For septic records in Clark County, Washington, start in the Property Information Center with a street address or tax account/parcel number, then follow the County’s instructions to open the Environmental tab. Decide what you need before choosing a form: a drawing of an existing system, an abandonment record and a release for development answer different questions. A septic document does not prove that the building permit has received final approval.
Find what is already on file
The County’s septic-record instructions identify as-built drawings, permits and previous inspection records. They describe online inspection reports from November 2007 onward. That date is attached to inspection reports; it is not a claim that every permit or as-built began in 2007 or that older records do not exist.
Use this short search sequence:
- Open the Property Information Center and choose the address or tax-account input. The public form shows both, with Search and Clear Form controls.
- If the complete address does not match, use a house number or partial address as the County’s property-research guide recommends. Confirm the parcel before following document links.
- Open Environmental for the septic documents. The County describes as-builts as location drawings, permits as documentation of a permitted system, and Previous Inspections as links to operation-and-maintenance reports through onlineRME.
- Record the document title, date, parcel and any septic record number. Save the distinction between a document that was unavailable and a search that did not locate the property.
The form and instructions were inspected for this guide; no individual address was submitted. If documents are missing, Public Health gives 564-397-8428 as the records-assistance contact. Do not infer that the system was never permitted from a missing attachment.
Choose the record for the question
Where is an existing system documented? Look first for the retained as-built. If there is no record or permit, the County’s septic forms page lists an O & M Locate Record Drawing specifically for an existing system lacking those records. This is a different path from retrieving an original installation document. Ask Public Health which drawing is on file and what professional work would be needed if it must be reconstructed. A newly prepared location drawing should not be presented as a recovered original permit.
Was the old system abandoned? The same page supplies a Septic abandonment notification to send to the health department with supporting documents. Ask for the completed notification and its supporting file for the particular system. A blank downloadable form merely explains the submission route; it does not show that an owner filed it or that the agency accepted a particular outcome.
Was septic review released for a proposed development? The forms page separately lists the Septic System Release Application, with Water Adequacy Verification Evaluation (WAVE) materials when needed alongside it. Request the release associated with the development you are checking, including any conditions. An application proves less than the agency’s resulting decision, and a septic release does not establish that every building inspection is complete.
For example, a property may have a recent maintenance inspection and a much older as-built, while a proposed addition still needs its own development review. Keep each date and purpose attached to its document. The most recent item is not automatically the answer to all three questions.
Follow the correct missing-file route
Public Health’s forms page gives EPH@clark.wa.gov and 564.397.8428. Provide the street address, tax account, approximate work period and any known permit or septic record number. Ask for the retained document and the agency’s disposition rather than requesting only “septic history.” If the file concerns an earlier system at the same parcel, identify that distinction explicitly.
A separate building record may appear under the Property Information Center’s Permits tab. The County’s property-research guide distinguishes Tidemark and LMS entries and directs missing documents or further Tidemark details to a records request. That building-permit route should not replace the Environmental tab or Public Health inquiry. The linked City-versus-County guide explains why different departments can hold parts of one project.
Before closing your research, write one sentence stating what was actually found: for example, “an as-built dated [year], with abandonment and development-release records still requested.” Avoid turning that partial file into a statement about current condition, legality or safety. Our permit data limitations guide covers why an online miss remains unresolved evidence.
Official Clark County instructions and public input controls checked September 28, 2026 (UTC). No property lookup, account login, application or records request was performed.