Yes. Tank location uses probe rods, septic-locator equipment, and county records. Most buried tanks are found within 30 minutes. Once located, the technician typically installs a riser so future access takes seconds, not hours.
More detail
Tank location starts with county records (Hamilton County Public Health, Warren County Health District, etc. all maintain installation diagrams for permitted systems back to roughly 1980). For older systems without records, the technician uses a combination of: (1) probe rods to feel for the lid, (2) electronic septic locators that detect ferrous metal in tank lids, (3) flushing a transmitter dye through the toilet and tracking it with a receiver. 90% of Greater Cincinnati tanks are found within 30 minutes; the remaining 10% require more invasive search (small hand-excavation in suspected zones). Once located, the technician typically recommends a riser install ($200-$400) so future pumping or inspection visits do not require any digging. Risers are cosmetically discreet (green plastic lid flush with grade) and dramatically reduce labor cost on every subsequent visit. Cincinnati older-home tank-locating challenges: pre-1980 systems in unincorporated Hamilton County and rural Warren County sometimes lack any county records. Cincinnati technicians use a combination of probe rods, septic-locator equipment, and dye-tracing through the toilet plumbing to locate buried tanks. 90% are found within 30 minutes; the remaining 10% may require 1-2 hours of search and modest excavation. Once located, riser install (a one-time $200-$400 cost) makes every future visit fast and dig-free.