# Buying a House With a Well in Texas: What to Check Before Closing

> Buying a house with a well in Texas: records to request, what a well inspection covers, water tests lenders want, and district paperwork after closing.

URL: https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/learn/buying-a-house-with-a-well-in-texas/

Decision Guide

A buyer's checklist for Parker County property on a private well: records, inspection, water test, lender rules and the paperwork after you close.

When buying a house with a well in Texas, get the **State Well Report**, a **well inspection** (flow, pressure, equipment and wellhead), and a **bacteria and nitrate test** drawn before any treatment, all during your option period. Confirm the well's groundwater district registration. After closing, file the district's transfer of ownership form.

[Water Well Drilling Weatherford](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/) inspects wells for buyers across Parker County. Buying a house with a well in Texas comes down to one fact: once you close, the well is entirely yours. No utility maintains it and no agency tests it. So the time to learn about it is the option period, while you can still negotiate.

## 1. Get the records

- **State Well Report.** It shows depth, casing, the formation the well taps and the pump setting at completion. Ask the seller. If they don’t have it, the Texas Water Development Board’s database holds driller reports filed since 2001, searchable by location.
- **District registration.** Parker, Hood, Wise and Montague county wells are registered with the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. Tarrant County wells, including east Azle, are with the Northern Trinity district. An unregistered older well can usually be registered, and that protects your spacing rights when neighbors drill.
- **Service history.** Pump and tank replacement dates, water treatment equipment, and any past bacteria problems.

## 2. Inspect the well itself

A general home inspection confirms water comes out of the faucet. A [well inspection](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/services/water-well-inspection/) checks:

- **Sustained flow and pressure**, long enough to see how the pump cycles and whether pressure holds.
- **Pump, switch, tank and controls.** Amp draw against the pump’s rating, tank pre-charge, and switch contacts.
- **Wellhead:** casing at least 12 inches above ground, a slab, a sanitary cap and a sealed conduit.
- **Setbacks:** 50 ft to the septic tank, 100 ft to the drain field, 150 ft to livestock pens.

HomeGuide’s 2026 data puts a standard well inspection at **$250–$550**, and $350–$800 with lab water testing.

## 3. Test the water

At minimum, test for **coliform bacteria, E. coli and nitrate**, and ideally **total dissolved solids**. The Texas Well Owner Network recommends that panel every year for any private well. Draw the sample at the tap closest to the well, before any softener or filter. If you’re planning treatment, add iron, manganese, hardness and sulfide. See [well water testing](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/services/well-water-testing/).

## 4. Know what your lender wants

FHA guidelines require the water to meet local or EPA drinking-water standards. They set well distances of 10 ft from the property line, 50 ft from a septic tank and 100 ft from the drain field (75 ft where local authorities allow). A water test is required when the well is under 100 ft from the septic. Other loan types have their own requirements. Ask your lender early.

## 5. Look for old wells

Farm properties often have a hand-dug or abandoned well. Under Texas Occupations Code §1901.255, the landowner has 180 days to plug an abandoned or deteriorated well once they know about it. Ask the seller to [plug it](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/services/abandoned-well-plugging/) before closing, or price it into the deal.

## 6. After closing

File the Upper Trinity district’s **transfer of ownership** form for a registered well, and keep the inspection report and water results with your property records. Start the yearly habit of a [water test](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/services/well-water-testing/) and a system check.

Want all of this on one page? Our printable [land buyer water well checklist](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/checklist/) covers the records, inspection, water tests and district rules in order.

## Bottom line

Use the option period for three things: the well's records, a real well inspection with a sustained flow test, and a lab water test. They typically cost **$350–$800** together, and they're the only way to know whether the well is a feature or a four-figure repair.

Questions about your own well? Call [(817) 382-3840](tel:+18173823840). A person answers 24/7.

Sources

1. [HomeGuide, well inspection cost (2026)](https://homeguide.com/costs/well-inspection-cost)
2. [Texas Water Development Board, Submitted Drillers Reports database](https://www.twdb.texas.gov/groundwater/data/drillersdb.asp)
3. [Upper Trinity GCD, FAQs (ownership transfer)](https://uppertrinitygcd.com/faqs/)
4. [HUD Handbook 4000.1 (FHA well and septic distances)](https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/OCHCO/documents/4000.1hsgh-011823.pdf)
5. [TDLR, abandoned or deteriorated water wells](https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/media/pressrelease/2025-08-25-keep-an-eye-out-for-abandoned-or-deteriorated-water-wells.pdf)

## Quick answers

**How do I find the records for a well?**

Ask the seller for the State Well Report first. If they don't have it, drillers have filed reports in the Texas Water Development Board's online database since 2001, searchable by location. The groundwater district can confirm whether the well is registered.

**Should the water test be taken after the softener?**

No. Lenders and labs generally want the sample from the tap closest to the well, **before** any softener or filter, unless the treatment is permanently installed and needed to make the water safe.

**What if there's an old unused well on the property?**

Texas law makes an abandoned or deteriorated well the landowner's responsibility, with 180 days to plug it once they know about it. Ask the seller to plug it before closing, or price the plugging into your offer.

## More water well inspection guides

- Decision Guide **[How Do You Check a Well Driller's License in Texas?](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/learn/check-well-driller-license-texas/).** Five minutes on two public databases tells you whether the company you're about to hire is licensed and what it has actually drilled.

[Water Well Inspection service](https://waterwelldrillingweatherford.com/services/water-well-inspection/)

## Ask about your property

Share the address area and what you're planning. We'll call back with the nearby well depths and a price range.

Faster by phone, any hour: [(817) 382-3840](tel:+18173823840)