How to find your septic system's as-built records
Do this before your inspector arrives — it saves time and helps you understand what you're working with.
Your "as-built" record is the county's file on your septic system — the original design drawings and, for more recently serviced systems, ongoing maintenance/service history. Snohomish County Health Department maintains these in an online system called OnlineRME. Finding yours before your inspection isn't required, but it helps your inspector move faster and gives you a head start on understanding your system type, age, and layout.
Step by step
- Go to the Snohomish County Health Department's OnlineRME portal. You can search by parcel number or property address.
- Search your property. If your system was permitted and documented, you'll typically find the original as-built drawing and any recorded service/maintenance reports on file.
- If nothing comes up online, don't panic. Documentation wasn't always mandatory for older systems, so plenty of legitimate, functioning septic systems simply don't have a digitized as-built on file. Contact the Health Department directly at SHD-EHQ@snoco.org — staff can sometimes locate older paper records that haven't been digitized.
- Share what you find with your inspector when you schedule your point-of-sale inspection. It won't replace the inspection itself, but it gives your inspector useful context before they're on-site.
No records on file? You still need the inspection.
A missing as-built record doesn't exempt you from the November 1, 2026 point-of-sale inspection requirement — it just means your inspector will need to locate and evaluate the system from scratch, which can take a little longer. Worth building extra time into your schedule if you can't find your property's records.
Why this matters beyond the inspection
Knowing your system type — conventional gravity, pressure-dosed, mound, sand filter, or one of the alternative (OSCAR-II style) systems increasingly used on tighter or clay-heavy Snohomish County lots — helps you understand realistic repair and replacement costs if your inspection comes back marginal or failing. See the cost guide for how those costs vary by system type.
Related reading
Source: Snohomish County Health Department — As-Built Records.