Tuscarawas County, Ohio: septic system and well inspection at sale
Checked on November 9, 2026 against the official rule. Rule set by Tuscarawas County Health Department.
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 | PWS (well) evaluation and household sewage treatment system evaluation, each by TCHD or a registered contractor/evaluator, plus a Certificate of Transfer from TCHD, before sale Source: tchdnow.org |
| Triggered by | sale, transfer or conveyance of a parcel Source: tchdnow.org |
| Deadline | before sale, transfer or conveyance; exemption application before closing Source: tchdnow.org |
| Who arranges it | owner (buyer and seller must obtain or submit reports) Source: tchdnow.org |
| How long a report is valid | Exempt if approved new/replacement system or a TCHD/registered point of sale evaluation within the prior 24 months Source: tchdnow.org |
| Exemptions |
Source: tchdnow.org |
| Fee | 2026: water $75 plus lab fees; sewage $350; combined $425 plus lab fees; point of sale review $75 per certificate of transfer Source: tchdnow.org |
| Who may inspect | Ohio Department of Health (private water system contractors) and TCHD (sewage service providers). official page (tchdnow.org) Source: tchdnow.org |
| Official forms | tchdnow.org Source: tchdnow.org |
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: Tuscarawas County Health Department.
Checked on November 9, 2026: read on the official site.
Published costs
What the official fee schedule or guide for Tuscarawas County says, with the year it applies to. The other 1 item published in Ohio are listed for comparison; they are different items, so we do not average them.
| Jurisdiction | Item | Amount | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscarawas County HD (this rule) | Point of sale evaluation, sewage / water / combined | $350 sewage; $75 water + lab; $425 combined + lab; $75 review per certificate | 2026 | tchdnow.org |
| Carroll County GHD | Point of sale septic inspection | $350 ($400 with coliform water test; re-inspection $100) | 2023 | carroll-lhd.org |
Inspectors, pumpers and labs set their own prices on top of these; the official source is the one that counts.
Private wells in Tuscarawas County
In 2015 about 30,781 of Tuscarawas County’s 92,916 residents (33%) got their drinking water from a private well, by the USGS estimate. That is the 39th highest share of the 88 Ohio counties in the USGS table, and the 16th highest number of private-well users.
This rule covers the well as well as the septic system. USGS models about 793 private-well users in Tuscarawas County with arsenic above 10 µg/L, EPA’s limit for public water (2010 population base; 95% range 645 to 979), the 42nd highest of 88 Ohio counties. It is a screening estimate, not a result for any one well.
Source: USGS county water use 2015 (Dieter et al., 2018); USGS domestic-well arsenic estimate (Ayotte, Medalie and Qi, 2017). Ranks count the Ohio counties in the USGS table (1 = highest).
Soils and septic systems here
USDA soil surveys rate 98% of Tuscarawas County’s rated land “very limited” for a conventional septic drain field, 2% “somewhat limited” and 0% “not limited”, the 72nd highest “very limited” share of 88 Ohio counties with survey data. The most common limits: steep slopes on 73%; slow percolation (dense or clay soil) on 71%; shallow bedrock on 63%.
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.
Nearest other sale-time rules
Buying or selling near a county line? These are the closest other local rules in our census to Tuscarawas County.
| Rule | State | Distance | Covers | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County | Ohio | about 19 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Summit County | Ohio | about 44 miles | Septic system and well | November 9, 2026 |
| Village of Moreland Hills | Ohio | about 69 miles | Septic system and well | November 9, 2026 |
| Village of Orange | Ohio | about 69 miles | Septic system and well | November 9, 2026 |
| Chautauqua County | New York | about 163 miles | Septic system and well | 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.