How to Start a Septic Installation or Well Drilling Business in Mississippi: MSDH and MDEQ Licenses

Septic installation and water well drilling are separate trades in Mississippi, and each is regulated by a different state agency. The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) certifies septic installers through its Division of On-site Wastewater. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) licenses water well drillers and pump installers through its Office of Land and Water Resources. If you searched for a mississippi septic installer license, you should know that Mississippi issues no general statewide business license for either trade. You build the business in layers: an entity registered with the Secretary of State, local privilege licenses from your city or county, and the trade credential from the agency that regulates your work.

This article is informational only. It is not legal or tax advice. Fees and rules change, and some figures below come from agency forms that were issued years ago. Each one is marked so you know which numbers to confirm. Before you commit money or sign contracts, talk with a Mississippi attorney about your entity and a CPA about your tax setup.

Septic vs. well drilling at a glance

Item	Septic installation	Water well drilling
Regulating agency	MSDH Division of On-site Wastewater	MDEQ Office of Land and Water Resources
Credential	Installer certification under Miss. Code 41-67-25	Water well driller license, restricted driller license for non-water-supply boreholes, and a separate pump installer license
Training and testing	2-day MSDH training course with exam	Competency tests given by the office or by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
Initial cost	$162.50 application fee (covers exam plus study material) and $150 certification fee, per MSDH Form 347 (revised 7/2018)	$100 initial fee per the MDEQ page (traces to a 2011 rule revision)
Insurance	General business liability of $50,000 per occurrence and $100,000 aggregate	Confirm the requirement with MDEQ
Renewal	Annual, due June 30, with CEU/PDH hours	$100 annual renewal fee, plus 4 hours of continuing education a year
Equipment	Not covered in this summary; confirm with MSDH	Each drill rig must be registered

What you need before you start

• A business name that meets Secretary of State rules. An LLC name must include “limited liability company,” “L.L.C.” or “LLC.”
• A Mississippi registered office with a physical street address, and a registered agent.
• $50 for an LLC Certificate of Formation (Form F0100), or $50 for Articles of Incorporation (Form F0001) if you form a corporation.
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Banks commonly ask for one, and you need one if you hire employees.
• Insurance that meets the MSDH minimum of $50,000 per occurrence and $100,000 aggregate.
• Study time for the MSDH exam. The $162.50 application fee covers the exam and study material.
• A list of the cities and counties where you plan to work.
• Registration paperwork for each drill rig if you plan to drill wells.
• A calendar with the April 15 annual report date, the June 30 MSDH renewal date, and the MDEQ renewal date (confirm it with MDEQ).

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Decide which trade you will enter first

Septic and well work carry separate credentials, and holding one does not cover the other. Decide whether you will start with septic installation, water well drilling, or both. Starting with one trade keeps the first year simpler, because insurance, equipment, and training costs differ by trade. MDEQ also certifies asbestos and lead-paint abatement personnel and firms through a program separate from both septic and well work. Add that certification only if your services include abatement.

Step 2: Form your entity with the Secretary of State

Mississippi has no state general business license. Registering your entity with the Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Division, is a registration, not a license. Most owners start with an LLC. The Certificate of Formation costs $50 and is filed through the Secretary of State online portal at corp.sos.ms.gov. Documents paid for online are usually approved and filed immediately. Filings that need staff review are normally returned filed within 24 hours. The Secretary of State publishes no expedite fee for formation filings, so you do not need to pay for one.

Three rules catch first-time filers. First, the name must include “limited liability company,” “L.L.C.” or “LLC,” and it must be distinguishable on state records from other registered names. You can reserve a name for 180 days for $25. Second, every Mississippi LLC must keep a registered office with a physical Mississippi street address and a registered agent. The agent can be an individual Mississippi resident or an entity authorized to do business in Mississippi. A commercial registered agent files a listing statement with the Secretary of State for $100 and must accept or decline a representation within 14 days. A noncommercial agent is not registered with the state, but you must have the agent’s permission before you list them. Third, an LLC files its annual report online by April 15 every year. The LLC annual report (Form F0108) has no fee, but failure to file can lead to administrative dissolution.

If you choose a corporation, the Articles of Incorporation (Form F0001) cost $50, and the Corporate Annual Report (Form F0008) costs $25 each year, due April 15 for profit corporations. Corporations face different income and franchise tax rules than LLCs, so compare the two with a CPA before you file.

Step 3: Register a fictitious name if you will trade under a different name

If you plan to operate under a trade name that differs from your legal entity name, file a Fictitious Business Name Registration (Form F0070) for $25. You file it with the Secretary of State, Business Services Division, not with the county. Check the current fee schedule at the Secretary of State fee schedule.

Step 4: Register for taxes with the Department of Revenue

Businesses that make retail sales register with the Mississippi Department of Revenue for a sales tax permit. The Department describes the permit as the privilege of operating a business in Mississippi. The permit has no fee, but applicants with no permanent Mississippi location may need to post a bond. The state sales tax rate is 7%. There is no county add-on, and city levies apply only in Jackson and Tupelo. Whether your work is a taxable sale depends on how you bill each job, so confirm that with the Department or a CPA before you quote.

