Service areas, sorted by the county line
We cover the Front Range foothills and plains in Jefferson, Larimer, and Boulder counties, where homes on septic systems are common and a county transfer document is required to sell. Each city page carries its county specifics.
Colorado delegates septic permitting to county public health agencies under the statewide OWTS framework maintained by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, so the transfer document, the exemption, and the clock all change at the county line. Find your county below, then open your city page for the local specifics. The transfer guide compares all three programs side by side.
Jefferson County
Use Permit
Required when the system was installed more than five years before the sale date. Tank pumped and inspected, application in at least 10 working days before closing, valid until closing or six months.
- Golden: the county seat, foothills and canyon properties on septic.
- Arvada: city sewer inside the utility, septic in the unincorporated pockets.
- Evergreen: mountain subdivisions outside the sanitation districts.
Issued by Jefferson County Public Health
Larimer County
Acceptance Document
A county-licensed, NAWT-certified inspector reports to the health department before the transaction is finalized. The document is valid until the closing date or for up to 12 months, whichever comes first.
- Fort Collins: home of the county health department's main office.
- Loveland: served by the county's own Loveland office.
Issued by the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment
Boulder County
Property Transfer Certificate
A licensed inspection with the tank pumped, then a certificate before closing, valid one year. Exempt when the entire system received final approval less than five years before closing.
- Boulder: the on-septic ring around the city and the mountain canyons.
Issued by Boulder County Public Health; current fees in the county's OWTS fee resolution (PDF)
Not sure which side of a county line you sit on?
City limits and county lines rarely match, and an in-town mailing address can reach deep into unincorporated county. Arvada is the clean example: the city utility serves most addresses, while the surrounding unincorporated Jefferson County pockets stay on septic and face the use permit at sale. The county assessor record or a call to the county health office settles it, and the transfer inspection page explains what happens once you know.
Outside the six city pages?
The rules are countywide, so the same documents govern Conifer in Jefferson County, Berthoud in Larimer County, and Longmont or Niwot in Boulder County; use the county section above that matches your address. Get matched and tell us where you are in Colorado's Front Range, or browse every service we cover.