Selling a House With a Well: FHA and VA Well Test Requirements, and How to Prepare

What does FHA require for a well?

The rules are in HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (last revised August 12, 2026), section II.A.3.a.ii(N). The main points for a seller:

• Water quality. The water must meet the local or state health authority's standard, or the EPA's drinking water rules where there is none.
• When a test is required. For new construction, when the appraiser reports a problem with the well or the water, when the water is known or reported to be unsafe, and near dumps, landfills, industrial sites, or farms. The appraiser section adds intensive farming, mining or gas drilling, or a gas station or dry cleaner within a quarter mile, and water that tastes, smells, or looks bad.
• Who takes the sample. A disinterested third party: the health department, a commercial lab, a licensed sanitary engineer, or someone the health department accepts. The buyer, the owner, and anyone else with a stake in the sale may never collect or carry the sample.
• How old the test can be. No more than 180 days old at closing.
• Flow. An existing well must deliver a continuous flow of at least three gallons per minute.
• Distances. At least 10 feet from the property line, 50 feet from the septic tank, and 100 feet from the drain field (75 feet if local rules allow), or the local distances if they are greater.
• Chlorinators. A property whose water source includes a mechanical chlorinator, a spring, a lake, a sand-point well, or an artesian well is not eligible for FHA insurance.

One change in 2026 helps sellers with older lots. In a waiver granted July 24, 2026, HUD lets an existing home skip the FHA distance table when the well meets local distance rules and the lender has acceptable water test results. Many guides online still quote the old rules, so send your buyer's lender to the current handbook if a question comes up.

What does a VA loan require for a well?

VA's minimum property rules, in VA Pamphlet 26-7, chapter 12, follow the same pattern. The water must meet the local health authority's standard, then the state's, then the EPA's. A disinterested third party must collect, transport, and test the sample, and the veteran may never handle it. VA's 2017 circular on water testing set the rule that the test is valid for 90 days from the date the local health authority certifies it, unless that authority says otherwise. That is shorter than FHA's 180 days, so time the test with the closing date in mind.

USDA and conventional loans

USDA's single family handbook, HB-1-3555, chapter 12, requires a water quality test for a home on its own well and accepts treatment systems. Conventional loans are lighter. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide (June 2025) asks the appraiser to confirm the utilities meet community standards and, for a well off the property, a legally binding access and maintenance agreement. It has no automatic water test, but a lender can ask for one when the appraiser flags a hazard nearby.

Which states require a well test when you sell?

• New Jersey. The Private Well Testing Act makes a well test a condition of every sale, and title cannot close until buyer and seller have both seen the results. The New Jersey health department (January 2023) lists the panel, from total coliform and E. coli to nitrate, lead, arsenic, and PFAS, and puts the average cost at $1,250.
• Oregon. ORS 448.271 requires the seller, on accepting an offer, to test the well for arsenic, nitrates, and total coliform, and to send the results to the state and the buyer within 90 days.
• Rhode Island. The state's private well rules require a test on raw, untreated water before a sale or transfer.
• Connecticut and others. Connecticut requires no test at sale; the seller must tell the buyer that state well-testing information is available.

Disclosure laws reach further than testing laws. Maine requires the seller to disclose the type of water system, any malfunctions, the date of the most recent water test, and any bad result. Minnesota requires the seller to disclose every well on the property before a purchase agreement is signed. Ask your agent which form your state uses.

What if the well fails the coliform test?

This is the result that stalls closings, and it is the most fixable. New Jersey's first five years of sale tests (2008 report) found total coliform in 13 percent of 51,028 wells, and fecal coliform or E. coli in 2.2 percent. The state notes that many total coliform positives come from the plumbing, not from waste. Total coliform means surface water is getting in somewhere, usually through a loose cap, a casing that sits too low, or ground that slopes toward the well, as our coliform guide explains. An E. coli result is more serious; read our E. coli guide before anyone drinks the water.

1. Fix the opening: a sealed, vermin-proof cap and ground that slopes away.
2. Treat the whole system, well and plumbing, following how to treat a well.
3. Flush until no chlorine is left. UGA Extension (revised 2012) says to wait one to two weeks after the treatment before the bacteria retest, and labs can reject a sample with chlorine still in it.
4. Have the retest taken by the third party the loan requires, and give the passing report to the buyer's lender.

Our kit sizes the treatment to your well's gallons and includes a bacteria test for before and one for after, so you can check the result yourself before the official retest. Nitrate, arsenic, and other chemical failures are different: a treatment does nothing for them, and the answer is a treatment system priced into the deal. Our well water testing guide reads each line of a lab report.

How to prepare your well before you list

1. Find the well record. Our well lookup finds the drilling record from your address. If there is none, see how to find your well depth without a record.
2. Gather the paperwork. Past water tests, pump and tank service receipts, and any shared well agreement.
3. Walk the wellhead. The cap should be tight and the casing above the ground, with the ground sloping away. Fixing a cap now is cheaper than fixing it under a deadline.
4. Test before you list. A bacteria test months ahead gives you time to treat and retest without a buyer waiting. A failed test you find yourself is a repair; one the buyer finds is a negotiation.
5. Get a flow test on file. The Oregon State University Well Water Program says 5 gallons per minute is generally accepted as adequate, and suggests that sellers who list in winter keep a dry-season flow test on file.

What a well inspection costs

HomeAdvisor (June 2026) puts the average well inspection at $450, in a range of $300 to $600, with water testing adding $100 to $350. The Well Guide (April 2026) lists $250 to $550 for a standard inspection. Both are commercial cost guides. A state-required panel can cost more: New Jersey's averages $1,250.

Buying instead of selling?

The other side of the sale is in our guide to a well inspection when buying a house. Once the sale closes, the well maintenance checklist is the new owner's first year.