The cluster of "who does a perc test near me" searches has one honest answer, and it is a lookup in your state's rules. Eight states are below, each tied to the statute or rule, so you can see which pattern yours follows. How the test itself is run is in our perc test guide; this page is only about who is allowed to do it.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with your county health department before you pay anyone.
Which states send a government evaluator to the lot?
Pennsylvania. The sewage enforcement officer, an employee of the local agency, conducts the soil profile examination and the percolation tests. The state's own fact sheet says so. The test is regulated: 25 Pa. Code 73.15 calls for six or more test holes spaced uniformly over the proposed absorption area. Once the application is complete the local agency has 7 days to issue or deny a permit for a conventional system (25 Pa. Code 72.25(b)).
Florida. Florida Statute 381.0065(3)(b) has the Department of Health "perform application reviews and site evaluations" and issue the permits for onsite systems. The statute is the permit statute, not a perc-specific one, so ask your county health department what its site evaluation includes and who performs it locally.
North Carolina, default route. The local health department evaluates the site under G.S. 130A-336. The statute calls it a soil and site evaluation. The private options below are alternatives to the county, not replacements for it.
Which states let a private professional do it?
Texas. 30 TAC 285.30 says the site evaluation is done "by either a site evaluator or a professional engineer on every tract of land where an OSSF will be installed." A site evaluator is defined in 285.2 as an individual who holds a valid license under Chapter 30 of the TCEQ rules. The evaluator drills two soil borings or digs two backhoe pits at opposite ends of the disposal area, two feet below the planned excavation or to a restrictive layer, and the report goes in with the planning materials. TCEQ's OSSF page is where to find licensed professionals.
Virginia. Va. Code 32.1-163.5 requires the Department of Health to accept private site evaluations and designs certified by a licensed professional engineer in consultation with a licensed onsite soil evaluator, or by a licensed onsite soil evaluator alone. The department "shall not be required to perform a field check" first. It has 15 working days to act on a single-lot request and 60 days on multi-lot work, or the submission is deemed approved.
North Carolina, private routes. G.S. 130A-336.1 lets a professional engineer work under the engineered option. G.S. 130A-336.2 lets an Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator, a licensed soil scientist (the Chapter 89F licensing act) who is further certified by the state's On-Site Wastewater Contractors and Inspectors Certification Board, prepare signed and sealed soil and site evaluations "at the direction of the owner." The owner files a Notice of Intent to Construct with the local health department first.
Ohio. Ohio Adm. Code 3701-29-07 lists who may do a soil evaluation: a soil scientist or classifier certified by the Soil Science Society of America, a supervised associate, a soil professional registered elsewhere if the director of health approves, or a registered sanitarian employed by the board of health. "Nothing shall prevent an owner from securing a soil evaluation from an independent agent" instead of the board of health, and a board that does the work itself may adopt a fee.
Tennessee. The state approves private soil consultants. Rule 0400-48-01-.18 asks for a bachelor's degree in soil science or equivalent coursework, two years of soil evaluation experience, a written exam and a field soil mapping test, each at 80 percent.
Where does the state require a license to design the system?
Minnesota. Minn. Stat. 115.56 subdivision 2 says no one may "design, install, maintain, pump, inspect, or provide service to" a subsurface sewage treatment system without a license from the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency. Two exceptions matter to landowners: a qualified government employee who is a certified professional, and an individual building a system on land they own for their own dwelling, unless local ordinance disallows it. A licensed designer is who you hire when the soil work leads to a design.
Who pays for a perc test, and when should a buyer?
The applicant usually pays. In Ohio the board of health may charge a fee for its own evaluation; in North Carolina the owner who uses an Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator pays the evaluator and a filing fee to the county. The price ranges are on our perc test cost page.
If you are buying, put it in the contract before you close. A purchase agreement can make the sale conditional on a passing evaluation by the type of person your state accepts, with a date that gives the evaluator time to get on the lot. Seller or buyer, ask the county to confirm in writing who qualifies. If you are the owner and the land has already failed, selling land that won't perc is a different path, and selling land with no utilities covers the neighboring problem.
How to find a qualified tester without a vendor list
Start with the agency that issues the permit, not a search engine. The county health or environmental health office will tell you whether it runs the test itself. If private evaluators are allowed, use the state's license list: TCEQ publishes licensed OSSF professionals in Texas, and your own state's page will name the registry for soil scientists or evaluators. Check the license number against the registry before you pay. For North Carolina specifics, see our North Carolina septic evaluation guide.
Frequently asked questions
Who performs a perc test?
It depends on the state. In Pennsylvania the local sewage enforcement officer does. In Texas it is a licensed site evaluator or a professional engineer. In Virginia it is a licensed onsite soil evaluator, or a licensed engineer working with one.
Can a soil scientist do a perc test?
Often yes, but the credential has to match the state. North Carolina allows a licensed soil scientist who is certified as an Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator, Ohio accepts SSSA-certified soil scientists, and Tennessee approves soil consultants under its own exam.
Who pays for a perc test?
The permit applicant, which is usually the landowner or the buyer under contract. Some health boards charge a fee for their own evaluation; private evaluators bill directly.
Do I need a licensed professional to run a perc test on my own land?
In the states above the work is done by the county or by a credentialed private evaluator, so a landowner's own hole usually will not count. Minnesota carves out an owner building a system for their own dwelling unless local ordinance disallows it; check your county first.