This page is the central resource for TREC Form 61-0 – the new Texas mandatory water rights disclosure form effective May 4, 2026. Whether you are a seller trying to complete the form accurately, a buyer evaluating a property with a well, or an agent building this into your listing process, you will find what you need here.
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TurnkeyWells will keep this page updated as TREC releases the final form and any interpretive guidance.
Where This Form Came From
Every Texas state agency undergoes a periodic review by the Sunset Advisory Commission, a legislative oversight body that evaluates whether agencies are operating effectively and serving the public interest. When the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) went through its most recent Sunset review, the Commission identified a consistent gap in how Texas property transactions handled water.
Buyers were routinely purchasing Texas properties without knowing whether the land sat inside a Groundwater Conservation District, whether there were registered water wells, or whether the seller had sold or leased away any groundwater rights. In a state where more than one million water wells exist and where groundwater law is highly localized, that gap created real harm.
The Sunset Advisory Commission directed TREC to add water rights disclosures to its contract forms. TREC responded by creating an entirely new standalone form.
TREC Form 61-0, Water Notice: Seller’s Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights, was proposed on February 9, 2026, under Texas Administrative Code 22 TAC §537.68. The public comment period ran through late March 2026. The form was adopted with an effective date of May 4, 2026.
Form 61-0 is separate from the existing Seller’s Disclosure Notice (Form 55-0), which is simultaneously being updated with five additional disclosure categories in 2026. Form 61-0 stands on its own and must be completed alongside, not instead of, the standard disclosure.
What TREC Form 61-0 Actually Asks
It is important to understand what this form covers and what it does not. TREC Form 61-0 is a water rights and groundwater district disclosure form. It asks sellers what they know about the legal status of water on the property – who owns the rights, whether the property is regulated by a Groundwater Conservation District, and whether any rights have been transferred.
It does not ask about well depth, pump condition, casing integrity, or water quality. Those items belong on TDLR’s driller completion report (Form WWD001), which is filed by licensed well drillers with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. If you need physical well condition data, that comes from an inspection and a driller’s log – not from TREC Form 61-0.
Here is what the form actually requires.
Section 2 – Groundwater and Water Wells
Groundwater Conservation District status. Is any part of the property located within a Groundwater Conservation District? If yes, the seller must identify the district by name and provide its website. Texas has more than 100 GCDs, and each one has different rules around well permits, production limits, and registration requirements. Buyers need to know whether those rules apply to the property they are purchasing.
Well existence and count. Does the property have water wells? If yes, how many total, how many are currently in use, and how many have been plugged, capped, or abandoned. This applies to all well types – domestic supply, irrigation, stock, and others.
GCD permit and registration numbers. If the property is inside a GCD, the seller must provide the permit or registration numbers for each well. These numbers tie the well to official district records.
Well ownership and agreements. The form asks who owns and operates each well, who benefits from it, and whether any agreements govern shared or third-party access. This includes easements, co-op arrangements, and informal understandings. If a neighbor draws from a shared well or a utility holds a pump easement, that needs to be disclosed.
Water from an off-property well. Does the property receive water from a well located on another property? If yes, what agreements cover that arrangement?
Groundwater rights from outside the property. Does any well on the property rely on groundwater rights that were acquired from land outside the property boundary?
Severed, sold, or leased groundwater rights. Have any groundwater rights been severed from the surface estate, sold, or leased – with or without retaining the right to drill? Severed water rights are common in Texas and can significantly affect what a new owner can do with the land’s water.
Section 3 – Surface Water
Surface water rights. Does the seller own any surface water rights associated with the property? If yes, the seller must provide the TCEQ permit, filing, or certification of adjudication number. If more than one person owns an interest in the right, all owners and their interests must be identified.
Ponds, lakes, and water tanks. Is there a pond, lake, or water tank on the property – even one that is currently dry? This disclosure applies regardless of whether the feature currently holds water.
What This Means for Sellers
The sellers who complete Form 61-0 cleanly are the ones who gather documentation before they list, not after they go under contract.
