Florida Septic Contractor Registration Checker

What the number formats mean

Key rules

• Who registers septic contractors: DEP, under Part III of Chapter 489, Florida Statutes. A person may not hold himself or herself out as a septic tank contractor unless registered by DEP (s. 489.552).
• Individual expiry: all septic tank contractor registrations expire every year on September 30. Registrations not renewed by then go inactive automatically. If you search in early October, check that the renewal has gone through.
• Inactive means no permits: DEP says it does not provide permitting and inspection services related to septic contracting for an inactive registration.
• Business expiry: certificates of authorization for septic businesses expire on March 31 of every odd-numbered year.
• Sole proprietors: a contractor working in his or her own given name does not need a business authorization (s. 489.555, F.S.). Search that person's SR or SM number instead.

What our "Registered with Florida DEP" badge means

Some listings on this site carry a "Registered with Florida DEP" badge. We add it only after we have looked up the company's numbers on DEP's public register. For a business, that means both the individual contractor's SR or SM registration and the business's authorization. For a contractor working under his or her own given name, the law does not require a business authorization, so the badge details show only that person's SR or SM number. The badge details also show the month we last checked DEP's register. A listing without the badge is not a sign that a company is unregistered; it means we have not yet confirmed its numbers. Always run your own lookups, because registrations can lapse after we check them.

How this tool works

The tool removes spaces and dashes, turns letters into capitals, and compares what is left with the formats DEP uses: two letters (SR, SM, SA or SE) followed by 7 digits. We took the formats from DEP's public lists of active registrations and business authorizations. It then shows what that kind of number means and which DEP search to use.

It does not check whether a number is real, active or held by the company that gave it to you. A number in the right format can still be wrong, expired or someone else's. Only DEP's searches can confirm that. The "Why are you checking?" choice only changes the suggestion at the end. Your answers stay in your browser; we only record that the tool was used.

For the full checklist, including the permit questions to ask and what to get in writing, see how to verify a Florida septic contractor. You can find your county's permit office with the county septic resource finder. This is general information, not legal advice.