What Is TREC Form 61-0 and What Does It Mean for Texas Well Owners?

Buying or selling a North Texas property with a water well means dealing with TREC Form 61-0 — the Seller’s Disclosure of Property Condition addendum for wells. This guide breaks down exactly what the form requires, what key terms mean legally, and what both buyers and sellers should do before closing.

What TREC Form 61-0 Requires Sellers to Disclose

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) Form 61-0 is a mandatory disclosure addendum when any water well — active, inactive, capped, or abandoned — is present on the property. Sellers must identify:

• Whether a well exists and its location on the property
• The type of well (water supply, irrigation, stock tank, etc.)
• The status of the well — active, capped, plugged, or abandoned
• Which Groundwater Conservation District (GCD) has jurisdiction over the well, if any
• Whether the well is registered with the applicable GCD

Sellers are not allowed to simply skip the form if they are “unsure” whether a well exists. If a well is present — even a long-unused one buried under vegetation — disclosure is required. Buyers’ agents should always ask and verify before contract.

What Buyers Should Do When a Property Has a Well

If the seller has disclosed a well on Form 61-0, or if you suspect a well may exist on a property you’re considering, take these steps before closing:

1. Order a professional well inspection. A licensed water well contractor can assess yield, pressure, and pump condition. A basic flow test tells you whether the well can meet household demand.
2. Test the water. At minimum, run a bacteria (coliform) panel. For properties near agricultural land or older homes, add a minerals/nitrate panel and a pesticide screen. Many North Texas lenders require a bacteria-free water test before funding.
3. Confirm GCD registration. Contact the relevant Groundwater Conservation District to verify the well is properly registered. Unregistered wells may be subject to fines or operating restrictions.
4. Review plugging reports for inactive wells. If the seller has disclosed a plugged well, request the TCEQ plugging report to confirm it was done by a licensed driller and meets state standards.
5. Budget for a wellhead inspection. Corroded casing, missing sanitary seals, or surface runoff intrusion points are common issues that can contaminate the water supply and cost several thousand dollars to remediate.

What “Capped,” “Plugged,” and “Abandoned” Mean Legally

These three terms appear on Form 61-0 and are frequently misunderstood — even by real estate agents.

Capped well: The well has been sealed at the surface with a watertight cap but has not been permanently plugged per TCEQ rules. The casing remains intact underground. A capped well may be reactivated, but it should be inspected and possibly rehabilitated first. Many capped wells in North Texas are decades old and were capped when a municipal supply became available.

Plugged well: A plugged well has been permanently decommissioned according to TCEQ regulations. A licensed driller must cement through the casing at specified intervals, destroying the well’s capacity to produce water. The driller is required to file a plugging report with TCEQ within 30 days. You can verify plugging through TCEQ’s online well search database. A properly plugged well poses minimal environmental risk.

Abandoned well: In Texas, a well is considered abandoned if it is no longer used and has not been properly capped or plugged. Abandoned wells are a liability. They can serve as a direct conduit for surface contaminants to enter the aquifer, violating Texas Water Code. Sellers with abandoned wells may face cleanup requirements before sale or price concessions to reflect remediation costs. Licensed drillers can either rehabilitate an abandoned well or plug it to TCEQ standards.

How This Interacts with Groundwater Conservation Districts

Texas sits on several major aquifers — including the Trinity and Woodbine formations used widely across the DFW region. Groundwater is managed locally through Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs), each with its own registration requirements, spacing rules, and production limits.

Form 61-0 asks sellers to name the GCD where the well is located. This matters because:

• Well registration: Most GCDs require all wells to be registered. Unregistered wells may face fines or operating restrictions.
• Spacing requirements: GCDs can restrict how close a new well can be drilled to a property line or existing well, which can affect future drilling options on the property.
• Production limits: Agricultural and irrigation wells may be subject to permitted volumes. Buyers with high water demands should review local GCD rules before contract.
• Water rights: Texas groundwater is governed by the “rule of capture” — you own the water beneath your land — but GCDs can regulate how much you pump.

GCD coverage across DFW Well Service’s 19-county service area:

For counties with no GCD, wells are still regulated under TDLR licensing and the Texas Water Code — there is simply no local district to register with. Always confirm current GCD status through the Texas Water Development Board’s interactive GCD map before closing, as district boundaries can and do change.

Get a Well Inspection from a Licensed Contractor

If you’re buying or selling a property with a well anywhere in DFW Well Service’s 19-county service area — Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Parker, Grayson, Kaufman, Rockwall, Hunt, Wise, Hood, Navarro, Erath, Cooke, Fannin, Palo Pinto, or Somervell County — we can help. We perform pre-purchase well inspections, water quality testing, and well rehabilitation, and we’re familiar with the TREC disclosure requirements that come up in North Texas real estate transactions every day.