Your entity type also affects state tax. An LLC treated as a pass-through entity reports its income on its members’ Mississippi returns and pays no LLC-specific annual state tax. The franchise tax applies to corporations, including an LLC taxed as a corporation, but not to an LLC taxed as a partnership. For tax year 2026 it is $0.50 per $1,000 of capital above $100,000, with a $25 minimum, and it is repealed effective January 1, 2028. A corporation or an LLC taxed as a corporation also pays Mississippi corporate income tax at 0% on the first $5,000 of taxable income, 4% on the next $5,000, and 5% above $10,000.

Step 5: Get your local privilege license

Because the state issues no general business license, local government fills that role. Under Miss. Code 27-17, every city, town, and village issues its own privilege license. Counties license only businesses outside municipal limits. The license you need depends on where your office, shop, or yard sits. Call the city clerk in each city where you have a physical location, and ask whether your trade needs a privilege license and whether work in other cities requires one. Do not assume a county license covers you inside city limits. Fees vary by locality, so confirm each one with the local office.

Step 6: Earn MSDH septic installer certification

Under Miss. Code 41-67-25, MSDH certifies septic installers. The 2018 form, MSDH Form 347 (revised 7/2018), lays out the requirements as follows:

1. Get Form 347 from MSDH and confirm it is the current version, since the form is dated 2018.
2. Complete the 2-day MSDH training course, which ends with an exam.
3. Pay the $162.50 application fee, which covers the exam and study material.
4. Pass the exam.
5. Pay the $150 certification fee.
6. Carry general business liability insurance of $50,000 per occurrence and $100,000 aggregate.
7. Renew by June 30 each year with the required CEU/PDH hours. A late renewal carries a late fee equal to half the certification fee.

The fees above come from the 2018 form. Check current fees and the order of steps with MSDH before you budget.

Step 7: Earn MDEQ water well driller and pump installer licenses

MDEQ’s Office of Land and Water Resources licenses water well drillers. Choose the license that matches your work before you apply:

• A water well driller license for water supply wells.
• A restricted driller license for boreholes that are not water supply wells.
• A pump installer license, which is a separate credential if you install pumps.

Applicants pass a competency test given by the office or by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA). Licensed drillers must complete 4 hours of continuing education each year. Each drill rig must be registered. The MDEQ page lists a $100 initial fee and a $100 annual renewal fee. Those figures trace to a 2011 rule revision, so confirm current amounts with MDEQ before you budget.

Step 8: Add abatement certification only if your work needs it

MDEQ certifies asbestos and lead-paint abatement personnel and firms separately from septic and well credentials. If your services include removing or abating these materials, contact MDEQ about that certification. Do not assume your septic or well credential covers abatement work.

Step 9: Plan your hiring

Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, so you will work from federal wage rules when you set pay for your crew. Before you hire, ask MSDH and MDEQ which tasks require the credential holder to be on site, and whether crew members must hold their own credentials. The answer determines how you staff each job and how many certified people you need.

Step 10: Build one compliance calendar

Put every recurring date on one calendar on day one:

• April 15: LLC annual report (Form F0108, no fee), or corporate annual report (Form F0008, $25).
• June 30: MSDH septic installer renewal with CEU/PDH hours.
• MDEQ renewal date for water well driller and pump installer licenses: confirm with MDEQ.
• Local privilege license renewal dates, set by each city or county.
• Sales tax filing schedule, once you hold a Department of Revenue permit.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming one credential covers both septic work and well drilling.
• Filing an LLC without a registered agent who has a physical Mississippi street address.
• Filing a fictitious name with the county instead of the Secretary of State.
• Budgeting from the 2018 MSDH fees or the 2011-era MDEQ fees without checking current amounts.
• Skipping the local privilege license because you work from a truck or a home office.
• Letting general business liability insurance lapse, since MSDH requires it for certification.
• Running a drill rig before it is registered.
• Missing the April 15 annual report. The fee is zero, but the penalty can be administrative dissolution.

What results to expect

Completing these steps may put you in a position to bid on regulated septic and well work. It does not guarantee that you will win jobs, and no agency promises a timeline for training, exams, or license approval. Online Secretary of State filings are usually processed quickly, while training schedules, exam dates, and license processing depend on the agency. Ask each agency about current timelines before you pick a launch date. Keeping to one trade and one service area at first can make the compliance calendar easier to manage.

Next steps

Start with the Secretary of State filing, because the rest of your paperwork depends on your legal name. Then contact MSDH or MDEQ for the trade credential you need, and visit the city or county offices where you will work. Confirm every fee and date in this article with the agency that sets it, and have an attorney and a CPA review your entity and tax setup before you open for business.

Official resources

• Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services
• Mississippi Secretary of State business entity search
• Mississippi Department of Revenue

The MSDH and MDEQ pages are not linked here. Find their current certification and licensing pages through the state’s official websites and confirm every fee in this article there.