Our goal at the Gallatin City-County Health Department is to protect human health and the environment through proper treatment and disposal practices in Gallatin County. The department achieves this through education, individual registration, inspections, and a system for reporting and resolving problems.

Important Requirements if you are installing a septic system:

  • An approved septic system permit is ALWAYS required before a system (non-public or public) is installed. Click here for the wastewater treatment system permit.
  • Site evaluations must be performed by a Gallatin County Registered Site Evaluator (see list below) or a Professional Engineer registered in the state of Montana.
  • A Gallatin County Registered Installer (see list below) must be on-site during the installation of every system.

Contact Us:

Call: 406-582-3120
Email: ehs@gallatin.mt.gov

Temporary Office Location:

400 E. Babcock Street, Bozeman

Links for Land Owners:

Site Evaluators and Installers:

Qualified Site Evaluators

Credentialed Septic Installers

Qualified Site Evaluators Portal

Credentialed Septic Installers Portal

Ready to submit your septic application?

A completed septic application includes:

These items must be readily available at the time you submit.

Click here to submit your completed application.

Non-Public Septic (Wastewater Treatment) System

Non-public septic (wastewater treatment) systems are for individual, shared, or multi-user dwellings. They are permitted and installed in accordance with state and local regulations. Proper placement, type, and sizing of systems are based on either a Certificate of Subdivision Approval (COSA) or a site evaluation which assesses the site to determine if suitable conditions exist for on-site wastewater treatment and dispersal.

Public Wastewater Treatment Systems

Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has primary responsibility for public wastewater treatment systems, which are defined as serving more than 24 persons for more than 60 days a year or having more than 14 connections.

HOA community
Hose pumping septic in yard

Septic Pumpers

Septic pumpers are required to obtain a license from MDEQ. Their equipment and disposal sites are regulated to ensure proper treatment of waste.

Is your project in an impaired watershed?

This video explains how to use the Environmental Health Services interactive map to show the 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) and filter the impaired waterways to show only those waterways which are impaired for nutrients (nitrate). It also shows how to find the underlying data, TMDLs, impaired uses, and other information. If you have questions, please call the Gallatin City-County Health Department, Environmental Health Services Division

Additional Resources: