Texas well driller & pump installer licensing FAQ

Each of the four exams is different:

• General Well Driller — 60 scored questions, 110 minutes, 70% to pass.
• Water Well Driller — 70 scored questions, 112 minutes, 70% to pass.
• General Pump Installer — 60 scored questions, 110 minutes, 70% to pass.
• Single-Phase Pump Installer — 30 scored questions, 55 minutes, 70% to pass.

Exams may also include unscored pretest items, so the number on screen can be higher than the scored count. Always check the current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin for your exam.

A well report must be filed within 60 days after drilling is completed or stops. It goes to the department, to the well owner, and to the groundwater conservation district if the well sits in one. Plugging a well is different: the plugging report is due within 30 days of plugging.

The standard separation distances are:

• 150 feet — animal pens, privies, cemeteries, and pesticide mixing or loading areas
• 100 feet — a septic system drain field
• 50 feet — a sewage treatment facility, a septic tank, or the property line

Certain of these can be reduced where the well is cemented in the manner the rule specifies. Read the rule itself before relying on a reduced distance — and note that a groundwater conservation district or a city may impose stricter requirements than the state minimum.

An abandoned or deteriorated well must be plugged or capped by the 180th day after the landowner learns of its condition. A plugging report is then due within 30 days of plugging. A well that is not in use and is neither capped nor plugged is both a hazard and a violation.

A cap must sustain a weight of at least 400 pounds and must not be removable by hand. A loose cover or a sheet of plywood does not meet the standard.

Notify the landowner within 24 hours and the department within 30 days. The injurious water zone must be sealed off so it cannot contaminate water of usable quality.

For licences renewing on or after March 1, 2024, the requirement is 8 hours per renewal: 7 industry-related hours plus 1 hour covering Texas water well drilling and pump installation law and rules.

No. A licence is personal to the individual it is issued to and is not transferable. Working under someone else’s licence exposes both people to enforcement.

A landowner drilling on their own land, for their own use, with their own equipment falls outside the statutory definition of a water well driller, so no licence is required in that narrow case. It does not exempt the well from construction, completion and plugging standards. Note that this exemption is statutory — §76.30 contains a separate exemption covering pump and equipment work.

The two trades sit under different statutes: drillers under Occupations Code Chapter 1901, pump installers under Chapter 1902. Both are administered under 16 TAC Chapter 76.

• General Well Driller — Texas Occupations Code Ch. 1901 & 16 TAC Ch. 76
• Water Well Driller — Texas Occupations Code Ch. 1901 & 16 TAC Ch. 76
• General Pump Installer — Texas Occupations Code Ch. 1902 & 16 TAC Ch. 76
• Single-Phase Pump Installer — Texas Occupations Code Ch. 1902 & 16 TAC Ch. 76

Administrative penalties range from $200 to $1,000 for each day a violation continues, in addition to action against the licence itself.