Monroe County septic permits
Monroe County is the most transparent county on this list about money: it publishes its septic permit fees outright, takes applications online, and says which applications need a soil report. It also processes hundreds of septic permit applications a year, so the process is well practised.
Who issues a septic permit in Monroe County?
The Monroe County Health Department. Under the state rule the owner or the owner's agent has to obtain a written construction permit signed by the health officer before the work starts, and in Indiana that health officer is the county's, not the state's.
Source: 410 IAC 6-8.3-53(a), Indiana Administrative Code, read 2026-08-20.
What does Monroe County do differently?
- The county publishes its septic fees: a new septic permit at $250, a repair permit at $150, a renewal at $100, and a commercial permit, new or repair, at $400. The county notes the fees are subject to change. Source: Monroe County Health Department, Site Sewage Disposal Systems, read 2026-08-20.
- Applications are made online, and the fee is paid at the point the application is received by staff. The county accepts cash, credit or debit, check, money order and cashier's check. Source: Monroe County Health Department, Site Sewage Disposal Systems, read 2026-08-20.
- A soil report is required for any application that involves modifying or adding a septic field, and the county publishes both a septic installers page and a soil analysis page listing registered soil scientists. Source: Monroe County Health Department, Site Sewage Disposal Systems, read 2026-08-20.
- The section receives hundreds of septic permit applications each year. Source: Monroe County Health Department, Site Sewage Disposal Systems, read 2026-08-20.
Which towns does this cover?
Monroe County sits in the Bloomington area, with Bloomington as the county seat. Towns served include Bloomington, Ellettsville, Unionville, Smithville, Harrodsburg. Anywhere in the county that is not on a sanitary sewer is on a system this page applies to.
Who can legally do the work here?
Indiana has no state septic installer license, so the answer is set by this county. Many Indiana counties require an IOWPA certificate, and some run their own installer permit and exam. Check with the Monroe County Health Department before you sign anything, because the requirement is different one county over.
How Indiana county installer requirements work
Source: Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, professions list, read 2026-08-20.
What comes before the application?
Before any construction permit is issued, and before a soil absorption system is replaced or altered, an on-site evaluation including a description of the soil profile has to be conducted. The soil is described by a soil scientist using NRCS guidelines, and the profile is recorded to a depth of five feet or until a layer is reached that cannot be read.
So the first call is usually a soil scientist, not a contractor with a machine. See the soil evaluation and the application sequence.
Source: 410 IAC 6-8.3-56(a) to (c), read 2026-08-20.
The county's own page
Fees, forms and lists change without notice, and the county is the only current source. Monroe County Health Department.
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Tell us the county and the jobLast reviewed 2026-08-20.