Pre-purchase sewer scope checklist

A step-by-step checklist for getting a sewer scope done before you buy: what to ask, what to confirm, and what to keep once you've closed.

A sewer scope is a small line item next to the price of the house, and it is easy to get wrong on process rather than on cost: the wrong inspector, a verbal summary instead of the footage, or a report that turns up after your window has closed. This is the sequence, in order, from before you request a quote to after you've closed.

Step	Do this
1	Find out if the property has a cleanout, before you call anyone
2	Decide standalone, or added to your home inspection
3	Don't assume a home inspection already includes it
4	Vet the inspector, and require footage over a verdict
5	Confirm the timeline against your own contract
6	Know what you're looking at before you watch the footage
7	Weigh your property's own risk factors
8	Get a second opinion, and keep the report after closing

1. Find out if there's a cleanout, before you call anyone

A cleanout is a capped pipe that gives a plumber direct access to the line without creating a new opening. Whether the property has one changes how the job is quoted, so it is worth checking before you request quotes rather than after. See where to look and what it means for your quote.

2. Decide standalone, or added to your home inspection

A sewer scope can be booked on its own or added when you book your general home inspection. Both are normal; weigh your own timeline and your inspector's quote for each before choosing. See the published cost structure for both.

3. Don't assume a home inspection already includes it

Ask the inspector directly whether the quote already covers the sewer line, rather than assuming either way. National franchises handle this differently from each other, and even offices under the same brand can differ. See what three national franchises' own sites say about this.

4. Vet the inspector, and require footage over a verdict

Licence, equipment, turnaround time, and whether they hand over the recorded footage rather than only a verbal verdict are all worth checking before you compare quotes. A report you can't show to a second opinion is not much of a report. See the full pre-booking checklist.

5. Confirm the timeline against your own contract

If this is a purchase, your contract sets your own timeline for inspections, not a general rule this site can state for you. Confirm with your agent what your specific window is, and confirm with the inspector that they can turn the report around inside it, before you book.

6. Know what you're looking at before you watch the footage

Root intrusion, cracks and offsets, bellies where the line has sagged, and the pipe material itself all mean different things, and clay, cast iron and Orangeburg fail in different ways. Knowing the difference before you watch turns the footage into information rather than noise. See the full breakdown of what a sewer camera finds.

7. Weigh your property's own risk factors

An older build, mature trees nearby, a property that has sat vacant, a flip, or any mention of past plumbing work or backups all raise the stakes on the same job. See the full list of situations where skipping it is a real risk before deciding either way.

8. Get a second opinion, and keep the report after closing

If the scope finds a problem, ask what kind of repair is being recommended and get a second opinion on anything you weren't expecting, rather than treating the first figure you hear as the only one available. For what individual plumbing repairs typically run, see the published repair cost table.

Once you've closed, file the footage and the written report. You may want it again: for insurance, for your own future sale disclosure, or as a record if something the scope flagged as worth monitoring later needs attention.