Nobles County, Minnesota: septic system inspection at sale
Checked on November 9, 2026 against the official rule. Rule set by Nobles County.
General information, not legal advice. This is our summary of the official rule as we read it. The ordinance or code and the health department decide: confirm with them before you list, sign or close.
The rule
| Question | What the official text says |
|---|---|
| What is required | Before conveying land with a dwelling or SSTS-requiring structure: compliance inspection and Certificate of Compliance issued within 3 years (system older than 5 yrs) or 5 years (system under 5 yrs) before the sale; seller discloses status/location of SSTS in writing; if no certificate, seller gives buyer an escrow Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
| Triggered by | conveyance of land with a dwelling or a structure requiring an SSTS (foreclosure/tax forfeiture exempt) Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
| Deadline | prior to the intended sale or transfer; frozen soil: winter agreement with inspection by following June 1 Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
| Who arranges it | buyer and seller decide and sign a statement of who completes the compliance portion and any upgrade; seller must provide certificate or escrow Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
| How long a report is valid | 3 years for existing systems older than 5 years; 5 years for systems under 5 years old Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
| Exemptions |
Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
| If the system fails | If seller provides no Certificate of Compliance: escrow of 150% of a written installer estimate or 110% of the written installation contract price, held by licensed closer, attorney or financial institution Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
| Who may inspect | Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) licensing of SSTS businesses. official list (webapp.pca.state.mn.us) Source: webapp.pca.state.mn.us |
| Official forms | co.nobles.mn.us Source: co.nobles.mn.us via wayback 2019-07-16 |
This is our summary of the official rule as we read it. The ordinance or code and the health department decide: confirm with them before you list, sign or close. Rule set by: Nobles County.
Checked on November 9, 2026: read in a web-archive copy of the official page (the live site was blocked from our connection).
Published costs
What the official fee schedule or guide for Nobles County says, with the year it applies to. The other 2 items published in Minnesota are listed for comparison; they are different items, so we do not average them.
| Jurisdiction | Item | Amount | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nobles County (this rule) | escrow if seller gives no Certificate of Compliance (not an inspection fee) | 150% of written installer estimate or 110% of contract price | 2016-2019 ordinance | co.nobles.mn.us |
| Douglas County | escrow required at transfer for winter transfer or non-compliant system (not an inspection fee) | $7,500 or 150% of a written estimate | 2020 | douglascountymn.gov |
| Fillmore County | escrow for non-compliant/uninspected system at transfer (not an inspection fee) | 150% of estimated upgrade cost (uninspected) or 115% (inspected, estimate approved) | 2021 | cms9files.revize.com |
Inspectors, pumpers and labs set their own prices on top of these; the official source is the one that counts.
Septic systems in Nobles County: the state’s count
MPCA counts 2,661 septic systems (SSTS) in Nobles County in 2025, the 57th highest number of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Licensed inspectors and the county did 22 compliance inspections of existing systems that year: 0.8% of the county’s systems, against 2.11% statewide (the 67th highest share). The county issued 45 construction permits in 2025 and 921 from 2002 to 2025. MPCA’s table marks the county as requiring a compliance inspection at property transfer, which matches the rule on this page.
Source: MPCA, 2025 Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems Annual Report (April 2026), Appendix A, as reported by each county; ranks among the 87 counties in the table (1 = highest). MPCA counts all compliance inspections of existing systems, whatever the trigger (property transfer, building permit and others).
Private wells in Nobles County
In 2015 about 3,370 of Nobles County’s 21,770 residents (15%) got their drinking water from a private well, by the USGS estimate. That is the 75th highest share of the 87 Minnesota counties in the USGS table, and the 68th highest number of private-well users.
As we read it, this rule covers the septic system, not the well.
Source: USGS county water use 2015 (Dieter et al., 2018). Ranks count the Minnesota counties in the USGS table (1 = highest).
Soils and septic systems here
USDA soil surveys rate 97% of Nobles County’s rated land “very limited” for a conventional septic drain field, 3% “somewhat limited” and 0% “not limited”, the 36th highest “very limited” share of 85 Minnesota counties with survey data. The most common limits: slow percolation (dense or clay soil) on 98%; a high water table (saturated soil near the surface) on 94%; fast seepage below the field (risk to groundwater) on 7%.
Where soils are limited, inspections more often find drain fields that sit in seasonally wet soil, and replacement systems are often mounds or other engineered designs. A county-wide rating, not a test of one lot: a site evaluation decides. Source: USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), via Soil Data Access, rating “ENG - Septic Tank Absorption Fields”, read November 15, 2026.
Certified labs nearest to Nobles County for a well water test
Labs on the Minnesota certified drinking-water list that the list marks as taking samples from homeowners or outside clients, certified for coliform bacteria, nearest first. 1 of them is in Nobles County.
| Lab | Town | Distance | Certified on the list for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worthington Public Utilities Laboratory | Worthington, MN · in this county | 11 miles | coliform bacteria |
| Southwest Health and Human Services | Marshall, MN | 54 miles | coliform bacteria, nitrate |
| Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories, Inc. | New Ulm, MN | 80 miles | coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic |
Source: MDH Accredited Labs in Minnesota Accepting Drinking Water Samples from Private Well Users (October 2026; read November 15, 2026). Straight-line distance from the centre of Nobles County (the average of its Census ZIP-area points); “approx.” = lab placed at its ZIP centre. Call the lab first: lists do not say which household tests each lab takes or what it charges.
Nearest other sale-time rules
Buying or selling near a county line? These are the closest other local rules in our census to Nobles County.
| Rule | State | Distance | Covers | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murray County | Minnesota | about 21 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Jackson County | Minnesota | about 31 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Pipestone County | Minnesota | about 31 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Cottonwood County | Minnesota | about 38 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Lyon County | Minnesota | about 50 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
Straight-line distance between county centres (the average of each county’s Census ZIP-area points). Townships, villages and health districts are placed at the centre of their county.