1. (1) No person must cause or allow construction of a system without first applying for and obtaining a system construction permit. Form DEP 4015, effective date June 2026, Application for Construction Permit, herein adopted and incorporated by reference at HYPERLINK "https://flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-19501"https://flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-19501 must be used for recording system construction permit application information. Copies of this document are available as provided in subsection (9) below.
2. (2) An application for a system construction permit must be completed in full, signed by the owner or the owner’s authorized representative, or a contractor licensed in accordance with Chapter 489, F.S., and must be accompanied by all required exhibits and fees. If the owner of a property uses an authorized representative to obtain a new system construction permit, a signed statement from the owner of the property assigning authority for the representative to act on the owner’s behalf must accompany the system construction permit application. This statement must include specific information allowing the representative to act on the owner’s behalf in all aspects of a system construction permit application for an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system.

3. (3) The suitability of a lot, property, subdivision or building for the use of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system must be determined from an evaluation of lot size, anticipated sewage flow into the proposed system, the anticipated sewage waste strength, soil and water table conditions, soil drainage and site topography and other related criteria. Necessary site investigations and tests must be performed at the expense of the owner by an engineer with soils training who is licensed in the State of Florida pursuant to Chapter 471, F.S., by Department personnel, by a Master Septic Tank Contractor, by a professional soil scientist certified and registered by the Florida Association of Environmental Soil Scientists, or by a person certified under Section 381.0101, F.S. Registered Septic Tank Contractors can only perform these necessary site investigations and tests for existing system evaluations and repairs, not for new systems. When determining that the necessary site investigations and tests be performed by an engineer licensed in the State of Florida, the Department must consider the criteria listed in subsection 62-6.004(4), F.A.C. Results of site investigations must be entered on, or attached to, the system construction permit application form for consideration by the Department. Site evaluations must occur not earlier than 180 days prior to the date the Department receives the system construction permit application. Site evaluations remain valid for the life of the system construction permit. The system construction permit application must also include the following data:

   1. (a) A plan or plat of the lot or total site ownership. The site plan must be drawn to scale and for the property where the system will be installed.

      1. The site plan shall show boundaries with dimensions and any of the following features that exist or that are proposed:

      a. Structures,

      b. Swimming pools,

      c. Recorded easements,

      d. Onsite sewage treatment and disposal system components,

      e. Slope of the property,

      f. Wells,

      g. Potable and non-potable water lines and valves,

      h. Drainage features,

      i. Filled areas,

      j. Excavated areas for onsite sewage systems,

      k. Obstructed areas,

      l. Surface water bodies; and,

      m. Location of the reference point for system elevation.

      2. If the Department is responsible for performing the site evaluation, the applicant or applicant’s authorized representative must indicate the approximate location of wells, onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, surface water bodies and other pertinent facilities or features on contiguous or adjacent property. If the features are within 75 feet of the applicant lot, the estimated distance to the feature must be shown but need not be drawn to scale.

      3. If the Department will not be performing the site evaluation, the applicant or authorized agent is responsible for the measurements to all features, including the pertinent features within 75 feet of the applicant lot. The location of any public drinking water well, as defined in Rule 62-6.002, F.A.C., within 200 feet of the applicant’s lot must also be shown, with the distance indicated from the system to the well.

      4. If an individual lot is two acres or greater, the applicant may draw a minimum one acre parcel to scale showing all required features, or the minimum size drawing necessary to properly exhibit all required features, whichever is larger. The applicant must also show the location of that one acre or larger parcel inside the total site ownership.

      5. All information that is necessary to determine the total sewage flow and proper setbacks on the site ownership must be submitted with the system construction permit application. The applicant lot must be clearly identified. A copy of the legal description or survey must accompany the system construction permit application.

