Aerobic septic maintenance rules in Texas

General information from TCEQ, not legal advice. Your county or city permitting authority may have stricter rules, so check with them.

Do I need a maintenance contract?

For the first two years after an aerobic treatment unit is installed, it must be maintained under a contract with a licensed maintenance provider. After two years, TCEQ allows homeowners to maintain systems that use secondary treatment, non-standard treatment, drip irrigation or surface application (spray heads) themselves. Some permitting authorities are stricter: they may require homeowner training or not allow homeowner maintenance at all. (TCEQ OSSF maintenance)

The contract must be with a licensed maintenance provider, who is an individual person. TCEQ no longer registers maintenance companies.

What the maintenance provider must do

Put a tag or other identification on the system at the start of the contract, and punch or mark it on every visit, including complaint calls.
Inspect the components on each visit and note whether each one works. If something is not working, the owner must have it repaired.
Test the system as required by 30 TAC 285.91(4).
Send a report to the permitting authority and the owner at least once every four months, within 14 days of the test. This can drop to once every six months if the system has an electronic monitor that alerts the provider to failures and tracks disinfection.

What the contract should say

Which items are covered.
How fast the provider will respond to a complaint.
The name of the person who will do the maintenance.
How often routine maintenance, testing and reporting happen.
Who is responsible for the disinfection unit.

Chlorine tablets: use the right kind

TCEQ says to use calcium hypochlorite tablets certified by EPA for wastewater disinfection. Do not use swimming pool chlorine tablets (trichloroisocyanuric acid). TCEQ warns they dissolve too slowly to disinfect properly and can release an explosive gas in a septic chlorinator.

Pumping

For aerobic units, TCEQ says pumping depends on the sludge depth and the manufacturer's recommendations. For conventional systems it recommends every three to five years.

Buying a home with an aerobic system?

Ask for the current maintenance contract and the last few service reports, and see our septic inspection checklist for buyers.

Licensed maintenance providers in East Texas

Counts of current TCEQ licensed maintenance providers by record county, from TCEQ public records fetched 2026-10-31:

Rules: Texas Health and Safety Code 366.0515 and 30 TAC 285.7. Verify any license with TCEQ's license search.