Someone Asked for Your DEP Permit Number. Here's How to Find It, What It Looks Like, and How to Answer If You Don't Have One
The questionnaire came from a big customer, and most of it was easy. Insurance certificates, W-9, quality certifications, done. Then there's a line that says "PA DEP permit number" or "list all environmental permits held by this facility," and nobody in the office knows the answer. Maybe the plant manager who handled it left years ago. Maybe there was never a permit to begin with. Either way, the customer wants an answer, and guessing isn't a good option.
Most of the time, the number a customer is after is your stormwater permit number. You can usually find it by searching DEP's eFACTS database for your company or facility, or by digging out an old DEP approval letter, your PPC Plan, or your consultant's files. PAG-03 stormwater coverage numbers typically start with "PAR," No Exposure Certifications with "NOEX," and individual NPDES permits with "PA0." If you can't find one, that may mean your business doesn't need one, or it may mean coverage is missing. This article focuses mostly on stormwater, since it's the permit most often missing when these questions come up, but we also touch on air, waste, and tank registrations a questionnaire may be asking about. If you'd like help sorting out what your facility has and needs, reach out to RMA.
Table of Contents
TL;DR
When a customer asks for your PA DEP permit number, they usually mean your stormwater permit. Search DEP's eFACTS database by company or facility name, or check old DEP approval letters, your PPC Plan, eDMR records, and consultant files. Stormwater coverage numbers typically start with PAR for PAG-03, NOEX for a No Exposure Certification, or PA0 for an individual permit. If you can't find one, figure out whether your type of business and outdoor activity required one, then answer the questionnaire accurately instead of guessing.
Why Customers Ask for Your PA DEP Permit Number on Supplier Questionnaires
Large manufacturers, retailers, and government buyers vet their suppliers more closely than they used to. Supplier questionnaires and audits now routinely include environmental sections, partly because buyers have their own sustainability and risk reporting to do, and partly because a supplier shut down by an enforcement action is a supply chain problem. Asking for permit numbers is a quick way for a buyer to check that you're on DEP's radar in the ways you should be.
The question is often written by someone who isn't an environmental specialist, so it can be vague. "Provide your DEP permit number" assumes every facility has exactly one, which isn't true. Some facilities have several permits from different DEP programs. Some have none because their operations don't require any. The customer usually isn't trying to trip you up. They want a complete, accurate answer they can file.
Stormwater is the permit these questions most often turn up as missing. Air permits and waste registrations tend to get noticed when equipment is installed or waste is shipped. Industrial stormwater coverage depends on what kind of business you are and what's sitting outside, so it's easy to go years without anyone realizing it applies.
What PA DEP Stormwater Permit Numbers Look Like
Industrial stormwater in Pennsylvania falls under the NPDES program, the Clean Water Act permit system that DEP runs under the Clean Streams Law and 25 Pa. Code Chapter 92a. There are three ways a facility can be covered, and each has its own number format. Our article on general, individual, and No Exposure permits explains the differences in more detail.
| Type of Stormwater Coverage |
Typical Number Format |
What It Means |
| PAG-03 General Permit coverage |
PAR followed by digits (for example, PAR123456) |
Your facility is covered under Pennsylvania's standard industrial stormwater permit |
| No Exposure Certification |
NOEX followed by digits (for example, NOEX123456) |
DEP accepted that your industrial activities aren't exposed to stormwater |
| Individual NPDES permit |
PA0 followed by digits (for example, PA0123456) |
Your facility has a permit written specifically for it |
You may also run into two other DEP numbers, a Client ID and a Site ID. These are internal tracking numbers DEP assigns to companies and locations once they've dealt with the agency. They're useful for searching eFACTS, but they aren't permit numbers, and they don't mean you have stormwater coverage. If a questionnaire asks for a permit number, don't send a Client ID in its place.
Also watch for numbers that look official but answer a different question. A PAG-02 number from site construction, a township stormwater approval for the building, or a sewer authority discharge permit are all real, but none of them is industrial stormwater coverage for your operations.
