Every Idaho public health district, with contact details

Idaho has 7 public health districts, and they issue septic permits — not the county and not the state. Each covers several counties with its own requirements and fees. The full list, with phone numbers and counties, is below.

The seven districts that permit septic systems in Idaho, the counties each covers, and what to ask when you call.

By WellDepthPublished October 19, 2026

Septic is permitted by district, not by county

Idaho has 7 public health districts, and they — not the county, not the state — issue septic permits and require the site evaluation that precedes one. Each covers several counties, and requirements and fees differ between them.

If you are buying rural land, this is the office that decides whether what you intend to build can have a septic system. It is worth calling before you make an offer rather than after.

Idaho public health districts and the counties they cover

District	Phone	Counties
Panhandle Health District	208-415-5100	Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone
Public Health - Idaho North Central District	208-799-3100	Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce
Southwest District Health	208-455-5300	Adams, Canyon, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Washington
Central District Health	208-375-5211	Ada, Boise, Elmore, Valley
South Central Public Health District	208-737-5900	Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, Twin Falls
Southeastern Idaho Public Health	208-233-9080	Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Butte, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida, Power
Eastern Idaho Public Health	208-522-0310	Bonneville, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, Teton

Contact details as published by each district. 7 districts covering all 44 Idaho counties. Verify before relying on a number — these change.

What to ask when you call

Those are questions rather than answers on purpose. Requirements vary by district and change over time, and the district is the only authority that can answer them for a specific parcel.

What does a site evaluation involve here, what does it cost, and how far out are you booking?
What do you require before you will issue a permit on a parcel like this?
Has a site evaluation ever been done on this parcel, and can I get the paperwork?
What setbacks apply between a drainfield, a well, property lines and surface water?
What would push this site from a conventional system to an engineered one?

The other offices that decide things

**Idaho Department of Water Resources** — well construction, water rights, drilling permits
**Idaho DEQ** — groundwater quality, nitrate priority areas
**County planning and zoning** — permitted uses, setbacks, whether a parcel is a legal lot of record
**County highway district** — approach permits for a driveway onto a public road
**A title company** — easements, liens, and whether a water right conveys
**A licensed surveyor** — actual boundaries and acreage

Sources

How we handle this data, in full

Check a specific location

See the well records the state holds near any point in Idaho — free, no account.

Open the well lookup

This is a screening tool, not an inspection

Everything shown here comes from public records about other properties near the point you selected. Nearby records describe those wells, not this parcel.

These records cannot tell you whether a well drilled on this parcel would find water, at what depth, or at what yield, and they say nothing about whether the parcel can be permitted or built on.

Records are incomplete. Idaho Department of Water Resources well logs are mostly from July 1987 onward, and older wells may be missing, unreported or inaccurately located.

Use this to decide what questions to ask and what to budget for investigating. Confirm anything you intend to rely on with the people listed below before you buy.

Who can actually answer these questions

Licensed Idaho well driller — What depth and yield to realistically expect, and what drilling this site would cost
Your public health district — Whether a septic system can be permitted, and what site evaluation is required
Title company — Water rights, easements, liens and what actually conveys with the parcel
Licensed land surveyor — Actual boundaries and acreage
County planning and zoning — Permitted uses, setbacks and whether the parcel is legally buildable