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How to Get a Septic (OSSF) Permit in Gregg County

Nothing in this process is optional, and nothing in it is quick.

Gregg County Health Department is the TCEQ Authorized Agent for Gregg County outside its incorporated cities, which means the county issues the permit under the state rules plus a few stricter ones in its own 2026 order. Inside a city's limits the county order applies only where that city has contracted with the county, so check with the city first. The rules it applies are 30 TAC Chapter 285, administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Inside city limits, check with the city first. Gregg County’s on-site sewage order of 31 March 2026 applies to the county outside incorporated cities. Inside a city, including Longview, Kilgore, White Oak and Gladewater, it applies only where that city has signed an intergovernmental contract with the county. If your property is inside city limits, ask the city which office permits septic work there, and confirm with the Gregg County Health Department at (903) 237-2628. Under state rules, TCEQ itself is the permitting authority wherever no local OSSF order, ordinance or resolution has been approved. Sources: Gregg County OSSF order, Section 6; 30 TAC §285.3.

The permit process as a sequence of gates Each stage of the on-site sewage permit in order along a track, with the stages that legally stop work until they are cleared marked as gates. The permit track, in order APPLICATION FROM GCHD SITE EVALUATION RS OR PE TECH INFO SHEET YOUR DESIGNER SUBMIT + FEE OWNER NAME COUNTY REVIEW GCHD AUTHORIZATION TO CONSTRUCT INSTALL CERT. INSTALLER INSPECTION BEFORE COVER NOTICE OF APPROVAL YOU MAY USE IT A GATE. WORK MAY NOT LAWFULLY CONTINUE PAST IT UNTIL IT IS SIGNED OFF.
Nothing here is optional and nothing here is quick. The stages marked as gates are the ones that hold up a closing or a build, and every one of them is waiting on somebody else's calendar rather than on you.

What it costs

The Gregg County permit fee is $350 for a conventional design and $350 for a professional design on a single-family home, rising to $450 for commercial. That is the county's fee only. It does not include the site evaluation, the design, or the system.

The four things that go wrong

  1. The application goes in the property owner's name

    Not the builder's and not the installer's. This trips up new builds constantly, because the builder is the one doing the paperwork and the permit still has to be in your name.

  2. There is one inspection, and it is before the system is covered

    One working day's notice, minimum. If it gets backfilled before the inspector sees it, somebody is digging it up again, and it will not be the county.

  3. Aerobic systems need two extra documents

    An Affidavit to the Public, which is filed in the county deed records so any future buyer can see the system is there, and a Maintenance Agreement with a licensed provider. Neither is optional and neither can be added afterwards.

  4. Lots platted before 1 January 1988 are a separate conversation

    The half-acre and one-acre minimums do not automatically apply to them. If your lot is older and undersized, call the health department before you pay anyone for a design, because the answer changes what can be designed.

Who to contact

Gregg County Health Department

405 East Marshall Avenue, Longview, TX 75601

(903) 237-2628

Official guidance and forms

We are not affiliated with them. Verify anything on this page against their own current documents before you act on it.

Want somebody to handle the paperwork?

A licensed site evaluator has to answer that with a soil test; nobody can tell from a map. Send us your address and we will pass it to a licensed local professional where one is available. Request a quote →

Last reviewed September 23, 2026 against Gregg County Health Department and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality published rules. How we research this site.