TREC Form 61-0 Guide
How to Fill Out TREC Form 61-0, Section by Section
TREC Form 61-0 is the new Texas water disclosure form for transactions that involve groundwater, surface water rights, or water wells. It became mandatory/effective July 1, 2026, and it is already creating confusion because the form asks sellers to answer questions that are not usually sitting in a listing file.
The form itself is only two pages. The research behind it is the hard part. Sellers may not know whether the property sits inside a groundwater district. Agents may not know whether an old capped well counts. Escrow officers may see a blank answer and not know whether it is a simple omission or a closing risk. Title companies may know water rights can be severed, sold, leased, reserved, or excepted, but they still need a practical way to route the question.
This guide walks through the official TREC 61-0 form in the order the questions appear. It explains what each item is asking, what records should be checked, where sellers tend to get stuck, and where TurnkeyWells can help turn scattered public water data into usable transaction notes. This is not legal advice and it is not a substitute for broker, attorney, title, inspection, or engineering guidance. It is a practical field guide for getting the water facts organized before the file gets rushed.
Before Filling Out the Form: Build a Water File
Do not start with the checkbox. Start with the property file. A clean TREC 61-0 workflow should collect the water facts before the seller is asked to answer from memory.
- Property address, county, and legal description
- Parcel or survey information for rural acreage
- Seller knowledge of any active, unused, capped, plugged, abandoned, shared, or off-property well
- Any well documents: driller report, pump invoice, GCD registration, permit, plugging record, water test, inspection note, or service receipt
- Any surface water documents: TCEQ permit, certified filing, certificate of adjudication, lease, contract, reservation, exception, or title note
- Known ponds, lakes, tanks, creeks, irrigation improvements, stock-water features, or shared water arrangements
TurnkeyWells fits here because most sellers do not know where to check TWDB, TCEQ, TDLR, GCD, and county-level water data. A basic lookup can show whether the file needs a deeper report before the form is sent around for signatures.
Property Line: Address and City
The form begins by identifying the property address and city. That looks routine, but it matters more on rural tracts than it does on a subdivision lot. A property may have a mailing address that points to one road while the actual well is located on another part of the tract. A ranch may be assembled from several parcels. A seller may be selling 12 acres out of a larger parent tract, while the water well or pond sits near the boundary.
For agents, the practical move is to match the form to the same property description used in the contract. For title and escrow teams, the form should live with the correct closing file, not just the street address typed into the MLS. When there is any acreage split, shared driveway, shared well, or multiple parcel situation, save the legal description and map reference with the water notes.
Section 1: Definitions
Section 1 defines the terms the rest of the form uses. It is tempting to skip this part because there are no blanks to fill in, but the definitions are where many wrong answers start.
Groundwater
Groundwater means water below the surface of the earth, usually in aquifers, accessed by water wells. The form notes that unless groundwater has been severed from the surface estate, it is generally owned by the surface landowner, subject to law and groundwater district rules.
The transaction question is not just “does the house have water?” The question is whether the property has groundwater rights, water wells, restrictions, or district rules that should be disclosed. TurnkeyWells helps by matching the address against nearby well records and groundwater district boundaries so the file has facts instead of assumptions.
Groundwater District
A groundwater district can be a groundwater conservation district, underground water conservation district, subsidence district, or similar authority that regulates drilling or operation of wells. Not all Texas land is inside one. The problem is that many sellers and agents do not know whether a property is in a district because the boundaries do not follow city limits in a simple way.
This is one of the highest-value places for TKW. The GCD Lookup can quickly identify whether the property appears to sit inside a groundwater district and provide the district name. That gives the seller, agent, and title file a concrete starting point.
Surface Water and Surface Water Rights
Surface water includes lakes, rivers, creeks, streams, bays, estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico. Surface water rights are TCEQ-administered permits, filings, or certificates that authorize diversion, impoundment, or use of surface water.
Do not confuse a visible pond with a legal surface water right. A stock tank may exist without a transferable TCEQ surface water right. A tract may also have water rights that were reserved, excepted, leased, or shared. This is why farm and ranch transactions deserve a dedicated 7(K) support page, not a one-line answer.
Water Well
A water well is an artificial excavation drilled or dug to explore for or produce groundwater. The form notes that wells may be regulated, restricted, or prohibited in a groundwater district, and that subdivision can affect rights related to drilling or operating a well.
For sellers, the mistake is thinking only the active house well matters. For agents, the mistake is taking “we are on city water” as proof that no well exists. A property can have city water and still have an old irrigation well, abandoned well, plugged well, or shared well history.
Section 2A: Is Any Portion of the Property in a Groundwater District?
