Septic inspections at home sale in NJ and PA: get paid

For a home-sale septic inspection, name the rule you inspected under, report what you found part by part, tie photos to each finding, and decide who pays before you open a lid. Then send a clean invoice with the property address the day the report goes out. This is a general guide, not legal advice. Rules differ by town and county, so check yours.

A home sale puts a date on your work. The buyer's attorney wants the report, the realtor wants it by Friday, and the seller wants to know what it will cost. If the report is thin or the invoice is vague, you wait on money while everyone else closes.

What the rules say (and do not say)

New Jersey. Septic rules sit in N.J.A.C. 7:9A. NJDEP guidance says no law or rule requires every septic system to be inspected at a property transfer, though NJDEP recommends buyers get one anyway, and that NJ does not license septic inspectors. When an inspection is done for a transfer, N.J.A.C. 7:9A-12.6 sets the protocol. Cesspools have to be replaced at transfer, and the rule does not say whether the seller or buyer pays for upgrades, so that gets negotiated. Many towns and counties add their own rules. Hopewell Township, for example, requires a third-party inspection under NJDEP procedures before transfer.

Pennsylvania. The state runs the Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537), and municipalities or county health departments administer on-lot permitting through sewage enforcement officers. That Act does not itself require an inspection when a house sells. The state does regulate the sales contract: 25 Pa. Code 72.32 requires specific statements in contracts for lots with sewage limitations. The inspection most PA sales use is the PSMA/NOF on-lot inspection, and Penn State Extension says the Pennsylvania Septage Management Association and the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association Foundation adopted uniform procedures for it. Whether it is required depends on the township, the county and the lender.

Bottom line for your report cover sheet: name the rule you inspected under. Do not write that the inspection is "required by the state" unless the local ordinance says so. Check the current rule text and your local municipal code before relying on this summary.

What the report needs

Whoever reads it later, a buyer's attorney, a township or a lender, has to be able to follow it without calling you. Include:

• Property address, parcel or lot number, date of inspection, and who ordered it.
• Your company, the person who did the work, and any registration or certification you actually hold. Do not claim a license NJ does not issue.
• The standard followed: the NJDEP protocol, the PSMA/NOF procedure, or the local form.
• What you found, in plain words, part by part: tank, lids and risers, baffles, distribution, absorption area, pump or alarm if there is one.
• What you could not check and why, such as frozen ground, buried lids, no access or no records. This protects you.
• A clear condition statement and recommended repairs, kept separate from the facts.
• Photos tied to each finding, and a signature with the date.

If the local health department wants its own form, attach yours and fill theirs.

Photos and timestamps

A photo that says "tank" proves little. A photo with the date, time and place proves you were at that tank that day. Take, at minimum: the front of the house and address, each lid before and after opening, the inlet and outlet baffles, the liquid level, any cracks or roots, the distribution box, the field area, and the alarm panel. Take the "could not inspect" shots too. Save them to the job the same day. Photos that sit on a phone for two weeks get lost, and the report that cites them gets questioned.

Who gets billed

Decide this before you dig up a lid. The person who orders the inspection is your customer, and that is often not the seller.

• Buyer or buyer's agent orders it. Invoice whoever signed the order, and put the property address on the invoice, not just a name.
• Seller orders it. Invoice the seller.
• Realtor pays for a client. Get that in writing on the order: who pays, and whether payment is due at the visit or at closing.
• Paid at closing. Get a signed line on the order that says so.

Keep the inspection fee separate from repair quotes. Mixing them lets a buyer who walks away dispute the whole bill. Keep pump-out, locating and excavation to uncover lids as their own lines, with the reason each was needed.

Getting paid at closing

If payment is meant to come through closing, the title or settlement company needs a clean invoice, not a text. Send it as soon as the report goes out, with the property address and file or order number, the name of the party responsible for payment, a plain line item for each service, how to pay, and a contact for the title company. Ask the realtor to confirm the title company has your invoice before the closing date. After closing, one polite follow-up with the invoice attached usually beats three calls. Payment and lien rules vary by state, so ask your attorney how they apply to you.

Where TrackOver fits

If you want the photos and the invoice in one place, TrackOver job photos keep the date, time, who took them and the location when the phone has a fix, and the invoice is built from the same job. Invoices need the Pro plan or higher; check pricing for what is included. Start a free trial to try it.

Common questions

Is a septic inspection required to sell a house in New Jersey? Not by a statewide rule, according to NJDEP guidance, but many towns and counties require one by local ordinance. Check the municipal code or the county health department.

Is a PSMA inspection required in Pennsylvania? Not by the Sewage Facilities Act itself, as far as the sources show. Some townships require inspections by ordinance, and lenders or buyers often ask for the PSMA/NOF procedure. Confirm locally.

Who pays for a septic inspection at a home sale? It is negotiable. In practice whoever orders it pays, and the sales contract can shift the cost. Get the payer's name on the order.

Should I put repair quotes in the inspection report? Keep findings and recommendations in the report, and send quotes as a separate document. That keeps the inspection record clean if the sale falls through.