New York's private-well PFAS testing rebate pilot: the six counties, free testing, and what qualifies for a rebate

Short answer: Yes. If your private well is in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster, or Westchester County, New York State will test it for PFAS at no cost. If your result comes back at or above the state’s drinking-water standard, you can apply for a rebate of up to $5,000 toward a treatment system, or up to $10,000 to connect to public water. Only the property owner can apply for the rebate itself. A tenant can request the free test, but not the payout. Apply at health.ny.gov/PrivateWellPFAS — each county opens on its own schedule, so check whether your county is currently accepting applications before you do anything else.

The six pilot counties, at a glance

• Counties covered: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester.
• What’s free: one PFAS test of your private well, run by the program.
• What’s rebated (property owners only): up to $5,000 toward a whole-house PFAS treatment system, or up to $10,000 toward connecting to an existing public water supply.
• What triggers the rebate: a test result for PFOA or PFOS at or above New York’s public drinking-water standard of 10 parts per trillion (10 ng/L).
• How applications open: county by county, on a rolling basis, as the state finalizes its contract with each county — not all six at once.
• The catch to know before you book anything: PFAS testing requires a lab certified for a specific PFAS method, not just “certified for drinking water” in general (more below).

This is a program-eligibility and process summary, not medical or safety guidance. Whether a given PFAS level is a health concern for your household is a separate question from whether it clears the state’s rebate threshold. See the section on the 10 ppt number below.

Am I eligible for the free test?

You can apply for the free test if your household drinking water comes from a private well in one of the six counties above, and the program is currently accepting applications in your county. Property owners and renters can apply for the test itself. A renter applying needs a signed, notarized Property Owner Acknowledgment form. Businesses that qualify as a transient non-community water system — rest stops, small stores, and similar sites — in those counties may also apply.

Who can actually get the rebate money

This is the detail that trips people up: only the property owner may apply for the mitigation rebate. A tenant can request the free well test, but the rebate application itself is owner-only. If you’re a renter interested in this program, talk to your landlord. The rebate cannot be paid to you directly.

You’ll also need a formal eligibility letter from the state before you install anything. The sequence is:

1. Apply for the free test.
2. Get your results and, if eligible, a written rebate-eligibility letter.
3. Install a qualifying treatment system or connect to public water.
4. Apply for the rebate within six months of your results letter, with proof of the completed work.

What the rebate actually pays for

New York’s own program materials describe two paths:

1. Treatment system (up to $5,000): a whole-house point-of-entry carbon-filtration or ion-exchange system that treats PFAS at the point your water enters the house.
2. Public water connection (up to $10,000): the cost of connecting your property to an existing public water main, where one is available. The state’s own guidance calls this the better long-term option when it’s physically possible, since it removes the burden of maintaining a treatment system yourself.

Both figures are the state’s own caps, not a guaranteed reimbursement. Actual eligible costs are reviewed against the program’s published eligibility criteria. Normal system maintenance, sales tax, and non-PFAS work are not part of the rebate. If you need work done that falls outside what the rebate covers, get a written quote from a professional water-treatment contractor before you commit. This directory does not publish provider prices, because we cannot verify them.

The 10 parts per trillion number is a regulatory line, not a safety verdict

Rebate eligibility is triggered when your test result for PFOA or PFOS is at or above New York’s public drinking-water standard: 10 nanograms per liter (10 parts per trillion). That is the number the state uses to decide who qualifies for money. It is a regulatory threshold set for public water systems — not a statement from this directory about what level is or isn’t safe to drink at your own well. If you have questions about what a specific result means for your household, that’s a conversation for your test results letter, a physician, or the state program directly. It is not something a lab-directory guide can responsibly answer for you.

The catch: PFAS testing needs a lab certified for the specific method

A lab being “state-certified for drinking water” does not automatically mean it is certified to test for PFAS. New York’s Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP) certifies labs by category, analyte, and method. PFAS is tested using EPA Method 537.1 (Version 2) or EPA Method 533, and a lab needs certification for one of those specific methods, separate from its general drinking-water certification. This applies whether you’re using the state program’s own testing, which already routes to a qualified lab, or arranging your own PFAS test later — for example, the required post-installation test after you install a treatment system.

To check a lab yourself, use New York’s public ELAP laboratory search tool. Search by category (potable water), then filter by analyte (PFOS, then repeat for PFOA) and method (EPA Method 537.1, Version 2 or EPA Method 533). A lab that turns up for coliform or lead searches will not necessarily appear once you add that method filter. That’s the whole point of checking. See our guide to reading an ELAP certification for the full walkthrough.

If you’re in Suffolk or Ulster County

Suffolk and Ulster are two of the six pilot counties. Both already have state-certified drinking-water labs listed in this directory:

• Suffolk County certified water labs
• Ulster County certified water labs

Important: the labs listed on those pages are verified as holding general New York drinking-water (potable water) certification. That is what our source registry confirms. It does not confirm that any specific lab is separately certified for the PFAS methods above. Before contacting a lab from either page for PFAS work, run it through the ELAP search tool filtered to EPA Method 537.1 or 533, or ask the lab directly to confirm current PFAS certification. Don’t assume PFAS coverage from a general listing. That’s exactly the gap the state’s own search tool exists to close.

If you’re in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, or Westchester County, this directory does not yet have a verified list of local labs for your county. Use the ELAP search tool above to find one directly, or start with the free state program test, which already routes to a qualified lab on your behalf.

Suffolk County: an existing test may already count

If you’re applying in Suffolk County, and your private well was already tested for PFAS by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services on or after January 1, 2025, those existing results can be used to apply for the rebate once the state program is accepting Suffolk County applications. You should not need a second test through the pilot. Confirm this directly with the program when you apply, since documentation requirements can change.

What to do next

1. Confirm your county is one of the six — Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster, Westchester — and that applications are currently open there. Check health.ny.gov/PrivateWellPFAS directly, since county windows change.
2. Apply for the free test as the property owner or, if you rent, with a signed Property Owner Acknowledgment form.
3. If you’re not eligible for the pilot, or need PFAS testing outside it, use the ELAP search tool filtered to EPA Method 537.1 or 533. Or start from Suffolk County or Ulster County labs listed here and confirm PFAS certification directly with the lab.
4. If you’re buying or selling a well home rather than applying for this pilot, see our mortgage water-test guide instead. The loan-required panel and the PFAS pilot are two separate processes.

A source-backed lab listing on this page tells you the business exists and holds general New York drinking-water certification as of when our source was captured. It is not an endorsement, a claim of PFAS certification, a price, or a statement about county-wide coverage. Confirm certification, scope, and cost directly with the lab and, for rebate questions, with the state program itself.

Sources used: New York State Department of Health Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot Program page and FAQ, Governor Kathy Hochul’s program-launch announcement, Westchester County’s program press release, and the U.S. EPA’s PFAS drinking-water analytical-methods pages.