Choosing a licensed Texas well driller (and plugging old wells)
How to check a TDLR licence, read a driller's track record, what belongs in the contract and what the law says about abandoned wells.
Drilling a well is not a job you can easily redo. A bad casing job or a missing seal can pollute your water for decades. A careful check before you sign takes less time than one phone call to the wrong company.
Step 1: check the TDLR licence
Texas requires a licence to drill a water-related well or to install a pump for one. Search the driller by name or licence number on the TDLR license search, confirm that the licence is current, and look up disciplinary actions from the water well program page at tdlr.texas.gov/wwd. The business name and the licensee are often different, so ask whose licence covers the crew that will be on your land.
Step 2: look at the track record
Each driller on this site shows the number of water wells reported to the state in the last five years, split by use (household, irrigation, livestock, public supply and others), the counties where the wells were drilled, and the median depth. The counts come from the State Well Reports drillers file, published by the Texas Water Development Board. Drillers with no reports may install pumps rather than drill, so an empty count is neutral, not negative. A driller who has completed many domestic wells in your county has seen your aquifer.
Step 3: get comparable quotes
Ask two or three drillers for written quotes on the same specification. Our guide to what drives well costs lists what each quote should include. Look for the per-foot rate, estimated depth, casing type and length, sealing, the pump and tank, electric, disinfection, the district paperwork and a water test.
Step 4: put it in writing
- The driller's name, company and TDLR licence number.
- Scope and specification, and what happens if the hole is dry or low yielding.
- Payment schedule tied to progress.
- Who submits the district application and the State Well Report, and that you will receive a copy.
- Warranty on workmanship and pump.
- Cleanup and site restoration.
Step 5: after the drill
The driller has 60 days from completion to deliver the well report. Check that it arrives, that it matches what was done, and that the district has its copy. Have the water tested.
Abandoned and deteriorated wells
An old well you do not use is your responsibility. Texas Occupations Code section 1901.255 says that within 180 days after a landowner or other person in possession learns that a well is abandoned or deteriorated, they must have it plugged or capped under commission standards. TDLR may take enforcement action if that does not happen. The standards for plugging are in 16 TAC section 76.104, and a State of Texas Plugging Report must be submitted to TDLR within 30 days. Landowners may plug their own wells to the standard, or hire a licensed driller or pump installer. Plugging keeps surface contaminants from entering the aquifer and removes a hazard for children and animals. Several drillers on this site have filed plugging reports, and we list them under the well plugging category.
If there is a problem
Raise it in writing with the driller first. If it is not resolved, TDLR takes complaints about licensed drillers and pump installers through its website.
This is general information, not legal advice.