TankCheck / Guides

Guide 07 — Records offices

UST records lookup by state — all 50 program offices

The EPA snapshot answers 'what's near this address' in seconds, but the live, legally current record for any tank or leak case lives with the state program. This page lists every one of them. Screen first, then verify here.

How to use this page

Run your address through the free screening first — it gives you facility IDs, leak case IDs, distances, and statuses from the national snapshot. Then take those IDs to the state office below to pull the current file: registration details, inspection history, closure reports, and for leak cases the assessments and plume maps. Most states now run public document portals or online tank databases; the rest answer public-records requests, usually free for a single file.

A note on scope: state UST programs regulate commercial-scale tanks. Residential heating-oil tanks are exempt from registration in most states, so for houses also check the local building department and fire marshal permit files — the free-lookup guide walks through that.

The 50-state (+DC, PR) UST program directory

What to ask for

• For a tank facility: the registration record (tank count, sizes, substances, install dates), the latest compliance inspection, and any closure reports for removed tanks.
• For a leak case: the case file — initial report, site characterization, remediation records, monitoring data, and the closure ("No Further Action") letter if issued. The most recent groundwater monitoring map is the single most informative page.
• For a property with no records: ask both the UST program and the state spill line whether anything exists under historical addresses or prior facility names — renumbered streets hide files surprisingly often.

Program names drift as agencies reorganize; if a link has moved, search the agency name plus "underground storage tank." Every office on this list has a public-records duty — persistence pays.

Reading a state tank file like a pro

Once the file arrives, triage it in this order. Registration page first: tank count, sizes, substances, and install dates — a 1985 single-wall steel tank still listed as active is itself a finding. Then the compliance history: recent inspections with no violations suggest a well-run facility; repeated leak-detection violations are the classic precursor to a release. Then closures: every removed tank should have a closure report, and post-1990 closures should include soil sample results. Finally, cross-reference the facility ID against the leak-case index — states file tanks and releases in separate systems, and the connection between them is exactly what a screening layer like TankCheck pre-assembles for you. Twenty minutes with these four sections beats most paid database summaries.

Frequently asked questions

Are state UST records free to access?

Almost always. Most states run free public lookup portals for tank registrations and leak cases, and the rest respond to public-records requests at little or no cost for single files. Commercial data vendors charge for convenience and multi-database aggregation, not for access rights.

Why does the state database show tanks that TankCheck doesn't?

The national EPA snapshot was compiled from state data between 2018 and 2021, so tanks registered, removed, or newly leaking since then appear only in the live state system. The reverse also happens: some historical records exist in the snapshot but have been reorganized in state systems. The state file is always the authoritative version.

Who regulates home heating-oil tanks?

Generally not the federal UST program — residential tanks under 1,100 gallons are exempt from registration in most states. Some states (among them New Jersey, New York, and Maine) layer their own rules on residential tanks, and nearly everywhere the local building or fire department permits installations and removals. Start local for houses, start with the state for commercial sites.