What Tennessee requires
Anyone who removes domestic septage from septic tanks, holding tanks, portable toilets, or similar facilities must hold a Pumper permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The public Active Pumpers and Installers report shows the permit number, company, phone, counties of operation, and permit type.
Verification steps
- Ask the company for its full business name and TDEC pumper permit number.
- Open the official TDEC Active Pumpers and Installers report.
- Filter or search the Pumper rows rather than Installer rows.
- Match the permit number, company, and phone.
- Confirm the firm still appears as a Pumper on the DataViewer the day you book. TDEC says the viewer updates overnight. This directory snapshot was retrieved September 5, 2026.
Counties of operation are not a street-level map
TDEC lists counties of operation, including Statewide for some firms. That field is not a mailing address and does not guarantee the company will pump your property. Nine contract counties (Blount, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Madison, Sevier, Shelby, and Williamson) can require an additional local permit.
How SepticByCounty filters the state list
The DataViewer mixes installers and pumpers, and Pumper permits cover septic tanks plus holding tanks and portable toilets. Our homeowner shortlist only publishes Pumper records whose company name explicitly says septic or septage. We do not turn a pump-only or restroom-first name into a septic claim, and we do not invent a mailing address TDEC did not publish.
Start with the Tennessee county directory, then re-check the official state record on the day you book.