How to Search eFACTS for Your PA DEP Permit Number
eFACTS is DEP's free public database of permits, inspections, and enforcement, and it's the fastest way to find a number you can't locate in your files. You don't need an account. The search screens are a bit dated, so expect some trial and error.
If you know or suspect a number, use the authorization search and enter it directly. If you don't, start with a client search using your company's legal name. Try variations, including any former business names, a parent company, or a name with and without "Inc." or "LLC," since records are often filed under whatever name was on the original application. You can also run a site or facility search by name, or search sites by county and municipality and scan the results for your address.
Once you find your company or site, open the record and look at the authorizations listed. Each one shows a program, a permit or authorization number, a status, and key dates. For stormwater, look for an NPDES authorization with one of the formats in the table above. Check three things before you put it on a questionnaire: that it's in your company's name, that it's for this facility, and that the status is current. An expired or terminated authorization doesn't count as coverage today.
If eFACTS shows nothing, that's useful information, but it isn't the final word. Name mismatches and new approvals can hide records. Before you conclude anything, check the other places a number might be, or call the clean water program at the DEP regional office that covers your county and ask.
Other Places to Find Your Stormwater Permit Number
If you had coverage at some point, the number is probably sitting in a file somewhere. The most likely spot is DEP's approval letter, the document DEP sends when it approves PAG-03 coverage or a No Exposure Certification. It shows your company as permittee or operator, the coverage number, and the dates. Check environmental, safety, and facilities files, and anything labeled "DEP," "NPDES," or "stormwater."
Your PPC Plan is another good place to look. PAG-03 coverage requires a PPC Plan (Preparedness, Prevention and Contingency Plan), and most list the permit number on the cover or in the first few pages. If you find a PPC Plan binder in a maintenance office, there's a good chance the number is inside. Our comparison of SWPPPs and PPC Plans for PAG-03 explains what one looks like.
eDMR records are a strong clue too. PAG-03 permittees report sampling results through DEP's electronic Discharge Monitoring Report system, and every submission is tied to the permit number. If someone at your company has an eDMR login, ask them. Our guide to Pennsylvania eDMR reporting explains the system. Also check files from any environmental consultant you've used, lab reports for stormwater samples (which often reference the permit), DEP inspection reports, and accounts payable records, since PAG-03 coverage carries a $500 annual DEP fee that someone has been paying.
Other PA DEP Environmental Permits a Questionnaire May Ask About
When a questionnaire asks for "all environmental permits," stormwater may not be the only answer. A few other programs commonly show up at industrial facilities. Air emission sources such as boilers, spray booths, and dust collectors may have DEP plan approvals or operating permits, or a local air program permit in Philadelphia or Allegheny County. Facilities that generate hazardous waste usually have a 12-character EPA identification number starting with "PA." Aboveground tanks over 250 gallons and underground tanks over 110 gallons that hold regulated substances must be registered with DEP by the tank owner. Many of these will also show up in your eFACTS record.
Some things questionnaires ask about aren't permits at all. An SPCC Plan for oil storage is a federal plan you keep on site, not a permit with a number. Tier II chemical inventory reports are annual filings, not permits. If the questionnaire lumps everything together, it's fine to list these separately and label them for what they are. Our article on the difference between an SPCC Plan and a stormwater plan explains how the two fit together.
What If You Don't Have a PA DEP Stormwater Permit Number?
If you've searched eFACTS and your files and come up empty, the next question is whether you were supposed to have one. Industrial stormwater coverage depends on three things. The first is your type of business, identified by SIC code, since federal rules list the industrial categories that need coverage. The second is whether industrial materials and activities are exposed to rain and snow. The third is where your runoff goes. Our guides on who needs a stormwater permit and stormwater associated with industrial activity walk through how to apply those tests.
