Private well guide

Well Water in Kentucky: Testing, Rules, Labs and Licensed Contractors

176,269 households in Kentucky get their water from a private well. Here is what the state requires, where to get it tested, and who is licensed to work on it.

Find a certified labLicensed contractorsPick my county
72Licensed contractorschecked against state records
17Certified labsfrom the state certified list
120Counties covered
176,269Households on wells10% of households (est.)

About 176,000 Kentucky households, one in ten, get their water from a private well, and many more in the Bluegrass and the mountains still rely on springs and cisterns. Kentucky has a short list of certified drillers, a superb public well database and no rule at all about testing the water, which makes the yearly bacteria test through your county health department the most important thing on this page.

Who is in charge of a Kentucky well

The Division of Water’s Groundwater Section certifies water well drillers under KRS 223 and writes the construction standards in 401 KAR 6:310. There is no permit and no fee for a household well, but every bit of work on it, from drilling to plugging, must be done by a certified driller, who files a well record with the Division and gives you a copy within 60 days. Those records go to the Kentucky Geological Survey’s Groundwater Data Repository, where anyone can look up the depth, casing, static water level and driller of more than 100,000 wells. Water quality belongs to you: the Division of Water certifies the laboratories, and the Department for Public Health’s laboratory in Frankfort tests private well and cistern samples that the local health departments collect.

What is required, and what is left to you

A certified driller, construction to the state standard, and the well record. Kentucky does not require a test of private well water when the well is new or when the house is sold. The Division of Water’s advice is a coliform bacteria test every year and a chemistry check every few years, and in karst country a retest after heavy rain. Cisterns and springs need the same yearly test, and cisterns need it more often.

At a glance

Water test for a new wellNot required statewide

No statewide water test and no permit or fee for a household well. All work on a well, including plugging it, must be done by a Kentucky certified water well driller to the 401 KAR 6:310 construction standards (grouted casing, sanitary well cap, 50 ft from a septic tank and 70 ft from a drainfield), and the driller must file the well record with the Division of Water and give you a copy within 60 days. A few local health departments ask for a bacteria sample on a new well; lenders usually do.

Water test when a home is soldNot required statewide

No statewide requirement. The Kentucky seller's disclosure form asks whether the water source is a well, spring or cistern and whether there are known problems, nothing more. FHA, VA and USDA loans normally require a bacteria, nitrate and lead sample from a certified lab before closing.

What the state recommends

The Division of Water recommends testing a private well, spring or cistern every year for coliform bacteria, and every few years for nitrate, pH, hardness, iron, manganese, lead and copper. Add arsenic in the Jackson Purchase and western coal field, hydrogen sulfide and metals in the eastern coal field, radon in the Bluegrass and Pennyroyal limestone, and test again after flooding, well work or a change in taste, color or smell. Karst wells and springs in the Pennyroyal and Bluegrass should be retested after heavy rain.

Free or low-cost testingAvailable

No statewide free program. Most county and district health departments will collect a private well or cistern sample and send it to the state Division of Laboratory Services in Frankfort for total coliform and E. coli, for a sampling fee of about $50; call the environmental office of your local health department to schedule. UK Cooperative Extension offices run periodic screening events in some counties.

What the water is like

Kentucky’s groundwater follows its five regions. The Bluegrass around Lexington sits on thin, tight limestone: wells are shallow, yields are small and unreliable, the water is hard, and sinkholes carry surface water and bacteria straight down, which is why cisterns are so common there. The Pennyroyal (Mississippian Plateau) that wraps around the south and west is classic karst, Mammoth Cave country: better yields from 100 to 300 feet, hard water, and the same fast pathway for bacteria and cloudy water after storms. The eastern and western coal fields drill into sandstone and shale for 100 to 250 feet; the water is often soft and acidic, carries iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide, and near mines can pick up sulfate, metals and methane. The Jackson Purchase west of the Tennessee River is Coastal Plain sand and gravel, with shallow wells that run high in iron and, in farm country, nitrate. Bacteria is the test most Kentucky wells fail, everywhere.

Certified labs and the state laboratory

The Division of Water certifies drinking water laboratories for public water system compliance, and the commercial list is short: a dozen or so in-state labs, concentrated in Louisville, Lexington, Madisonville and eastern Kentucky, several of which run the full homeowner panel and mail bottles. The state Division of Laboratory Services in Frankfort does the bacteria test on private samples that your county or district health department collects for a sampling fee, which is the usual route for the yearly check. Every lab below comes from the 2025 certified list, with the tests each is certified to run.

17 certified labs

See all 17 certified labs in Kentucky

Certified water well drillers

Kentucky certifies the individual, not the company, and it certifies drillers only: there is no separate pump installer license, so the driller who builds the well also sets the pump. The profiles below are built from the Division of Water’s active certified driller map, grouped under the business each driller works for, with the certificate numbers shown. Companies that appear in the Division’s printed directory from November 2025 but not on the active map are listed with an unknown status; call the Division to confirm before hiring. Where the Groundwater Data Repository has records under a company’s certificate prefix, the profile shows how many wells it has filed since 2010 and where.

72 licensed contractors

See all 72 licensed contractors in Kentucky

By county

Well use runs from almost nobody in Jefferson, Fayette and Clark counties to half of homes in Carlisle, Wolfe, Elliott, Knott and Morgan and nearly 60% in Lawrence. Each county page carries its well population, the typical depth of household wells in the state repository, the nearest certified labs and the certified drillers based there.

Kentucky well water questions

Do I need a permit to drill a well in Kentucky?

No. Kentucky requires no permit and charges no fee for a private well, but the driller must hold a Division of Water certificate and must file the well record within 60 days. Some local health departments want a bacteria sample before the well is used.

Is a water test required when I sell my house?

No. Kentucky has no statewide requirement. Government-backed mortgages require a bacteria, nitrate and lead test before closing, so most sales include one anyway.

How do I find the record for my well?

Search the Kentucky Geological Survey’s water well and spring records database by county, owner or map location. Records go back to 1985, when drillers were first required to file them, and show depth, casing, static water level, yield and the driller.

Where do I get my well water tested?

Call the environmental office of your county or district health department: most will collect a sample for about $50 and send it to the state laboratory for coliform and E. coli. For nitrate, metals, radon, VOCs or a lender’s panel, use a certified commercial lab below; most mail bottles.

Can I still hire someone to fix my pump?

Yes. Pump work that does not open or modify the well itself is not restricted, and the Division of Water treats pump replacement as part of the certified driller’s work. Any work on the casing, screen or seal, and plugging an old well, must be done by a certified driller.