Published: March 14, 2026

Category: Real Estate Agent Resources | Texas Water Wells

Tags: Texas realtor water well, TREC Form 61-0 checklist, real estate agent guide, well disclosure compliance

Water well disclosures are one of those areas where real estate agents either have a clear process or they find out they needed one at the worst possible moment. If you are working in any part of Texas where rural or semi-rural properties are part of your business, you need to understand TREC Form 61-0 and how to make sure your transactions stay on the right side of it.

This guide is practical and direct. Here is what you need to know and what to do.

Why Agents Carry Responsibility Here

Some agents treat well disclosure as the seller’s form and leave it at that. That approach creates real risk.

TREC holds agents to a standard of competency and good faith in transactions. If you list a property, fail to identify that a well exists, and the buyer later discovers undisclosed well problems, the path from that outcome back to your license is short. Your seller signs the form, but you are responsible for making sure the right forms exist in the transaction.

The same logic applies on the buyer’s side. If you represent a buyer purchasing a well-dependent property and you fail to verify that a Form 61-0 was delivered, your client’s recourse for an undisclosed well problem will eventually involve questions about what you did to protect them.

Understanding the form and building a process around it is not optional. It is the job.

What TREC Form 61-0 Covers

Before you can manage the disclosure process, you need to know what the form asks. Form 61-0 requires sellers to disclose the following about each well on the property.

Well location. Where is the well on the property? Is it near a septic system, a property line, or any structure? Proximity to septic systems is particularly important because minimum separation distances affect both regulatory compliance and water safety.

Well depth. How deep is the well? This is typically recorded in the original driller’s completion report filed with the TCEQ. Sellers often do not know this off the top of their head, which is why pulling state records is valuable.

Well condition and operational status. Is the well currently in use? When was it last serviced? Are there known issues with the pump, casing, or water quality? Sellers must answer to the best of their knowledge.

Plugging status of abandoned wells. If there is an abandoned well on the property, has it been properly plugged according to TCEQ standards? An unplugged abandoned well is both an environmental liability and a regulatory issue. The form requires disclosure of the well’s status whether it is active or not.

Water quality. Has the water been tested? If test results exist, they must be disclosed. The seller is not required to commission new testing just to complete the form, but if documentation exists, it cannot be withheld.

Step-by-Step Compliance Checklist

Use this checklist on every transaction where the property includes a water well.

Step 1: Identify all wells on the property at the listing stage.

Before you accept a listing, ask the seller directly whether there are any wells on the property, active or inactive. Also look at the property survey and any available site plans. Old farmsteads and rural properties frequently have multiple wells, including ones the current owner has never used. A TCEQ property search or a TurnkeyWells.com report can surface registered wells that the seller may have forgotten about or never knew existed.

Step 2: Pull TCEQ records before the listing goes live.

You cannot complete Form 61-0 accurately without documentation. Official well records are filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and are public information. The TCEQ database includes driller’s completion reports, permits, and registration data for wells across the state. TurnkeyWells.com aggregates and delivers this data in report form, which is faster than navigating the state system directly.

Run the property through TurnkeyWells.com and compare what the report shows to what the seller has told you. If there is a well on the state record that the seller did not mention, that needs to be resolved before listing.

Step 3: Complete Form 61-0 before going under contract.

The disclosure should be delivered to buyers before they are bound by a contract, not during the option period. If a buyer discovers well problems during their option period that were not disclosed upfront, you are in a negotiation you did not need to be in. Front-loading disclosure protects your seller and keeps the transaction clean.

Work with your seller to complete the form thoroughly. Push back on vague or incomplete answers. “Unknown” is appropriate when information genuinely does not exist, but it should not be a shortcut for sellers who have not looked for the information.

Step 4: Attach supporting documentation.

Form 61-0 is stronger when it is backed by documents. Include any well inspection reports, pump service records, water quality test results, and driller’s logs with the disclosure package. Buyers who receive a complete disclosure package are more confident, which means fewer objection cycles and faster closings.

Step 5: Verify the disclosure is in the closing package.

Before closing, confirm with the title company that Form 61-0 is in the file. This is a five-minute check that eliminates a category of post-closing problems.

Step 6: Document buyer acknowledgment.

Make sure the buyer (or buyer’s agent) signs or acknowledges receipt of the disclosure. If the buyer waives additional inspection or testing after receiving the form, document that in writing as well.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Skipping the property search. Not every seller knows every well on their land. Properties that have changed hands multiple times or been subdivided may have old wells that predate any records the current owner has. Do not rely solely on what the seller tells you. Run an independent search.

Confusing active and inactive wells. The disclosure requirement covers all wells, not just the one currently pumping water into the house. An old irrigation well that has been sitting unused for twenty years still needs to be on the form, and if it was never properly plugged, that needs to be disclosed too.

Treating the form as a formality. Some agents treat disclosure forms as paperwork to get signed rather than information to be gathered and verified. That approach creates liability. Take the time to make sure what is on the form is accurate.

Waiting until the option period. Buyers who discover a well problem during their option period have leverage. Disclosing upfront eliminates surprises and gives buyers the opportunity to factor well condition into their offer rather than using it as a renegotiation tool after they are already in contract.

Not knowing where to get well data. Many agents have never looked up TCEQ records and do not know how to find well information for a property. That gap is easy to close. TurnkeyWells.com exists specifically to make this accessible to people who are not state database experts.

Using TurnkeyWells.com for Listings

TurnkeyWells.com is a practical tool for real estate agents working on properties with water wells in Texas. Here is how to use it in your workflow.

When you take a listing on a property that may have a well, go to TurnkeyWells.com and run a search using the property address or parcel number. The report will show you any wells registered with the TCEQ for that location, including completion report data, well depths, and associated permits.

Use the report to fill in the documentation gaps before you sit down with the seller to complete Form 61-0. If the report shows a well the seller did not mention, add it to the conversation. If the report confirms the well details the seller provided, you have a clean data point to attach to the disclosure package.

For buyer’s agents, a TurnkeyWells report gives you independent verification of what the seller disclosed. If the form says the well is 200 feet deep and the TCEQ record shows 80 feet, that discrepancy needs to be addressed before closing.

You can also use TurnkeyWells reports in your client communications. Showing a buyer a documented well report alongside the disclosure form demonstrates that you have done due diligence and builds confidence in the transaction.

The Professional Standard in 2026

The agents who are ahead of this issue are the ones building well disclosure into their standard listing process rather than treating it as a one-off compliance headache. In a Texas market where rural and suburban properties with wells represent a significant share of transactions, knowing how to handle this correctly is a professional differentiator.

Your sellers get a cleaner transaction. Your buyers get real information. And you keep your license and your reputation intact.

Start with TurnkeyWells.com. Run the property. Know what you are working with before you list it.

*TurnkeyWells.com provides well data research and reporting for Texas properties. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Texas real estate attorney for guidance specific to your transactions.*