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Septic System Estimate Template

Perc test, design, tank and drainfield, priced against soil nobody has dug yet. Free PDF, no account.

A septic system is designed by the soil, and the soil is tested in a hole the width of a bucket. Everything downstream of that hole — tank size, trench length, whether a conventional bed will do or the county requires a mound with a pump — depends on numbers that come back from a test the health department watches. So a septic estimate is written in two halves: the part priced against a design that exists, and the part that changes if the soil comes back slower than the test hole suggested.

Issued by

Clearfield Septic Systems

1725 Manor Ridge Drive

17603 Lancaster, PA

United States

office@clearfieldseptic.example

Bill to

Gideon Marsh

455 Quarry Hill Road

17584 Willow Street, PA

United States

g.marsh@example.com

Estimated total

$15,455.00

Valid for 30 more days · Sep 5, 2026

This is an estimate, not a bill. Prices may change.

What this assumes

Priced as a conventional gravity system on the perc rate expected for this soil series. A slower rate, or a limiting layer nearer the surface, changes the design and this estimate with it.

Description	Qty	Rate	Tax	Amount
Soil evaluation and perc test Witnessed by the county sanitarian; two test pits	1	$875.00	—	$875.00
1,250 gallon concrete tank, supplied and set Includes risers to grade and effluent filter	1	$4,300.00	—	$4,300.00
Drainfield — conventional gravity trench, per linear foot Estimated 300 ft on the design's assumed perc rate	300	$31.00	—	$9,300.00
Old tank pumped and crushed in place As the county permits; removal would be quoted separately	1	$980.00	—	$980.00

Subtotal	$15,455.00
Total	$15,455.00

Terms

Perc test invoiced when complete. System deposit on permit issue, balance at the county's final inspection.

Estimate #EST-1180 · Clearfield Septic Systems · Page 1 of 1

What this estimate commits you to

How long it stands: Thirty days from the date the county design is stamped; a design that has expired or been revised takes this estimate with it, and the health department's fee schedule changes at the county's own pace.
What it does not cover: Restoration of the site: seeding, topsoil, final grading beyond rough, driveway repair where the truck ran, and the removal of any tree or stump standing in the drainfield footprint.
What would change the price: The soil and the water table. A perc rate slower than the test pits showed, a seasonal high water table that forces a mound or sand filter with its pump chamber, rock in the trench line, and a replacement drainfield that has to go somewhere the excavator cannot easily reach.
How the client accepts it: Sign the estimate with the stamped design attached; we apply for the county permit on that signature and the install is scheduled for the week after it is issued.

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What to put on a septic system estimate

The perc or soil evaluation as its own line, done and paid for before anything else is priced
The design the estimate is built on, by designer and permit number, and the system type it calls for
Tank size and material, and whether the old tank is pumped and crushed, pumped and filled, or removed
Drainfield trench length or bed area, since that is what the soil rate actually decides
County health department permit and inspection fees, at cost and named
That the estimate assumes a conventional gravity system unless the design says otherwise

Questions

Why can a septic estimate change after the perc test?

Because the perc rate sets the system. A slow rate means more trench, a shallower limiting layer means a mound or a sand filter, and either can add a pump chamber and its electrical work — so an estimate written before the soil evaluation is priced against a system the county may not approve.

Does the old tank have to be removed?

It has to be dealt with, and the options are priced very differently. Most counties accept pumping and crushing in place or pumping and filling with sand; a few require removal and disposal. Name which one your estimate assumes, because it is a machine day and a disposal fee apart.

Who pays the health department fees?

The homeowner, in almost every county, and the estimate should pass them through at cost rather than mark them up. They are public figures — a client can look up the schedule — and a marked-up permit line is the fastest way to make a fair estimate look dishonest.

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