   2. (b) For residences, a floor plan drawn to scale or showing the total building area of the structure, at the applicants’ option, and showing the number of bedrooms and the building area of each dwelling unit. Non-residential establishments must submit a floor plan drawn to scale showing the square footage of the establishment, all plumbing drains and fixture types, and any other features necessary to determine the composition and quantity of wastewater to be generated. Plumbing fixtures located at a non-residential establishment must be included on the floor plan, but need not be drawn to scale.
   3. (c) At least two soil profile descriptions within the proposed system soil absorption area to a minimum depth of 6 feet or to refusal, for which the minimum information provided is the upper and lower horizon boundaries, Munsell color of the horizon and its components and USDA soil texture; using USDA Soil Classification methodology as described in Chapter 3 of the Soil Survey Manual, United States Department of Agriculture, Handbook No. 18, Issued March 2017, herein adopted and incorporated by reference at HYPERLINK "http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14360" http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14360. Copies of this document are available as provided in subsection (9) below. At a minimum, a soil profile must be provided at the beginning and end of the proposed drainfield site. Where the replacement of severely limited soil is proposed, soil profiles must be performed to a minimum depth of 6 feet or to the depth of the slightly or moderately limited soil layer lying below the replaced layer, whichever is greater. The evaluator must document the locations of all soil profiles on the site plan.
   4. (d) Water table elevations which exist at the time of the site evaluation and estimated water table elevation during the wettest season of the year. Water table elevations must be established from a benchmark or other fixed point of reference located on the property or within reasonable proximity to it. The existing property elevation at the site of each soil profile must also be recorded relative to the benchmark or fixed point of reference.
   5. (e) Subdivisions platted and recorded or unrecorded prior to January 1, 1972, will be considered on the basis of an evaluation of soil characteristics, water table elevations, history of flooding and records of service of existing installations in the same general area.
   6. (f) A Coastal Construction Control Line Permit or an exemption notice from the Department if any component of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system or the shoulders or slopes of the system mound will be seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line, established under Section 161.053, F.S. Should the location of the proposed onsite system relative to the control line not be able to be definitively determined based on the site plan and the online products available on the Department website, the applicant must provide a survey prepared by a certified professional surveyor and mapper showing the location of the control line on the subject property.
   7. (g) Documentation of sewer availability.

4. (4) All plans and forms submitted by a licensed engineer must be dated, signed and sealed. As provided for in subsection 62-6.003(2), F.A.C., the design engineer must certify that the installed system complies with the approved design and installation requirements. Under the following circumstances, the Department requires for review and approval the submission of detailed system construction plans prepared by an engineer who is licensed in the State of Florida:

   1. (a) Systems serving establishments with proposed domestic sewage flow rates of 2,500 or more gallons per day.
   2. (b) Systems serving establishments with proposed commercial sewage flow rates of 1,000 or more gallons per day.
   3. (c) Systems where the total required drainfield area is 1,500 square feet or greater.
   4. (d) The applicant proposes to split the flow from any residence or establishment in a method other than that provided for by rule.
   5. (e) The repair or modification of an engineer-designed system that meets these criteria for requiring an engineered design and that alters the original engineered design.
   6. (f) All performance-based treatment systems.
   7. (g) All innovative systems.
   8. (h) All sites where the seasonal high water table has or will be altered by physical or mechanical means.
   9. (i) All sites requiring engineer designs as a condition of a variance or waiver approval.
   10. (j) All drip irrigation systems.

5. (5) System Construction Permit Application Processing. The applicant is the permit holder and is held responsible for all information supplied to the Department. The applicant is responsible for providing timely requested information to the Department. The signed system construction permit application, site evaluation, and system design plans, when required, serve as the basis by which the Department determines the issuance of a sytem construction permit. This subsection does not apply to other permit application processing for which there are other specific timeframes.

   1. (a) Within thirty days after receipt of a system construction permit application and payment of the correct processing fee, the Department will review the system construction permit application and request any additional information that is required by law or rule. The applicant has ninety days after the Department issues a request for additional information to submit to the Department the additional information requested. If an applicant requires more than ninety days to respond to a request for additional information, the applicant must notify the Department in writing of the circumstances prior to the ninety-day deadline, at which time the system construction permit application is held in incomplete but active status for one additional period of up to ninety days. Additional extensions will be granted by the Department at its discretion when the applicant timely requests an extension and provides facts demonstrating good cause exists to grant another extension. Failure of an applicant to provide the requested information or be granted an extension by the applicable deadline will result in denial of the system construction permit application. Within 30 days after receipt of the additional information, the Department will review the system construction permit application and will request information needed to clarify the additional information or to answer new questions raised by or directly related to the additional information. If the applicant considers any request for additional information to be unauthorized by law or rule, the Department, at the applicant’s request, will process the system construction permit application without the additional information. Such a request by the applicant must be in writing and clearly labelled as a request for the Department to process the system construction permit application as submitted. The applicant’s request must state the reasons why the applicant considers the Department’s request for additional information to be unauthorized by law or rule and clearly state that the applicant requests the Department process the system construction permit application without the additional information. A system construction permit application will be approved or denied within 90 days after receipt of a complete application, including receipt of all supporting data, and the processing fee, or receipt of the last item of requested additional information, or at the applicant’s written request to begin processing the system construction permit application as submitted, whichever occurs last.
   2. (b) In the event of a change in any information given in the system construction permit application which served as basis for issuing a system construction permit, the permit holder will immediately file an amended system construction permit application detailing the changed conditions. If the new conditions are determined to be in compliance with the standards in this chapter, the system construction permit will be amended. If the new conditions are determined to be in non-compliance with the standards of this chapter, the system construction permit will be revoked subject to the provisions of Chapter 120, F.S.
   3. (c) A system construction permit application is valid for one year. Any time during that year the applicant may amend the system construction permit application or request that the Department deem it complete by certifying that the information contained in the system construction permit application is accurate and has not changed. Once deemed complete, the Department will review the system construction permit application for compliance with this chapter and will not charge the applicant a re-evaluation fee unless the Department determines a site visit by the Department is necessary. If the system construction permit application is incomplete and beyond the one-year deadline, the Department will deny the system construction permit application.
   4. (d) If the rules under which the system construction permit application was accepted have changed, and an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system construction permit has not been issued, a new system construction permit application is required.
6. (6) Requests for variance must be made on Form DEP 4057, effective date 06-21-2022, Application for Variance from Rule 62-6.004, F.A.C., herein adopted and incorporated by reference at HYPERLINK "https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14361" https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14361. Copies of this document are available as provided in subsection (9) below.

