Rural property
For an Oregon property with a private well and septic system, run four separate checks: current water-quality testing, the OWRD well report, any water-right or exempt-use limit, and the onsite septic approval and maintenance history.
Scope and what changes it
Separate water quality, well construction, water-use authority, and septic approval before treating a rural property's utilities as settled.
In a real-estate sale, the seller must test the domestic well for arsenic, nitrate, and total coliform through an accredited laboratory, give the results to the buyer, and submit them to OHA; qualifying results can be reused only if they are no more than one year old. Septic permitting is local in most counties, while DEQ directly serves Curry, Jackson, and Josephine counties.
The ordinary Oregon answer
When Oregon real property with a domestic well is sold, the seller must test for arsenic, nitrate, and total coliform through an accredited laboratory. Results must be given to the buyer and submitted to OHA within 90 days; existing results can satisfy the duty only when they are no more than one year old at the sale.
OHA recommends testing private well water every year for nitrate and coliform bacteria and every three to five years for arsenic. Test again after flooding, repair, a change in taste or odor, or another event that could affect the well.
The OWRD well report describes how the well was constructed. Water-right or exempt-use records answer whether the proposed quantity and purpose are authorized. Neither one reports today's potability.
DEQ directly administers onsite wastewater in Curry, Jackson, and Josephine counties. In Oregon's other 33 counties, a county or other contracted local agent handles the program. Use DEQ's contact list before assuming the county planning desk is also the septic desk.
A favorable site evaluation does not itself authorize installation. A separate construction-installation permit is required and is generally valid for one year. A change in use or projected sewage flow, including some accessory dwelling unit projects, can require an authorization notice even when no new system is proposed.
A real-world example
A buyer receives nine-month-old accredited results for all three sale analytes, so those results may satisfy the sale test if the transfer occurs before they are one year old and the submission duties are completed. That does not show the septic system can serve a planned ADU. The buyer separately pulls the septic record, verifies the approved design flow, and asks the administering agent whether the ADU requires an authorization notice or other approval.
Exceptions and local layer
Water-quality results say what was in the sampled water at that time. They do not locate the well, measure yield, prove construction compliance, or authorize a particular use.
Current performance matters, but so do the approved system type, design flow, repair area, maintenance duties, and whether later additions changed the load.
DEQ rules set the program frame, but the application counter, inspection scheduling, records system, and fees depend on the administering agent. Start with the current DEQ contacts page.
What to do next
Use an accredited laboratory, request arsenic, nitrate, and total coliform for a sale, and record the sample date so the one-year limit is visible.
Open OHA sale-testing rulesSearch the OWRD well report, ask for any water-right record, and request the septic site evaluation, permit, as-built record, repair history, and maintenance reports.
Describe the current bedrooms and use plus any addition, business, rental, or ADU rather than asking only whether a septic record exists.
Find the onsite septic contactOfficial sources
These are the exact official sources used for the statewide answer and its exceptions. Claims were checked July 16, 2026; current-condition and local pages still need a fresh check when you act.
Water
Check whether the proposed quantity and use are legally authorized.
Open water-right guide
Land
Confirm that an addition, ADU, business, or other use is allowed locally.
Open land-use guide
Places
Start from the property's place and county before calling a permit counter.
Find a place
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