Before filling out the form, locate any well permits or GCD registration numbers you have on file. If you do not have them, they can often be found through the Groundwater Conservation District that covers your county or through TDLR’s online well registry. Pull your deed and any title commitments to check for language about severed water rights or water-related easements. If you are uncertain whether your property falls inside a GCD, that can be confirmed through the Texas Water Development Board’s online GCD map.
TurnkeyWells can fast-track the public records portion of this process. By searching state databases using your property address, we can confirm your GCD status, identify any wells registered to your parcel through TDLR and TWDB records, and surface TCEQ surface water permit numbers where they exist.
The fields that cannot be filled by a database search – whether a well is currently in use, what agreements cover third-party access, and whether rights have been severed – require you to review your records and consult your title company.
What This Means for Buyers
TREC Form 61-0 gives you a written record of what the seller knows about the water situation on the property. That is valuable, but it is a starting point, not a conclusion.
The form captures seller knowledge. It does not test the well, confirm the pump is functioning, verify water quality, or tell you whether the listed wells are in the condition described. Sellers may not have had their wells inspected in years, and their answers on the form reflect that.
For any Texas property purchase that includes a water well, buyers should request an independent well inspection and a water quality test. TurnkeyWells can also run the property through state records to provide an independent view of what wells are registered, when they were drilled, how deep they were completed, and who drilled them. If the seller’s disclosure says one thing and the TDLR record says another, that discrepancy is worth resolving before closing.
What This Means for Real Estate Agents
Agents are responsible for ensuring that Form 61-0 is in every applicable transaction package. The form’s legal obligation falls on the seller, but agents who allow disclosure gaps create license exposure for themselves.
Build the form into your listing intake process. Before you accept a listing on a property that may have a well, identify all registered wells using TCEQ and TDLR records, confirm GCD status, and give the seller the documentation they need to answer the form accurately. TurnkeyWells delivers this data in a fast report so you are not navigating multiple state databases.
For buyer’s agents, request Form 61-0 early and cross-reference it against public records. The form is stronger evidence when it is backed by independent data.
What TurnkeyWells Can Pre-Fill From Public Records
Based on a property address or parcel, TurnkeyWells can automatically surface the following for Form 61-0 preparation:
From public databases:
- Groundwater Conservation District membership – yes or no, with district name and website
- Wells registered with TDLR and TWDB for the parcel, including completion depth, driller name, and completion date (drawn from our database of more than 694,000 Texas well records)
- TCEQ surface water permit or certification numbers where applicable
What requires human action:
- Whether a registered well is currently in active use (requires a site visit or seller verification)
- Third-party ownership agreements, co-op memberships, and easements (requires title review)
- Severed or leased groundwater rights (requires a title search and deed review)
- Presence of ponds or tanks not visible from aerial imagery
Running a TurnkeyWells report before completing Form 61-0 does not replace legal or title review. It closes the public records gap quickly so that the human steps are the only ones remaining.
Form Status and Updates
[Last Updated: March 2026] TREC Form 61-0 was proposed on February 9, 2026, and adopted with an effective date of May 4, 2026. The public comment period closed in late March 2026. The final adopted form may contain minor changes from the draft published in February.
TurnkeyWells will update this page when TREC publishes the final version and any interpretive guidance from the Texas Real Estate Commission or the Broker-Lawyer Committee.
The draft form is publicly available at the TREC website. Your real estate attorney or licensed agent can confirm the current required version for your specific transaction.
Related Resources
- What Texas Property Sellers Need to Know About Their Water Well Before Listing – practical pre-listing checklist for sellers
- Texas Realtor Guide to Water Well Disclosures – step-by-step compliance checklist for agents
- New Texas Water Well Disclosure Requirements for 2026 – regulatory background and timeline for real estate professionals
- Water Well Drilling in Anderson County, Texas – county-level well data and drilling context
- Texas Cities Are Running Dry: Why Groundwater Wells Are the Answer – the broader Texas groundwater situation
TurnkeyWells.com provides well data research and reporting for Texas properties. This page is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Texas real estate attorney for guidance specific to your transaction.