This is one of the most important questions on the form. The seller must answer yes, no, or unknown. If the answer is yes, the district and website should be identified.
What to check:
- Run the property through a GCD boundary lookup.
- Save the district name and website if a district applies.
- Check whether the district has well registration, spacing, transfer, permit, or exemption rules.
- Keep a copy of the lookup result with the transaction file.
Where people get stuck: the seller may not know what a GCD is. The agent may assume county equals district. The title company may know the legal importance but not have time to research the boundary manually. TurnkeyWells helps by turning the address into a district answer and pointing the file toward the correct GCD.
Section 2B: Is the Seller Aware of One or More Water Wells on the Property?
This question asks whether the seller is aware of wells on the property. If yes, the form asks for the total number of known wells, how many are currently in use, how many are not currently in use and have been capped, covered, plugged, or abandoned, and any GCD registrations or permits.
Do not treat this as a single yes/no question. It is really four questions:
- Are there any known wells?
- How many known wells exist?
- Which wells are active?
- Which wells are inactive, capped, covered, plugged, or abandoned?
What to check: seller documents, pump receipts, water testing records, prior inspection reports, driller reports, plugging records, GCD records, satellite context, and old improvement locations. A Well Check can flag registered wells and nearby well records that should be reviewed before the answer is finalized.
Where people get stuck: old rural tracts often have more than one well history. A seller may only know the current domestic well. The public records may show a plugged well or old irrigation well nearby. A buyer may later find a capped well after closing and ask why the disclosure missed it.
Section 2C: Who Owns or Operates the Wells?
If the seller is aware of wells, Section 2C asks whether all wells are owned or operated solely by the seller for the sole benefit of the property. If not, the form asks for more detail: the well, owners or operators, beneficiaries, and any agreements or understandings.
This is the shared-well problem. A rural property may receive water from a well used by two homes. A family tract may have an informal agreement. A neighbor may own the well. A cooperative, association, or other entity may operate the water source. None of that fits neatly into “private well” marketing copy.
What to check:
- Any written shared well agreement
- Any recorded easement or access agreement
- Any invoice, maintenance split, or pump-service history naming another party
- Any title exception that references water, well access, utility access, or easement rights
- Whether the well is on the subject property or a neighboring tract
This is where TKW can help separate the data problem from the legal problem. We can help identify nearby wells and likely well-record context. If ownership, easement, or agreement language is unclear, that needs broker, title, or attorney review.
Section 2D: Does the Property Receive Water From a Well on Another Property?
This is a separate and very practical question. The property may not have a well on it, but it may receive water from a well located somewhere else. The form excludes city water, municipal utility district water, special district water, water supply corporation water, and private water company service from this particular question.
Agents should ask this directly during listing intake: “Is any water for this property coming from a well located off this property?” If the seller says yes, get the description and any agreement before the buyer asks for it.
Common records to gather include shared-well agreements, utility easements, maintenance arrangements, access rights, pump-house location notes, and any written understanding between neighboring owners. A water source that depends on another property can affect buyer diligence, lender comfort, and future disputes.
Section 2E: Does a Well on the Property Rely on Groundwater Rights From Outside the Property?
This question is easy to overlook because it sounds unusual in a simple residential sale. It asks whether a well on the property relies in whole or in part on groundwater rights owned or leased from land outside the property boundaries.
In ordinary suburban cases, the seller may have no reason to think this applies. In rural, farm, ranch, irrigation, commercial, or subdivided-tract deals, it deserves more attention. If water rights are leased, pooled, shared, or connected to land outside the tract, the buyer needs to know that before closing.
TurnkeyWells can help identify the well and district context, but this is also a title and legal review issue. If outside rights are involved, the file should not rely on a verbal summary alone.
Section 2F: Have Groundwater Rights Been Severed, Sold, or Leased?
This is one of the biggest liability questions on the form. The seller is asked whether any groundwater rights to the property have been severed, sold, or leased in whole or in part, with or without the right to drill or operate a well on the property.
That means the property can look like a normal rural tract while the water rights history is more complicated. Groundwater rights may have been reserved by a prior owner, sold separately, leased for a particular use, or affected by contract language the seller does not remember.
What to check:
- Title commitment exceptions
- Prior deeds and reservations
- Lease documents
- Recorded water-rights agreements
- Seller closing documents from when the seller bought the property
This is not a place for TKW to pretend to be a title company or law firm. TKW helps surface water and well context so the right question gets asked early. The legal meaning of a severance, reservation, lease, or exception belongs with title counsel, an attorney, or the appropriate professional.
Section 3A: Does the Seller Own Any Surface Water Right Associated With the Property?
