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Well permits in North Carolina: drilling a private well

In North Carolina you need a construction permit from the local health department before anyone drills a private drinking water well. A certified well contractor drills it, the health department inspects it, and the water is tested after the well is finished.

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Quick summary: This guide explains the North Carolina permit for a new private drinking water well, who may drill it, how far it must sit from a septic system, and the water test that follows. It is for buyers and owners of rural land without public water. The key takeaway: plan the well and the septic system together, because the setbacks between them can decide where the house goes.

What a well permit is

A well permit is the local health department’s written approval to build or repair a private drinking water well. State law makes every county, through its local health department, run a well permitting, inspection, and testing program, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-97. No one may build a private drinking water well without a construction permit. A repair needs a repair permit, except for work on the pump or the tank.

The On-Site Water Protection Branch of the Division of Public Health gives state guidance to the local programs. The branch’s work covers private wells built, repaired, or abandoned on or after July 1, 2008.

How the well permit process works

The well permit process runs from application to a tested well in five steps under § 87-97.

  1. Application. You apply to the local health department on the state’s standard form. If the lot has or will have a septic system, the application includes a plat or site plan.
  2. Site evaluation. The health department visits the site before it issues a permit. It looks for abandoned wells, and the permit requires any it finds to be closed properly.
  3. Permit decision. The health department decides within 30 days of the application. If it does not act within 30 days, the permit issues automatically. A construction permit is valid for five years and survives a change of owner if the well location stays the same.
  4. Inspection and certificate of completion. After drilling, the health department inspects the well. No one may put the well into service until it issues a certificate of completion.
  5. Water test. Within 30 days after the certificate, the health department tests the water or makes sure a certified laboratory does.

The short version: No permit, no drilling. No certificate of completion, no water in the house. The local health department issues both.

Who may drill a well

A certified well contractor drills the well. No person may perform, manage, or supervise well contractor activity without certification, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 87-98.4. A company that is not certified must tell the landowner in writing which certified contractor will do the work, and give that contractor’s certification number.

The statute exempts a person who builds, repairs, or abandons a well on land the person owns or leases. That exemption covers certification only. The permit, inspection, and testing rules in § 87-97 still apply. The North Carolina Well Contractors Certification page lets you find a certified contractor.

Setbacks between a well and a septic system

A private well serving a single-family home must sit at least 50 feet from the home’s septic tank and drainfield, including the drainfield repair area. That distance is in 15A N.C. Admin. Code 02C .0107. The septic rule matches it from the other side: 50 feet from a wastewater system to a private drinking water well serving one single-family home, under 15A N.C. Admin. Code 18E .0601.

The well rule lists other separations. Some of them, as the rule states them:

Source of contamination Minimum distance from the well
Single-family septic tank and drainfield, with repair area 50 feet
Septic system in saprolite, as the rule describes 100 feet
Septic tank and drainfield serving any other facility 100 feet
Watertight sewer lateral from a house 25 feet
Building perimeter, including attached garages, patios, and decks 25 feet
Pond, lake, or reservoir 50 feet
Brook, creek, stream, or river 25 feet
Animal barn 100 feet
Gravesite 50 feet
Landfill, other than a land clearing and inert debris landfill 500 feet

These distances apply to sources that exist when the well is built. The rule also bars a well in a low spot or drainage way where runoff gathers. On a small lot, the well, the drainfield, the repair area, and the house compete for the same ground. The neighbor’s septic system counts too.

Take action: Before you buy rural land without public water, place the well, the septic system, and the house on one sketch with the setbacks drawn. Start with Acreage that holds up after the survey.

Water testing after construction

The required test covers arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, fluoride, lead, iron, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nitrates, nitrites, selenium, silver, sodium, zinc, pH, and bacterial indicators, under § 87-97(h). The health department gives the results to the owner, along with what the required test does and does not cover.

The statute also requires the well to be sterilized when construction is complete. Each health department keeps a registry of permitted wells and their test results, searchable by address. A buyer can ask the county for the registry entry on an existing well.

What the record shows, and who answers

The public record can show a well permit, a certificate of completion, and the test results for wells permitted under the current program. It cannot show the yield of a well not yet drilled, the depth to water, or the water quality at a new site. A certified well contractor and the local health department answer those questions.

Read the well and the septic system as one plan. See Septic permits in North Carolina: the improvement permit, the construction authorization, and the operation permit and Drainfield: how a septic drainfield works and what limits it. Where public water may reach the land, see A water system nearby is not water for your project. For the full order of checks, see How to buy land.

Key recap

  • Every North Carolina county runs a private well program through its local health department, under § 87-97.
  • You need a construction permit before drilling, and a certificate of completion before the well goes into service.
  • A certified well contractor drills the well. An owner working on owned land is exempt from certification, not from the permit.
  • A private well serving a single-family home sits at least 50 feet from that home’s septic tank, drainfield, and repair area.
  • The health department tests new well water, or makes sure a certified laboratory does, within 30 days after the certificate of completion.

Questions

Do I need a permit to drill a well in North Carolina?

Yes. State law bars construction of a private drinking water well without a construction permit from the local health department. A repair also needs a permit, unless the work is limited to the pump or the tank.

How far does a well have to be from a septic system in North Carolina?

At least 50 feet from the septic tank and drainfield of a single-family home, including the repair area, under 15A NCAC 02C .0107. The distance is 100 feet for a system serving any other facility or a system in saprolite.

How long is a well permit good for?

A construction permit or repair permit is valid for five years under § 87-97(f). The health department can revoke it if a fact the permit relied on changes materially.

Is new well water tested in North Carolina?

Yes. Within 30 days after the certificate of completion, the health department tests the water or makes sure a certified laboratory does. The test covers metals, nitrates and nitrites, pH, and bacterial indicators, among other items the statute lists.

References

Primary sources cited on this page, in APA style.

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