Soil Consultants

Educational Requirements

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in soil science, agronomy, and/or agriculture with emphasis in plant and soil science or agronomy, or, graduation from an accredited college or university with a minimum of 20 semester hours in biological, physical, and earth sciences and an additional 15 semester hours in soil science.

Experience cannot be substituted in lieu of educational requirements.

Experience Requirements

A minimum of 2 years full time or equivalent totaling 494 days of soil evaluation experience in accordance with the US Department of Agriculture system.

Experience must include studies of soil physical characteristics, geology and soil relationships, soil-landscape relationships, soil identification, landscape features, mapping techniques, interpretive ranges, sewage systems, and soil improvement design variations.

Experience must be documented through a notarized affidavit from a Division-approved soil consultant or NRCS soil scientist who is GS-11 grade or higher.

See Soils Handbook of Tennessee for more information.
 

What to Include in your Submittal:

1. A copy of your official transcript.
2. A notarized affidavit by a soil consultant approved by the Division or by a NRCS soil scientist who is GS-11 grade or higher documenting two years or more of training and experience.

Where to Submit your Documents:

There are 8 State Soil Consultants that review submitted maps and support the Division of Water Resources and the private soil consultant program.

East Tennessee

• Billy Roach (billy.roach@tn.gov / 865-804-3456
• William Luke (william.luke@tn.gov) / 865-440-3434
• Madelyn Wood (madelyn.wood@tn.gov) 423-491-0104

Middle Tennessee

• Terry Henry (terry.henry@tn.gov) 931-675-3140
• John Petty (john.p.petty@tn.gov) 931-260-8699
• Kevin Dickerson (kevin.dickerson@tn.gov) 615-210-0318

West Tennessee

• Jason WIlliams (michael.j.williams@tn.gov) 731-694-5435
• Adrian Rodriguez (adrian.rodriguez@tn.gov) 731-345-6161

What to Expect:

After receiving the candidate’s education and experience documentation the Department will review the submission and send notification when the review is complete. If the education and experience requirements are satisfactory, the candidate can begin the testing procedure, consisting of three phases.
 

Phase 1 – Written Exam

Phase 1 consists of a two-part written exam. The first part covers Soil Genesis, Morphology, Classification, Physics, & Mineralogy. A study guide is available for this section of the exam. Candidates should contact their Regional State Soils Consultant for access. The second part is open book and covers the Soils Handbook of Tennessee and Regulations to Govern Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems.

Phase 2 – Field Mapping Test

The candidate must pass a field soil-mapping test to demonstrate mastery in soil classification, soil mapping, and soil map interpretations as they apply to subsurface sewage disposal systems. A score of 80% or higher is required. After the field-mapping test has been successfully completed, tentative soil consultant approval is granted to only complete high intensity soil maps.

Phase 3 – Five High Intensity Soil Maps

Each of the first five high intensity soil maps shall be evaluated using the same criteria and values used for the soil mapping field test. A score of 80% or higher is required on each of the maps. After successful completion of all phases, the candidate becomes a soil consultant approved to make general and high intensity soil maps.

Extra High Intensity Maps

After one year and the completion of a minimum of 25 high intensity soil maps totaling at least 100 acres, an approved soil consultant may apply to become approved to make extra high intensity soil maps. After the completion of a training workshop for extra high intensity maps, the consultant has tentative approval to complete all intensity maps. Full approval is given after the successful evaluation of the first five extra high intensity maps.
 

Starting July 1, 2025

• TN Department of Commerce and Insurance will no longer be regulating soil scientist licensure.
• Soil consultants approved to submit maps in support of the SSDS program will continue to be regulated through TN Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).
• There will be no fee for new soil consultant applications or existing renewals.
• Minor changes will be made to the Soils Handbook of Tennessee, primarily to reflect these changes (changes will be subject to public notice and comments).

Current Soil Consultants

• No action is required to stay on the TDEC Approved Soil Consultant list.
• The soil consultant’s stamp is no longer required on maps. A signature block will be required as described in the Soils Handbook of Tennessee.
• Soil maps should continue to be formatted based on the parameters outlined in the TDEC Soils Handbook of Tennessee.

Future Soil Consultant Candidates

• The approval process will be completed through TDEC.

• The Soil Scientist Society of America administered Fundamentals of Soil Science Exam is no longer required to become a soil consultant.

• TDEC will administer a written test for new soil consultants that is specific to SSDS soil mapping in Tennessee and the Soils Handbook of Tennessee.

• A minimum of 15 semester hours of soil science course work and 2 years of full-time soil evaluation experience are still required before candidates are eligible for the testing process (as stated in Soils Handbook of Tennessee).

Soil Consultants Approved Prior to the Commerce and Insurance Licensure Program

• Soil consultants previously approved by TDEC, prior to the TN Department of Commerce and Insurance licensure program, that are not currently on the approved soils consultants list and want to be on the list, should contact one of TDEC’s regional soils staff to be added.