Plenty of businesses don't need coverage. General warehouses, body shops, dealerships, quick-lubes, and most contractors usually fall outside the covered categories. Trucking and bus operations are covered only for their vehicle maintenance, equipment cleaning, and fueling-related areas. Steel service centers are often classified as wholesale and aren't covered. If that's you, the honest answer to the questionnaire is that no stormwater permit is required.
If you're in a covered category, things change. A manufacturer that keeps every industrial activity and material indoors usually still needs a No Exposure Certification, which has to be approved by DEP and renewed every five years. A covered facility with outdoor storage, loading, fueling, or processing usually needs PAG-03 coverage, or an individual permit if it discharges to High Quality or Exceptional Value waters. In older cities with combined sewers, like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, some runoff goes to a treatment plant instead of a stream, and the local sewer authority's rules may apply instead of, or alongside, DEP coverage. Check with your sewer authority before assuming either way.
If you realize you've been operating without coverage you needed, take it seriously without panicking. Start the application process promptly. Depending on how long it's been and what's on the site, it may make sense to talk with an environmental attorney before you decide how to approach DEP, especially if a customer audit has put the issue in writing.
How to Answer a Supplier Questionnaire About Environmental Permits
The worst answer on a questionnaire is a guess. Customers file these responses, and some follow up with audits or site visits. A number that turns out to belong to someone else, or a "yes" that turns out to be wrong, causes more damage than a careful "not applicable." Here's how we'd answer in each situation.
| Your Situation |
How to Answer |
| You found a current permit in your company's name |
List the number, type of coverage, and expiration date |
| Your business isn't in a covered category |
State that industrial stormwater coverage isn't required for your operations, with your SIC code |
| You're still confirming whether coverage applies |
Say you're reviewing applicability and give a date for an update |
| You need coverage and are applying |
Say an application is in progress and give a realistic timeline |
| The questionnaire asks about permits that don't apply |
Mark them "not applicable" with a short reason, rather than leaving them blank |
Keep your answers short and factual. You don't need to explain your regulatory history on a supplier form, and if there's a real compliance gap, sort out the facts before you put anything in writing. If the deadline is tight, it's fine to ask the customer for a little more time. Most buyers would rather have a correct answer next week than a wrong one today.
Once you have a clean answer, save it. Put the permit numbers, expiration dates, and a one-paragraph summary of your environmental permits somewhere easy to find. The next questionnaire will ask the same things, and you'll answer it in five minutes.
What Stormwater Coverage Costs If You Need It
If your search shows you need stormwater coverage, the DEP fees for PAG-03 are $500 to apply and $500 per year. The larger cost is preparing what the permit requires, like the site evaluation, mapping, PPC Plan, and application. For a relatively straightforward facility, professional help with the full application typically runs about $5,000 to $10,000, and ongoing compliance support usually runs about $3,000 to $6,000 per year. An individual permit costs more. Some businesses handle a simple No Exposure Certification or even a PAG-03 application themselves, and our article on whether you can get a PAG-03 permit yourself looks at when that makes sense.
Our article on how much a PAG-03 permit costs in Pennsylvania breaks the numbers down further. For an estimate specific to your facility, our free calculator below shows what RMA's help with stormwater permitting would cost, with no email or sales call required.
How RMA Helps When a Customer Asks for Your PA DEP Permit Number
We're a family-run environmental consulting firm based in New Jersey, and we work with facilities across Pennsylvania on industrial stormwater. When a customer questionnaire lands on your desk, we can help you track down what you have, figure out whether you need PAG-03 coverage, a No Exposure Certification, or nothing at all, and sort out which other environmental programs apply to your site. If you need coverage, we can evaluate your facility, prepare the PPC Plan and application, work through DEP's review, and help with the inspections, sampling, and eDMR reporting that follow. Senior staff do the work, and if you don't need us, we'll say so.
There's no pressure and no obligation. Call us, send an email, or fill out the form on our website, and we'll talk through what your customer asked and what makes sense for your facility. If you've got a questionnaire due and a blank line where the permit number should go, get in touch with RMA.