This section asks whether the seller owns any surface water right associated with the property. If yes, the seller identifies the applicable permit, filing, or certificate of adjudication number. If more than one person owns an interest, the seller identifies each person and ownership interest.
This matters most on farm, ranch, riverfront, creek-adjacent, irrigation, commercial, and larger acreage deals. A buyer may care deeply about whether a pond, diversion, irrigation use, or water right actually transfers. A title company may need to understand whether water rights are being conveyed, reserved, excepted, or handled separately.
What to check:
- TCEQ surface water right records
- Seller water-right documents
- Prior deeds and title exceptions
- Farm, ranch, irrigation, or lease documents
- Any contract language reserving or separately conveying water rights
This deserves its own deeper support page because agents are already asking where Paragraph 7(K), surface water rights, and farm/ranch differences fit together.
Section 3B: Is There a Pond, Lake, or Water Tank on the Property?
This question is broader than many people expect. It asks whether there is a pond, lake, or water tank on the property, whether currently with or without water.
A dry tank still counts for the question. A seasonal pond still deserves a careful answer. A ranch pond that holds water only after heavy rain may still matter for buyer expectations, livestock use, drainage, floodplain questions, surface water rights, and inspection conversations.
For listing agents, this should be part of photo and acreage review. If the property has visible tanks, ponds, low-water areas, dams, creeks, or drainage improvements, flag them during listing intake rather than waiting for the buyer’s inspector to ask.
Notices to Buyer and Seller
The form ends with notices that are easy to skim and dangerous to ignore. TREC is telling both sides that water rights are complex, the seller may not have complete knowledge, water rights may be held by others, groundwater district rules differ, some districts tax and some do not, and parties should consult an attorney when rights need to be reserved, excepted, or separately conveyed.
That language is exactly why TKW exists. The market does not need another vague water disclaimer. It needs a better intake workflow: address, well records, GCD status, district rules, public data, seller documents, and clear next steps. TurnkeyWells helps build that data packet so the professional team can make better decisions.
What If the Seller Does Not Know?
“Unknown” should not be treated as failure. It should be treated as a trigger to gather more records. If the seller does not know whether the property is in a GCD, whether a well is registered, whether an old well was plugged, or whether water rights were severed, the next step is not guessing. The next step is documenting what can be checked.
A good file note might say: seller has no personal knowledge of additional wells; TurnkeyWells lookup found nearby driller records; GCD lookup identified the district; seller provided no surface water right documents; title/legal review recommended for any reservation or water-right transfer question. That is much stronger than a blank form passed around at the end of option period.
How TKW Helps Agents, Escrow Officers, and Title Teams
TurnkeyWells is not trying to replace the seller, agent, title company, inspector, or attorney. TKW helps with the part everyone is bad at under time pressure: finding and organizing water records fast.
- For listing agents: TKW gives you a pre-listing water packet so the seller is not surprised by 61-0 questions after the contract is signed.
- For buyer agents: TKW helps you spot wells, GCD issues, and water-record gaps before the option period disappears.
- For escrow officers: TKW gives the closing file cleaner water context when the parties are unsure what the form is asking.
- For title companies: TKW helps identify when water rights, wells, or GCD issues need escalation instead of treating every 61-0 question like ordinary paperwork.
- For sellers: TKW helps separate what you know from what public records can verify.
Start with the Free Texas Well Check and Free GCD Lookup. For higher-risk transactions, use the Pre-Drill Intelligence Report or the TREC 61-0 water disclosure hub to build a property-specific file.
Recommended Workflow for a Live Transaction
- Confirm the exact property address, county, and legal description.
- Run the property through Well Check for registered and nearby well records.
- Run the property through GCD Lookup for district status.
- Ask the seller for well, pump, inspection, plugging, testing, district, and water-right documents.
- List every known well and separate active wells from inactive, capped, plugged, or abandoned wells.
- Ask whether any water comes from an off-property well.
- Ask whether any well depends on groundwater rights outside the property.
- Review title documents for severed, sold, leased, reserved, or excepted groundwater or surface water rights.
- Check for surface water rights if the property has ponds, tanks, creeks, irrigation, or ranch use.
- Escalate legal/title questions instead of guessing.
Bottom Line
TREC Form 61-0 is not difficult because it has many pages. It is difficult because the answers live in different places: seller memory, driller reports, groundwater district maps, TCEQ records, title documents, old well records, and the land itself.
The best answer is not a longer disclaimer. It is a better process. Check the records early, document what the seller knows, identify the groundwater district, flag unknowns, and use TurnkeyWells to turn scattered Texas water data into a closing file that agents, title teams, buyers, and sellers can actually work with.