Southeastern Idaho Public Health says it keeps permitted-system records beginning in 1973. That file tells you tank location, drainfield layout, and whether a replacement area was ever set aside. It does not tell you whether the field still works. For that, we open the lids.
Use the septic records form
SIPH publishes a Septic Records Request (PDF). Completed requests go to recordsrequest@siph.idaho.gov. Fill in as much property identity as you can:
- Street address
- Township, range, and section
- Subdivision, lot, and block
- Year the home was built
- Year of known septic repairs
- Names of previous owners
Legal descriptions matter in Bingham County because rural addresses change, and “the white house on 800 West” is not a filing key — whether the house is in Blackfoot or Shelley. Tax notices and deeds usually carry the township-range-section string.
Copy fees are small for a normal file. Labor charges can apply if the request is huge or needs redaction. Idaho Code gives the agency three working days to grant or deny the request. “No records were found” is a real answer, especially for homes built before 1973 or systems installed without a permit.
If there is no file — or the lids are buried
Older tanks often sit deeper than modern risers. While you wait on the file, these are the usual clues:
- Tanks are often 5–25 feet from the home, in line with the building sewer or the roof vent stack
- Look for a small mound, a depression, or a suspiciously green rectangle
- Rule out spots within 50 feet of wells, under pavement, under the house or a deck, or hard against the foundation
- Concrete tanks with rebar sometimes show up with a probe or metal detector
Never enter a tank. Methane and low oxygen kill quickly. Locating and opening lids is a job we do from outside, as part of pumping or an inspection.
Keep a copy that moves with the house
Once you have the as-built, scan it. Write pump dates and baffle notes on the receipt and leave a copy with the house papers. If you are in a purchase, read what a record does not prove before you waive the inspection. If the lid needs to come to grade, that is a repair we can quote — not a weekend project over the inlet baffle.