If you’re a Texas real estate agent working a transaction that involves a water well, TREC Form 61-0 is your responsibility — not the title company’s, not the seller’s attorney’s. Yours.
This article breaks down exactly what you need to communicate to your clients, what the form covers, when it applies, and what gets agents in trouble when they skip steps.
What Is TREC Form 61-0?
TREC Form 61-0, officially called the “Seller’s Disclosure of Information on Water Well” form, is a mandatory disclosure document required under Texas Property Code 13.003 whenever a property with a water well is sold or transferred.
The form captures critical information about the well’s condition, location, age, and any known problems. It’s the mechanism Texas uses to make sure buyers aren’t surprised by a failing well, a dry hole, or a system with contamination history after closing.
Texas law requires the seller to complete and deliver the form. But your job as the listing agent or buyer’s agent is to make sure it happens correctly — and to know enough about the form to catch problems before they become liability.
For a full breakdown of the form’s legal requirements, see: TREC Form 61-0: What Texas Property Sellers Need to Know.
When TREC Form 61-0 Is Required
The form is required whenever:
- The property being sold has a water well (active, inactive, or abandoned)
- The property is in Texas
- The transaction is a sale or transfer, not a lease
That means a rural 20-acre tract with a well in Parker County, a residential lot in Hood County with a well and city water backup, a ranch in Wise County with multiple wells — all require the form.
Abandoned or plugged wells count too. If there’s a well on the property that the seller hasn’t used in 20 years and never plugged, it still needs to be disclosed. Plugged wells have their own disclosure requirements in the form.
What the Form Asks
TREC Form 61-0 is organized into several key areas. As the agent, you should walk your seller through each one:
Well Location and Use
- Is the well the primary water source?
- Is there a survey showing the well location?
- Does the well serve multiple properties (shared well)?
Well Condition and History
- Has the well been tested recently?
- Are there any known mechanical problems with the pump or pressure system?
- Has the water ever tested positive for bacteria, nitrates, or other contaminants?
Compliance and Permits
- Was the well drilled by a licensed driller?
- Is the well registered with the Texas Water Development Board?
- Is the property within a Groundwater Conservation District (GCD), and if so, does the well have a required permit?
Abandoned Wells
- Are there any abandoned wells on the property?
- Have they been plugged in accordance with TCEQ rules?
The Shared Well Problem
One area that catches agents off guard: shared wells.
If a well on the property provides water to one or more other parcels — this is common in older rural subdivisions — the buyer needs to know. There should be a written easement or shared-use agreement, and it should transfer with the property.
If no agreement exists, your buyer is either going to be responsible for maintaining a well that neighbors are drawing from, or they’re going to have a dispute on their hands before the first mortgage payment is due.
If your seller says “the neighbor uses it too but we never put anything in writing” — that’s a problem that needs to be resolved before closing, not after.
What Agents Get Wrong
Skipping the form because it’s a newer well. The age of the well doesn’t matter. If it’s on the property, it needs to be disclosed.
Treating it as the seller’s problem alone. If your seller completes the form incorrectly or incompletely and the buyer sues post-closing, your liability exposure depends on what you knew, what you should have known, and what you did about it.
Not verifying TWDB registration. The Texas Water Development Board keeps a public database of registered wells. A well that was never registered may not have an SDR (State Well Report) on file, which limits what buyers can learn about depth, yield, and construction.
Ignoring GCD requirements. Texas has 98 groundwater conservation districts, and many require permits for wells above a certain size. Parker County is governed by the Parker County GCD. Hood County by the Hood County GCD. If your seller never got a permit and the GCD requires one, that’s a disclosure issue — and potentially a compliance issue.
For a quick reference on Texas GCDs and what they govern, see: What Is a Groundwater Conservation District in Texas?
What to Tell Your Buyer Client
If you’re representing the buyer, TREC Form 61-0 is your checklist for due diligence questions. Here’s what to tell your buyer:
- Get a well inspection before closing. The disclosure form tells you what the seller knows and is willing to say. An independent well inspection tells you what’s actually going on. A professional inspection includes static water level, pump flow rate, pressure test, and water quality sampling.
- Pull the TWDB record. If the well is registered, there’s a State Driller’s Report (SDR) on file that shows original depth, casing size, water-bearing zones, and drilling date. This is free public data.
- Ask about the GCD. Buyers need to know whether the well requires a permit to operate in that district, and whether there are pumping restrictions, metering requirements, or fees attached.
- Look at water quality test history. If the seller has ever tested for coliform, nitrates, or arsenic, ask for those results. If no testing has been done in the last 2-3 years, budget for a water quality test at closing or make it a condition of the contract.
- Ask about the pump and pressure system age. A well can be structurally sound but have a submersible pump that’s 18 years old and living on borrowed time. Pump replacements on a deep well run $2,500 to $5,000 or more — that’s a negotiating point if you know about it before closing.
Free Pre-Listing Well Check for Your Clients
One thing agents in North Texas can offer their sellers before listing: a free well check to verify the basics are in order before the disclosure form is completed. This helps sellers answer the form accurately, avoids surprises during buyer due diligence, and can speed up the transaction.
TurnkeyWells offers a free well check for properties in DFW and North Texas. It covers current condition, basic pump function, and whether the well is registered. Takes about 30 minutes and costs the seller nothing.
For buyers in the pre-purchase phase, our free GCD lookup and Pre-Drill Report can tell you what aquifer underlies the property, what other wells in the area have yielded, and typical depth ranges for the county — before you commit to buying land that may have difficult drilling conditions.
The Bottom Line for Agents
TREC Form 61-0 isn’t paperwork for paperwork’s sake. It’s the mechanism that protects your buyer from buying a water problem they didn’t know existed — and protects you from the liability that comes with a transaction where the well issue was visible and nothing was done about it.
Know what the form asks. Walk your seller through it honestly. Verify the basics through TWDB. And when in doubt, get a professional inspection done before closing, not after.