The well permit filing every Colorado sale needs (and half forget)
Here’s the one piece of well paperwork that applies to every Colorado sale, whether or not anyone tests a drop of water: updating the well permit’s ownership with the Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR). It’s free. It takes minutes. And it routinely doesn’t happen.
What the filing is
Colorado wells operate under permits issued by DWR, and DWR requires permit holders to keep the owner name and contact information current — the requirement DWR cites is section 37-90-143 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. When a property with a well changes hands, the new owner (or someone acting for them) files a Change of Owner Name/Contact Information form.
One important honesty note, straight from DWR: this filing updates contact information only — “this action does not convey real property.” It doesn’t create water rights, and skipping it doesn’t undo your purchase. What it does is keep the state’s record pointing at the person who actually owns the well — which matters the day you need a repair permit, want to replace the pump, respond to a well-field question, or sell the place yourself.
Who files it — and why it gets missed
On DWR’s eForms portal there are three versions of this filing, and the list itself tells the story:
- Change of Owner — filed by the well owner, their attorney, or an authorized agent (non-owners need a letter of authorization).
- Title Companies — Change of Owner — filed by the title company during a real estate transaction, using the well permit number.
- Title Companies — Change of Owner (no valid permit number available) — for closings where nobody can find the permit number.
Title companies file this “in many cases,” in DWR’s own words. In many cases is not always. Nobody at the closing table is required to confirm it happened, and no one sends you a reminder. The result: wells all over Colorado are still registered to owners two sales back.
Check whether your well’s record is current
Before filing anything, look your well up — it’s public:
- Open DWR’s Well Permit Search.
- Search by address, parcel, or section-township-range. (The permit number, if you have closing documents, is faster still.)
- Check the owner name on the permit record. If it’s the person you bought the house from — or someone older than that — the filing was missed.
While you’re in the record, note the permit number and keep it with your house documents; every future well interaction starts with it. If no permit shows up at all, that’s worth resolving before you’re the seller — an unregistered well surfacing during a sale adds paperwork at the worst possible moment.
File it (ten minutes, free)
On the eForms portal, pick the Change of Owner form, create an account, and submit — there’s no filing fee. DWR asks for patience while records update (allow a few weeks). If you’re filing for someone else, include the letter of authorization the form describes.
Where this fits in the bigger picture
The DWR filing is the “state” layer of the three rule layers on every Colorado well sale — alongside your county’s rules and the buyer’s lender. It’s the only one of the three that applies to literally every sale, and the only one that’s free.
Selling and want the whole well side handled — test scheduled, sample pulled by someone lenders accept, paperwork checked? That’s what the form below is for.