How to Find Out If You Have a Lead Pipe (Service Line Lookup + Scratch Test)

The fastest way to find out if you have a lead pipe is to look up your address in your water utility’s service line inventory. Every community water system had to publish one by October 16, 2024. Then confirm it yourself at the spot where the water line enters your home, using a coin or key and a magnet. That is EPA’s own “scratch test.” If a gentle scratch shows a shiny silver color and a magnet does not stick, the pipe is likely lead.

This guide walks through both steps, explains what the inventory labels mean, and covers what the 2024 federal rules require your utility to do next.

Why the service line matters most

The service line is the pipe that runs from the water main under the street to your home. When any part of it is made of lead, it is a lead service line. EPA estimates there are about 4 million lead service lines in the United States, based on its 2025 infrastructure needs survey.

Service lines are not the only source of lead. Older solder, brass faucets and galvanized pipes can also add lead to water. But a lead service line is usually the biggest single source in homes that have one. Our main guide on lead in tap water covers the other sources and health effects.

Step 1: Look up your utility’s service line inventory

Under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), every community water system had to build an inventory of service line materials. It had to submit the inventory to its state and make it public by October 16, 2024. The inventory must cover every service line, both the part the utility owns and the part the property owner owns.

How to find it:

Search your utility’s website for “service line inventory,” “lead service line map,” or “lead pipe lookup.” Systems serving more than 50,000 people must post the inventory online. Many use an address search or an interactive map.
Call or visit the utility if it is a smaller system. Systems serving 50,000 or fewer people can make the inventory available another way, such as at their office or by mail.
Check your mail. Utilities had to notify customers with a lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or unknown service line within 30 days of finishing the inventory. They must repeat that notice every year until the line is replaced or identified. New customers must get the notice when service starts.

Not sure who your utility is? Search by ZIP code to find your water system’s page, which links to its EPA compliance record.

One limit to know: under the 2024 deadline, utilities could use a “location identifier,” such as a block, instead of a street address. Starting with the baseline inventory due November 1, 2027, the public inventory must show the street address for each line where one exists.

What the inventory labels mean

Each service line is classified into one of four categories:

Label	What it means
Lead	All or part of the service line is lead. EPA counts lead-lined galvanized pipe as lead.
Galvanized requiring replacement (GRR)	A galvanized steel or iron line that is, or ever was, downstream of a lead line, or is now downstream of a line of unknown material. Lead can build up inside galvanized pipe and release later.
Non-lead	Records, inspection or another evidence-based method show the line is not lead or GRR.
Lead status unknown	The utility has not confirmed the material. Treat it as possibly lead until it is checked.

A “non-lead” result is good news for the service line. It does not rule out lead from solder or fixtures inside your home.

An “unknown” result is very common. That is where checking the pipe yourself helps. Some utilities ask customers to send in a photo of the pipe where it enters the home, which can help them update the record.

Step 2: Check the pipe yourself (EPA’s scratch and magnet test)

EPA’s “Protect Your Tap” guide and its customer template for utilities describe a simple check. You need a coin or key and a household magnet.

Find the service line.

Find your water meter. Inside, it is usually in the basement, crawl space or garage. Outside, it is usually between the street and the house, near the sidewalk or in the yard.
If the meter is inside, the service line enters the house near the meter, on the same wall.
If the meter is outside, the line most likely enters the house at the point closest to the meter.
If you cannot see the pipe, contact your water utility.

Test the pipe.

Gently scratch the pipe with the coin or key, close to where it comes through the wall or floor.
Hold the magnet against the pipe and see if it sticks.

Read the result.

What you see	Likely material
Scratch shows a shiny silver color, and the magnet does not stick	Lead. Lead is soft and scratches easily.
Silver or gray, hard to scratch, and the magnet sticks	Galvanized iron or steel
Scratch shows a copper-penny color; magnet does not stick. The outside may have a green to dark brown film.	Copper
White, gray or another solid color; not metal	Plastic

A few cautions:

Lead-lined galvanized pipe can look and act like galvanized steel from the outside. A magnet test will not catch it.
Only part of the line may be lead. The section you can see inside the house may be copper while the buried part, or the utility-owned part near the main, is lead. Your test is useful, but it is not the final word.

If you are unsure, a licensed plumber can identify the material. Then share what you find with your utility.

Step 3: Test your water

Knowing the pipe material tells you about risk. Testing tells you what is actually in your water. EPA recommends a certified laboratory. It notes that testing typically costs about $15 to $100. Some utilities and states offer free testing, so ask first. Collect the sample from a faucet you drink from, and follow the lab’s sampling directions exactly.

Our guide to testing your tap water at home explains the options.

What the 2024 rule requires your utility to do

In October 2024, EPA finalized the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). It was published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2024, and most of its requirements take effect November 1, 2027. Key points:

Replace lead and GRR lines within 10 years. Community water systems (and non-transient non-community systems such as schools with their own supply) must fully replace all lead and GRR service lines under their control within 10 years of the compliance date. “Under their control” means the utility has legal and physical access to do the work. A system can get a longer, “deferred” deadline only if its share of lead lines is very high. A state can also require a faster schedule.
Full replacement, not partial. A line counts as replaced only when both the utility side and the customer side are no longer lead. Partial replacements are banned except in emergencies or during other planned work.
Identify all unknown lines by the replacement deadline.
Publish a replacement plan. It is due to the state by November 1, 2027. The plan must include a funding strategy for customers who cannot pay to replace the part of the line they own. Systems serving more than 50,000 people must post the plan online.
Lower lead action level. The level that triggers more action drops from 15 to 10 parts per billion on November 1, 2027.
Filters after replacement. When a utility replaces a lead or GRR line, it must give residents a pitcher or point-of-use filter certified to reduce lead, with six months of replacement cartridges. It must also offer a follow-up lead test 3 to 6 months later.

The rule does not require utilities to pay for the customer-owned portion. Cost-sharing depends on local programs, so ask your utility what help is available.

Legal status as of October 2026: The LCRI stands as published. A water utility trade group, the American Water Works Association, challenged the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. EPA has defended it, and a multistate coalition filed a brief in March 2026 supporting EPA’s defense. We found no court decision as of early October 2026. Dates and requirements could change, so check EPA’s LCRI page for the rule’s current status.

If you have, or might have, a lead line

While you wait for replacement:

Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead reduction for drinking and cooking water. See our guides to choosing a water filter pitcher and NSF certifications.
Use only cold water for drinking, cooking and baby formula. If water has sat for hours, run the tap before use.
Ask your utility where you are on the replacement schedule and whether it offers cost help for the private side.
Talk to your doctor about a blood lead test if you have young children or are pregnant.

Bottom line

Start with your utility’s inventory. It is free and public. If it says “lead,” “GRR” or “unknown,” check the pipe yourself with a coin and a magnet, test your water, and use a certified lead-reducing filter until the line is replaced. Under the 2024 rule, most utilities must replace lead lines within 10 years starting in late 2027. Your inventory listing and your annual notice tell you where your home stands.