Arizona Septic Rules When You Buy or Sell a Home

Two separate things, done by two different people.

1. The seller gets an inspection. The seller must have the system inspected within 6 months before the transfer, and give the buyer a completed Report of Inspection (ADEQ form GWS 432), along with any permitting, operation, and maintenance records they hold. This report is not filed with any agency — it's a private disclosure from seller to buyer.
2. The buyer files the Notice of Transfer. Within 15 calendar days after the transfer, the buyer files the Notice of Transfer (ADEQ form GWS 431) — a separate two-page form notifying the agency that ownership changed.

Both are required under state rule A.A.C. R18-9-A316. This is a state rule, not a county rule — it applies everywhere in Arizona.

The two are not interchangeable. ADEQ states plainly that the seven-page Report of Inspection is not acceptable in place of the two-page Notice of Transfer form.

The buyer.

The seller's obligation is the inspection and the disclosure. The buyer is legally responsible for filing the Notice of Transfer within 15 days after the sale closes.

Six months.

The inspection has to be performed within six months before the transfer date. If the property doesn't sell inside that window, a new inspection is required.

There is no 12-month window in the rule, despite what you may read elsewhere.

It depends on who processes your transfer — and this is where most sources are wrong.

Where ADEQ processes the transfer: $70 per parcel, regardless of how many systems are on the parcel. This has been ADEQ's fee since August 1, 2024. It applies to most of the state, plus any system completed before January 1, 2001.

Where your county processes the transfer: the county sets its own fee and collects it directly. Six counties process transfers locally — Cochise, Coconino, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, and Yavapai. Maricopa's current fee, for example, is $50. That is Maricopa's own legitimate fee, not an outdated number.

So "the Arizona septic transfer fee is $70" is only true where ADEQ handles it. Check your county first.

One genuine trap: Gila County routes transfers to ADEQ, so the $70 applies — but Gila's own site still hosts a 2006-era form showing $50. Anyone relying on that form would underpay.

ADEQ's Report of Inspection form lists six qualifying categories. The inspector must be at least one of:

• Someone who has completed an ADEQ-Recognized Inspection Course
• An Arizona-registered Professional Engineer
• A Registered Sanitarian
• A certified Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator
• An Arizona Licensed Contractor in a qualifying license category
• The owner of a pumper truck holding an ADEQ Septage Hauler registration number

No. NAWT certification is not legally required.

NAWT is a real, respected credential, and it's one common way to satisfy the "ADEQ-Recognized Course" category above. But it's one of six qualifying paths — a NAWT number is not a legal prerequisite to perform a transfer inspection in Arizona.

Two different agencies, two different credentials. A company doing both kinds of work needs both.

To install, repair, or replace a system — an AZROC license (Arizona Registrar of Contractors):

• R-41 — Septic Tanks and Systems, residential
• C-41 — commercial
• CR-41 — the dual license

This covers excavation, pipe install and repair, backfill, and soil compaction for septic tanks, aerobic digesters, and leaching fields.

To pump or haul septage — an ADEQ Septage Hauler License, issued per vehicle, renewed annually through MyDEQ. Governed by A.A.C. R18-13-1103, under the solid waste rules — not the septic chapter. The vehicle must hold at least 750 gallons in a leak-proof, fly-tight container.

No AZROC license is required to pump or haul. These are separate credentials from separate agencies.

The sale is not blocked. Arizona treats the transfer inspection as a disclosure requirement, not a repair mandate.

• ADEQ does not require the system to pass
• ADEQ does not review the report — the form itself instructs you not to submit it
• No rule assigns repair responsibility to buyer or seller

Who fixes what, and who pays, is negotiated in the purchase contract, like any other inspection contingency — through negotiation, escrow holdbacks, or repair agreements.

One practical note: a repair or replacement triggers the county's Type 4 permit process, which has its own timeline. Factor that into any repair agreement.

ADEQ has delegated septic permitting to all 15 Arizona counties. But where the Notice of Transfer is filed varies.

• Filed locally with the county: Cochise, Coconino, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Yavapai
• Filed through ADEQ's online OWN Portal: everywhere else, including Pinal and Gila
• Any system completed before January 1, 2001: ADEQ, regardless of county

Onsite systems with flows of 0–24,000 gallons per day are authorized under Type 4 general permits (4.02–4.23), covering both standard and alternative systems. Anything above 24,000 gpd requires an individual Aquifer Protection Permit.

The process, administered by your county on ADEQ's behalf:

1. Notice of Intent to Construct — meeting state design requirements
2. Construction Authorization — grants two years to build
3. Construction, then verification, inspection, and testing
4. Notice of Intent to Discharge
5. Discharge Authorization — issued once design, construction, testing, and operation requirements are all verified