How to Verify Water Rights in Texas

Groundwater Rights

Step 1: Research the Deed Record

You own the groundwater beneath your land unless you, or an earlier owner, reserved or sold it in a past deed. The only way to know is to trace the property's chain of title and look for any instrument that severed the groundwater from the surface.

You can do this yourself. Each county clerk keeps the deed records, many of them searchable online, and commercial records platforms can reach all 254 counties. The work is in the tracing: an unbroken chain back through prior owners, reading each instrument for water language. A simple name search isn't enough, because it shows transactions, not what each one actually conveyed.

Prefer to hand it off? Tell us about the property and we'll trace the chain, pull the recorded instruments, and deliver a documented Water Rights Records Report: what the records show, and what they don't. Because the work depends on the county - some keep deeds online, while many rural counties hold them only at the courthouse and call for an in-person visit - we scope each request and send you a quote and timeline before any work begins. (Don't have the legal description? A Texas Property Water Profile includes it.)

Groundwater Rights

Step 2: Get a Legal Opinion

A records report shows you what's in the chain of title. Whether those records mean you own the groundwater, or that someone else does, is a legal question, not a research one. For that, you'll want an attorney experienced in Texas groundwater law to review the record and give a formal opinion.

If you'd like, we can refer you to a water law attorney. Tell us a little about the property and we'll connect you.

Surface Water Rights

Step 1: Research the State Record

Surface water — rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs — belongs to the state, and the right to divert or use it is granted by permit or certificate of adjudication. The helpful part: Texas publishes all of it in one place.

The TCEQ Water Rights Viewer maps the surface water rights on record across Texas. Look up a property and you can see the rights tied to it and the surrounding area: who holds each one, the type of right, and how much water it covers.

That tells you what's documented. Whether a given right is actually in your name, or transfers to you with the land, is the next question.

Surface Water Rights

Step 2: Get a Legal Opinion

The viewer shows you what's recorded. Whether a documented right belongs to you, or transfers with the property you're buying, is a legal determination. An attorney experienced in Texas water law can review the certificate or permit, check how it's held, and give you a formal opinion.

If you'd like, we can refer you to a water law attorney for this too. Tell us about the property and we'll connect you.