7. (7) Where a property owner proposes to build or has built multiple residences or multiple businesses on a single lot, and the entire area of the lot is required to accommodate the designed sewage flow from the multiple residences or multiple businesses to the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, the property owner must submit, prior to issuance of a construction permit, a written utility easement which has been executed and recorded in the public property records at the county courthouse. The utility easement must bind the property together so that the original lot size is retained for purposes of compliance with all the requirements of Chapter 62-6, F.A.C., and must include provisions for maintaining the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system. For example, a duplex built on a single lot with a single onsite sewage treatment and disposal system serving both halves of the duplex must have a written utility easement executed and recorded in the public property records before an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system construction permit is issued. In order to obtain a repair permit, the property owner must submit a copy of the recorded utility easement demonstrating the retention of the original lot size for purposes of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system and a method for maintaining the system. For example, each half of a duplex built on a single lot with a single onsite sewage treatment and disposal system serving both halves of the duplex is sold to separate persons. If, when the onsite sewage treatment disposal system fails, and a written utility easement was not executed and recorded in the public property records before the sales, it must be done before an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system repair permit is issued.

   1. (a) Where a property owner proposes to build or has built a single residence or a single business or multiple residences or businesses on multiple lots, and the residence’s or business’s authorized sewage flow requires the use of multiple lots, or parts thereof, for the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, the property owner must submit, prior to issuance of a permit, a written utility easement executed and recorded in the public property records at the county courthouse. The utility easement must bind the required property together so that the original lots and their collective size, or part thereof, is retained for purposes of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system, and must include provisions for maintaining the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system. For example, a residence or business built on three lots with a sewage flow which is large enough to require the land from all three lots must have a written utility easement executed and recorded in the public property records before an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system construction permit may be issued. In order to obtain a repair permit, the property owner must submit a copy of the recorded utility easement demonstrating the retention of the original lots and their collective size for purposes of the onsite sewage treatment and disposal system and a method for maintaining the system.
   2. (b) Where a property owner, through inadvertent error or mistake, has built multiple residences or multiple businesses on a series of lots and each residence or business has its own onsite sewage treatment and disposal system or the sewage flow from the residence or business exceeds the allowable limits established for the area of land upon which the residence or business is located, the property owner must execute and record in the public property records, a written utility easement, for the remaining undeveloped lots in the subdivision, which informs the public of the amount of sewage flow which will be generated or the number of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems which will be installed in that subdivision. It must also state that when the maximum amount of sewage flow or maximum number of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems has been reached for the subdivision, no further development can occur until sewer is available.
8. (8) Innovative Systems approval for onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems must be initiated by submittal to the Department of an application for permit using Form DEP 3143, effective date 06-21-2022, Innovative Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System Permit Application, hereby adopted and incorporated by reference at HYPERLINK "https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14362" https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14362. After an innovative system permit has been issued, the Department is authorized to issue individual system construction permits that conform to the innovative system permit. Form DEP 3144, effective date 06-21-2022, Owner acknowledgment Form, herein adopted and incorporated by reference and Form DEP 3145, effective date 06-21-2022, Innovative Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System Review Form herein adopted and incorporated by reference at HYPERLINK "https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14395" https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14395, must be used to record information that describes notification requirements between the permit applicant, and the Department. Copies of these documents are available as provided in subsection (9) below.
9. (9) All materials incorporated herein may be obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection, Onsite Sewage Program at www.floridadep.gov or 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS #3596, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400.

Rulemaking Authority 381.0065(3)(a), 381.0065(4)(e), 403.061(7), 489.553(3) FS. Law Implemented 381.0065, 403.087, 489.553 FS. History–New 12-22-82, Amended 2-5-85, Formerly 10D-6.44, Amended 3-17-92, 1-3-95, 5-14-96, 2-13-97, Formerly 10D-6.044, Amended 11-19-97, 3-22-00, 11-26-06, 6-25-09, 4-28-10, Formerly 64E-6.004, Amended 6-21-22, 6-8-26.