Updated August 2026
Filing a septic system with Island Health
Nanaimo Septic Systems files your septic system with Island Health, because in British Columbia a system is filed, not permitted. We file a Record of Sewerage System before we start construction, and a Letter of Certification within 30 days of finishing. The Regional District of Nanaimo wants that filing as a supporting document on your building permit application, for any property with no municipal connection.
Updated August 2026
An Authorized Person files your system with Island Health and signs for it, and that is who carries the responsibility for it working.
A filing is a record of a sewerage system lodged with the health authority by an Authorized Person, rather than a permission granted by that authority.
The filing is one part of what a new system involves.
A filing, not a permit
Onsite systems are governed by the Sewerage System Regulation, B.C. Reg. 326/2004, made under the Public Health Act. Under that regulation the work is recorded with the health authority rather than approved by it. No official approves the design before construction, and no inspector signs off the finished system.
Who is allowed to file
Two categories of Authorized Person exist. One is a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner: registered with ASTTBC, able to file Type 1 and Type 2 systems up to 9,100 litres a day. The other is a Professional — an engineer or geoscientist registered with a recognized professional association — who can file any system type, Type 3 included, at any flow. If you want to build the system yourself, an Authorized Person still has to supervise the work.
| Authorized Person | System types | Flow limit |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner (ASTTBC) | Type 1 and Type 2 | Under 9,100 L/day |
| Professional (engineer or geoscientist) | Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 | Higher flows |
| Property owner | Construction only, under supervision | Not applicable |
What Island Health does, and what it does not do
Island Health does not approve the sewerage system design, and does not routinely review filing documents for their technical merit. What it checks is that a filing meets minimum submission criteria — that the form is complete, the plans are present, and a scaled site plan is included. Responsibility for whether the system works rests with the Authorized Person who signed it.
What gets submitted, and when
Before construction: the Record of Sewerage System, plans and specifications, a scaled site plan, and any covenants, easements or hydrogeological reports that apply to the parcel. Within 30 days of finishing construction: a Letter of Certification, an as-built diagram, and a maintenance plan for the system as built. Those three documents are what a future buyer, inspector or lender will ask you for.
| Distance | Measured from | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| 30 m | A well supplying a domestic water system | Province of British Columbia |
| 15 m | A well, for a holding tank | Province of British Columbia |
| 30 m | Natural boundary of tidal and non-tidal water | Island Health subdivision standards |
| 3 m | A parcel boundary | Island Health subdivision standards |
| 3 m | A building | Island Health subdivision standards |
| 15 m | A breakout point | Island Health subdivision standards |
| 0.46 m to 1.2 m | Minimum soil depth, by soil type, slope and water supply | Island Health subdivision standards |
The 30 m and 15 m well separations are provincial requirements applying to systems filed after 25 June 2010, and may be varied by a professional competent in hydrogeology. The remaining distances are drawn from Island Health's published subdivision standards rather than from the regulation itself. Confirm current figures with the Authorized Person for any specific property.
Where the building permit fits
The septic filing and the building permit are separate processes with separate authorities. The Regional District of Nanaimo's building permit application checklist requires a septic filing accepted by Island Health for any property not connected to a municipal system. In the District of Lantzville the building permit comes from the District instead, while the septic filing still goes to Island Health.
The filing sequence
- 1
Assessment and design — an Authorized Person logs the soil, measures the setbacks and designs to what the site supports.
- 2
Record of Sewerage System filed — plans, specifications and a scaled site plan lodged with Island Health before excavation.
- 3
Construction — the system built to the filed design.
- 4
Letter of Certification — filed within 30 days of completion with an as-built diagram and a maintenance plan.
Filing connects to two other things: an inspection of an existing system and what the work costs.
Septic service in Lantzville is covered separately.
We handle the filing as part of the job, from the design through to the Letter of Certification. To have the filing handled from the start, get a site assessment booked.