Cohasset updated its Title 5 supplemental regulations in October 2024. With harbors, ponds and a public water supply to protect, the town's rules are among the strictest on the South Shore.
Title 5 inspections in Cohasset
Standard Title 5
$425- Required for home sales and transfers
- Town records and water usage pulled for you
- Report filed with your Board of Health
Confidential System Evaluation
$500- Full camera inspection of the lines
- Private report to you. Nothing filed with the town
- Find problems on your own timeline, before you list
Not an official Title 5 inspection. It can't be used for a sale or transfer.
Cohasset rules that go beyond state Title 5
- The septic tank must be pumped at every inspection.
- A qualified soil evaluator must do a deep hole test at every inspection, unless there's high-groundwater documentation dated after 1995.
- The report must be submitted to and accepted by the Board of Health before it's released to the owner.
- Where town sewer is available, a failed system, or a property being sold, must disconnect from septic and tie into the sewer within 60 days unless a variance is granted.
- Land within 400 ft of Little Harbor, the Gulf River, Straits Pond, Lily Pond, the Aaron River Reservoir and other listed waters is nitrogen-sensitive and needs a nitrogen-reducing design.
What this means for you
Cohasset inspections take longer from start to finished report, because of pumping, the soil evaluator and Board of Health acceptance. If you're selling, get it scheduled as soon as you decide to list.
Cohasset Board of Health
Cohasset Public Health Department
Town Hall, 41 Highland Avenue, Cohasset, MA 02025
Phone: 781-383-4100
Septic and Title 5 information from the town
Summarized from the town's published regulations as of September 2026. Rules change, so always confirm current requirements with the Board of Health.
If your Cohasset system needs work
A failed inspection or a Conditional Pass isn't the end of the road. J. Bean Excavation handles septic repairs and full replacements, working with your engineer and the Cohasset Board of Health. We also do drainage and land clearing.
Have questions first? See the Title 5 FAQ.