Well and septic records: how to find your well log and septic permit, and what they tell you to test

Well and septic records live in two different offices. The well log (also called a well construction report, driller's report or well completion report) is filed by the driller with a state agency, and many states let you search those logs online for free. Septic permits, as-built drawings and inspection reports are usually held by the county or local health department. This guide lists the official well-log databases we opened in 17 states, shows how to search them, and explains how to read the log once you have it.

Most results for this search are a single county's request form. Useful if you live there, no help if you don't, and none of them tell you what to do with the paper once you have it. That part matters most for water quality, because a 40-foot well cased through sand and a 300-foot well cased through clay don't share the same risks.

Where are well and septic records kept?

The paperwork for a private well and a septic system is split by law and by agency. Here is who usually holds what, using the agencies' own descriptions:

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says that once a well is finished, the contractor "must provide a copy of the 'Well and Boring Record' to the well owner and to MDH." So the first place to look is the house itself: closing papers, a folder in the basement, the previous owner. MDH recommends keeping well records "with other important property documents."

State well-log databases: where to search

Each row below is an official page we opened on November 3, 2026, with what the agency itself says about coverage. Coverage dates matter: a database can't hold a log from before the state required drillers to file one. Pages marked "archived copy" blocked our connection, so we read the Internet Archive's copy of the official page.

Not on the list? That doesn't mean your state keeps nothing. We list only pages we could open and check. Start from your state page, which names the agency that certifies drinking-water labs and the state's well-testing programs, or call the county health department.

Colorado water well permit search

Colorado is a permit state, so its records are organized around the well permit rather than a driller's log. The Division of Water Resources search returns a grid with columns such as permit number, permit status, completed well depth, pump test yield and static water level, and you can export it to CSV. The full permit file, DWR says, "will contain the allowable uses of the well, the original permit application, and any available well construction and pump installation records."

Buying in Colorado? Check whose name is on the permit. DWR's change-of-owner form "does not convey real property"; it only updates contact information. DWR adds that "in many cases, the title company will file" it with the sale. If the title company didn't, the owner or their agent may file it after closing.

How to search a well-log database, step by step

1. Find the legal description. Many databases index by township, range and section. Michigan's archive says this "can be found on your deed or property tax bill"; Idaho points owners to the county assessor or purchase documents. SDSU Extension: "The best way to find a well log is to know your legal description."
2. Learn who owned the land when the well was drilled. Texas says you need, at minimum, the approximate year and the "name of property owner at the time the well was drilled," and that deed history is available from the county appraisal district. Montana's search works the same way.
3. Look for a tag on the casing. Idaho's tag is a metal plate "welded or riveted" to the casing above ground; Oregon has labeled wells constructed, altered or on property that changed ownership after June 1996. A tag number beats every other search.
4. Search more than one way. Washington Ecology: "If at first you do not find the well log you are looking for, try another way to search for it." Vermont suggests a date range about two months either side of the likely drilling date.
5. Include unlocated records. Map searches skip logs without coordinates. That is less than 55% coordinate coverage in Ohio, and in Pennsylvania you have to opt in to "include unlocated wells."
6. Open the scanned image. Oregon says the scan takes precedence over the typed data, and Wisconsin's pre-1988 details are often only in the PDF.

What a well log shows

Forms differ by state and era, but the fields are similar. Washington's current form (Ecology ECY 050-1-20, revised August 2019) is a good model because its instructions define each field. MDH sums up the same record as "well depth, depth to groundwater, geology, well components, and pump information."

Reading your well log to choose tests

This is where the record pays off. MDH's Well Owner's Handbook (fourth edition, updated January 2014) says "wells that are old, shallow, in disrepair, or are not properly located and constructed are more likely to have unsafe water." The log tells you which of those apply. MDH's floor for every private well is coliform bacteria "once a year" and nitrate "every two or three years," so treat the table as additions and timing, not a replacement. Our guide to how often to test well water gives the schedules 26 states publish.

Why depth helps at all: MDH says bacteria, viruses and many chemicals are filtered "as it moves downward through silt, sand, and gravel deposits," and that "drilling a well deeper often gives additional protection from surface contaminants such as nitrate and spilled chemicals." Depth doesn't help with what's in the rock itself, which is why row D applies to deep wells too. Our page on how a private well works explains aquifers, casing and grout in more detail.

The chart is one state's code, shown so you can see how much casing depth rules vary by rock type. Wisconsin's DNR also says a driven point well with casing under 25 feet, or one built on or after February 1, 1991 with no report available, "calls into question the well construction features and materials." Your state's numbers will differ; check your state's well construction code before you compare.

