We’ve been contacted by many members and staff at local associations regarding House Bill 1266 regarding septic inspectors, which became effective July 1, 2020. Based on the questions we have been receiving, we wanted to share some information with you:

When concerns about having enough inspectors were raised with the Virginia Department of Health, VDH staff shared this website: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-health/onsite-sewage-water-services-updated/septic-system-and-private-well-service-providers/

If you scroll down a little, there is a link to a map from which you can select the type of license that you are looking for, and it will display providers. On that map, you would need to select “Installer”, “OSE”, and “Operator.” VHD acknowledged that this is not a complete list of licensees, but it is one resource available.

Additionally, you can search for the license types in DPOR’s license lookup using the “Advanced License Search” feature under the “Board for WWWOOSSP” (Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals). Again, this system isn’t great if you don’t know what you’re looking for or put in the right locality, and you may not get many results.

Finally, if an individual is “accredited” by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) or an equivalent national accrediting organization, for which accreditation includes the passage of both a written and practical exam, they are able to perform septic inspections. At this time there is no one location to search for accredited septic inspectors. This means you should ask the individual that your clients are working with whether they have been accredited by the NSF or equivalent national accrediting organization.