Septic System Excavation

In New Brunswick, a septic system is installed by a provincially licensed installer, and this page is about the digging that goes with it. Under the On-site Sewage Disposal System Regulation (2009-137), anyone who installs, constructs, repairs or replaces a system, or runs a business doing that, needs a licence from the province.

Here is how it works. Property owners get approval by having a licensed installer apply for them. The installer pays a $150 application fee for approval of the design and location, and the application includes the soil conditions found in a test pit inspection. Work can start only after a provincial inspector has approved the application, and the finished system must be inspected and approved before it is covered.

Within 10 days of covering, the installer gives you the plan and operating instructions. The province's pages sit under Justice and Public Safety and Health Protection Services, so do not expect a town permit for the system itself.

An excavation contractor can dig the test pits, the tank hole and the field when the licensed installer arranges it. An excavator does not install your system, and you cannot install your own.

The usual site rules still apply: locates with Info-Excavation and NB Power, trench walls shored or sloped when workers go in 1.2 m or deeper, and a WAWA permit before any ground disturbance within 30 m of a watercourse or wetland.

Few prices are published. A national guide read in September 2026 put septic excavation alone at about $3,000 to $12,000 and a full conventional system at about $10,000 to $25,000. No Atlantic breakdown was found.