How to Get Your Gwinnett County Septic Tank Records

Alcovy Septic sends homeowners to pull their own gwinnett county septic tank records before booking anything, because the lookup is free, takes about five minutes, and answers the three questions that otherwise cost money on site: where is the tank, how big is it, and where do the trenches run.

The lookup, step by step

Gwinnett publishes a quick start guide for this. The steps:

1. Go to gwinnettcounty.com and open the Top Links tab, then choose GIS Data Browser.
2. Find your property with the Property Search by address or parcel number, so the map centers on your lot.
3. Open Map Content and Legend (the black arrow at the top left).
4. Under the Water Resources category, check the box for Septic Tank Parcels. Parcels with a record on file will now be shaded.
5. Click the Identify tool — the “i” button on the right side of the map — then click your parcel.
6. In the More Information window, choose Septic Tanks from the “Attribute Details For” list.
7. Click the document name link. The record opens as a PDF you can save or print.

That is it. No account, no fee, no records request. The county made these records free online in June 2011 after digitizing hundreds of thousands of them, and states that Environmental Health maintains records for systems installed since 1959.

What the plat actually shows

The PDF is usually the original installation permit and site drawing. Expect to find:

• Tank location dimensioned off the house corners or a property line, which is what a crew uses to find the lid without probing the whole yard
• Tank capacity in gallons — Georgia requires 1,000 gallons for one to four bedrooms plus 250 per additional bedroom under Rule 511-3-1-.05, so the drawing usually confirms 1,000 or 1,500
• Drain field layout — number of trenches, length and direction
• Install date and the installer, and sometimes later repair applications

Take the tank size straight into the tank size guide and the pumping cost estimator — size is the main driver of a pump-out price, as the Lawrenceville cost guide breaks down. Take the field layout into any decision about a patio, shed, driveway or new trees; the tree roots guide explains what happens when planting goes over trenches.

When there is no record

Blank results are common enough not to panic about. The usual causes are a system predating the record, a parcel that has been split or renumbered, or a permit filed under the builder’s original lot. Three moves, in order:

1. Call or visit Environmental Health. GNR’s Gwinnett office is at 455 Grayson Highway, Suite 600, Lawrenceville, GA 30046, phone 770-963-5132. Staff can check paper files and repair applications that were not captured in the scan.
2. Check your own closing file. Septic plats often travel in the closing package, especially on 1990s and 2000s builds.
3. Have the tank located. If no record exists, the tank gets found the old way — a probe, a locator on a flushed transmitter, or tracing the outlet line. That is what locating and riser service is for, and the sensible move is to install a riser at the same visit so nobody ever has to hunt again.

What the record is good for

• Buying a house. The EPA tells homebuyers to get the “as built” drawing from the health department before closing. In Gwinnett that is a free download rather than a request.
• Permitting a repair. GNR requires a permit for repairs and additions, and since February 2022 a Level 3 soil report for all septic permits — the repair permit guide covers it, and the existing plat is the starting point for any design.
• Converting to sewer. Knowing where the tank sits before anyone trenches saves a very expensive mistake; see the septic-to-sewer conversion guide.
• Building anything. Decks, pools, pads and driveways over a tank or field are how fields die early.

One thing the plat will not tell you is when the tank was last pumped — the county does not hold that. Keep your own dated receipts with gallons and tank size on them. Those receipts are also what Gwinnett wants for the 10% stormwater fee credit.

Outside Gwinnett

Rockdale, Newton, Walton and Barrow counties hold their own records through their environmental health offices rather than the Gwinnett GIS browser, so a house in Conyers, Covington or Loganville may need a phone call instead of a download. GNR Public Health covers Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale; Walton and Barrow fall under the Northeast Health District.

Bottom line

Pull the record before you book anything: GIS Data Browser, Property Search, turn on Septic Tank Parcels, Identify your lot, open the PDF. It is free, records run back to 1959, and it gives you tank location, size and field layout in one page. If nothing comes up, call GNR Environmental Health at 770-963-5132, and if the tank still cannot be documented, have it located and fitted with a riser — start that through the contact page.