What a septic inspection costs when you sell, county by county
There are two numbers in the cost of selling a home on a septic system in Colorado, and most guides only mention the first. The inspector’s fee is what the private, certified inspector charges to pump and inspect the system — it moves with your system’s size, access, and where you are, and no honest site can quote it sight-unseen. The county fee is what the county charges to review that inspection and issue the permit or acceptance document that lets your sale close. That second number is fixed, published, and — until now — buried one county at a time in fee schedules and PDFs.
This page collects the county fee for every Colorado county in our data where the county has published a figure we could verify. Each number links to the county’s own source. Use it to budget, and to sanity-check any quote that folds the two numbers together.
County permit / acceptance-document fees
These are the county fees only — the charge to review the inspection and issue the document that lets a sale close. They do not include the private inspector’s separate inspection fee, and several counties charge more if the county itself performs the field inspection (noted where that applies). Every figure is linked to the county’s own page or fee schedule.
| County | Program | County fee | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral | Transfer of Title (Acceptance Document) | $50 admin fee | Mineral / STPHD fee ↗ |
| Gunnison | Transfer of Title Acceptance Document | $60 application fee | Gunnison County ↗ |
| Douglas | Use Permit (Transfer of Title) | $65 application fee | Douglas fee schedule ↗ |
| Lake | Transfer of Title (TOT) Use Permit | $71 ($60 + $11 processing) | Lake County ↗ |
| Arapahoe | Transfer of Title / Use Permit | $85 application fee | Arapahoe fee page ↗ |
| Clear Creek | Use Permit (Transfer of Title) | $100 Use Permit fee | Clear Creek application ↗ |
| Elbert | Use Permit (Transfer of Title) | $100 (non-refundable) | Elbert 2026 OWTS reg ↗ |
| Jefferson | Use Permit Program | $100 application fee (inspector fee separate) | Jeffco Public Health ↗ |
| Gilpin | Use Permit (Title Transfer) | $110 Use Permit fee | Gilpin fee schedule ↗ |
| La Plata | Continued Use Permit | $120 admin fee | La Plata 2026 fee schedule ↗ |
| Larimer | Transfer of Title (Acceptance Document) | $120 | Larimer EH fees ↗ |
| Broomfield | Transfer of Title Permit | $140 | Broomfield fee doc ↗ |
| Adams | Use / Transfer of Title Permit | $150 per permit | Adams 2026 fees ↗ |
| Pitkin | OWTS Use Permit | $185 per permit | Pitkin EH fee schedule ↗ |
| Summit | OWTS Use Permit | $230 Use Permit (county field inspection extra) | Summit EH fee schedule ↗ |
| Pueblo | Transfer of Title (Acceptance Document) | $140 to review a certified report; $385 if the county inspects | Pueblo PDPHE ↗ |
| Boulder | Property Transfer Certificate | $500 | Boulder County Public Health ↗ |
The spread is real: the same document that costs $50 in Mineral County costs $500 in Boulder. That is the county’s fee for reviewing the paperwork — not a measure of how thorough the inspection is. Your inspector’s fee is separate and is usually the larger of the two numbers.
Counties that require the permit but haven’t published a fee
Three counties in our data require a transfer/use permit to sell but do not publish a dollar figure we could verify from an official source. We will not print a made-up number. Confirm the current fee directly with the county before you budget:
- El Paso County — a Property Sale Acceptance Document is required, but the OWTS regulation states the Board of Health sets fees by resolution and does not list a dollar amount; we could not locate the county fee schedule figure. El Paso OWTS regulation ↗
- Archuleta County — a Transfer of Title Acceptance Document is required and an administrative fee applies, but the amount is not stated on the program page. Archuleta Water Quality ↗
- Park County — a Transfer of Title Acceptance Document is required, but no dollar fee is published; the county directs applicants to its permit portal or the department by phone. Park County Transfer of Title ↗
One county where the requirement isn’t in force yet
Eagle County adopted new septic regulations in 2026, but the point-of-sale inspection requirement (its OWTS Adequacy Review permit) does not take effect until January 1, 2027. Until then there is no county point-of-sale fee to budget for a home sale there. Eagle County regulation update ↗
Real estate agents: there’s a print-friendly, one-table version of these fees built to bookmark and forward — the Colorado septic fee cheat sheet.
How to read a quote
When you call an inspector, ask them to separate the two numbers: their inspection fee, and the county fee they’ll pass through. A quote that bundles them into one figure isn’t wrong, but it makes it harder to compare inspectors — because the county fee is identical no matter who you hire. Find your county’s full rules, deadlines, and exemptions on its county page, and if you’d rather request help, tell the site operator your county below. An inspector match or response is not guaranteed.
Every fee above was verified from the county’s own materials in July 2026. County fees change; confirm the current figure at the linked source before you close.