Under contract on a house with a private well? Nobody tests a private well for you. This printable checklist helps you ask the right questions before closing: which water tests to ask about, what to ask the seller, what to point out to your inspector or well contractor, and what to do if a result comes back high.
Tests to ask about: EPA's annual baseline (total coliform, nitrate, total dissolved solids, pH) plus EPA's table of local conditions and the tests to consider (lead, arsenic and metals, radon, VOCs, and more).
Federal reference numbers: EPA limits for common well contaminants, with EPA's own health-effects wording and the pending PFAS changes.
Questions for the seller: a 13-question worksheet (well type and depth, construction records, past tests, treatment equipment, pump, flooding, septic, tanks, old wells).
Walk-around notes: things EPA tells well owners to watch for, framed as questions for your home inspector or a licensed well contractor (not a do-it-yourself inspection).
If a result is high: EPA's steps: contact your health department, re-test at a certified lab, ask about options.
Where to get help: EPA's directories of state private-well programs and state-certified labs, a glossary, and a fill-in test plan and results worksheet.
Sources page: every number cites an EPA page with the date we checked it.
What it isn't
It's general educational information, not home-inspection, real-estate, legal, medical, or laboratory advice. It doesn't replace a certified lab, a home inspection, a well contractor, your health department, or your attorney or agent, and it doesn't advise on contracts or negotiations. It has no affiliate links.