Worked example (illustrative). You find a Minnesota Well Index record for a 1981 drilled well: completed depth 46 feet, steel casing to 42 feet, the driller's log shows sand and gravel all the way down with no clay layer, static water level 14 feet. That's row A (under 50 feet) and row B (under 50 feet of casing with no 10-foot confining layer, so MDH treats it as sensitive). The test plan: coliform and nitrate more often than MDH's minimum, one sample after snowmelt or a heavy rain, arsenic at least once (row D applies to every well), and a look at the septic as-built to see how far the drainfield is from the well. If the drainfield turns out to be close, the septic and well water guide covers which results point to septic influence.

No well log? What to do next

Missing logs are common for older wells. MDH says most Minnesota wells built before 1974 are not on file and warns that "missing information does not guarantee there is not a well on a property." Vermont lists the usual reasons: "many wells were completed before reporting was required," many reports have missing or inaccurate information, and "some reports were never submitted to the State." Options the agencies themselves suggest:

• Check the local health department. Michigan's EGLE says the local health department "may have additional water well records" that aren't online.
• Ask the driller. Vermont says to contact the driller who built the well, or if that company is gone, have an active licensed driller inspect it. The Vermont Health Department, per the same page, recommends a private well inspection every 10 years.
• Have the well measured. Wisconsin's DNR says a licensed professional can measure well depth, casing and water level and report them, so the DNR can create a well inventory report and assign a unique well number.
• Ask the seller and look in the house. Closing files often hold the construction record, since the driller gave the first owner a copy.

Until you know the depth and casing, test as if row A or C applies. Coliform bacteria and nitrate are the place to start; the lab finder lists state-certified labs near you.

Septic records: permits, as-builts and inspection reports

Septic paperwork is almost always local. A few official examples show what to expect:

• King County, Washington has an online search; records "include site designs, historic inspection reports, and as-built record drawings." Online records are not available if "the home was built before the early 1970s," the system went in without a permit, the designer never submitted final documents, or the address or parcel number changed. The county adds that "many pre-1998 records" exist but "may not be as accurate, legible, or as detailed." (King County well testing)
• Stark County, Ohio: "only permit records are available online," and "well and septic records usually do not pre-date the early 1960's." Clerks will check other databases if you can't find one. (Stark County)
• Summit County, Ohio: Summit County Public Health offers online water well and septic records but says it "cannot guarantee these records are accurate." (Summit County)
• Durham County, North Carolina: "anyone can request a copy" of septic and well records by email, with the site address and parcel number if you have it. (Durham County)
• Pennsylvania: a Sewage Enforcement Officer hired by the municipality permits new on-lot systems, Penn State Extension explains; to find yours, "contact your township."

What to pull from the septic file: the date, the system type, and above all the as-built drawing, which shows where the tank and drainfield sit. Measure from those to the well and compare with your state's minimum in our setback guide. EPA also tells owners to "keep the maintenance records on work performed on your septic system," so ask the seller for pumping receipts. The link back to the well: MDH says nitrate at 1 mg/L or more in groundwater "usually" indicates contamination from fertilizers, animal wastes or "subsurface sewage treatment systems," and that nitrate "may provide an early warning of possible problems." That is why the septic file and the water test belong in the same folder.

Buying a home with a well and septic: records to collect

MDH's advice to real estate agents works as a checklist anywhere: "Gather well disclosure certificates, construction records, and sealing records. See if the seller has water testing reports and well repair or maintenance records." In Minnesota, sellers must disclose the location and status of all wells under Minnesota Statutes section 103I.235, and the Well Disclosure Certificate Search lets you look up certificates "from previous property transfers."

1. Pull the well log yourself from the state database. Don't rely on the listing.
2. Request the septic permit, as-built and last inspection from the county health department.
3. Compare the well depth and casing with rows A to E above, and the as-built with the setback rules.
4. Order the water test. MDH says buyers or sellers "can test for coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, lead, and manganese," and that testing "costs around $150" in Minnesota.
5. Get the well and septic inspected; our well inspection guide covers what each covers and the state rules at sale, and our study of home-sale testing laws lists which states require a test.

What's public on a well log, and what isn't

Well logs are public records, and most carry a name. Oregon explains that the owner on the log "is typically the person who had the well constructed," usually the landowner at the time, which is why searches by today's owner often fail. Washington's Ecology leaves well addresses out of its bulk export files "out of consideration for the well owner and for reasons relating to security," and notes that state law bars using private citizens' names and addresses "for any solicitation/commercial purpose." Use the record for what it's for: understanding your well and choosing your tests. Our pages never reproduce individual records.

Questions people ask