Drilling a Well in Arizona: Permits, Spacing, and Reports

Drilling a well in Arizona requires permits and compliance with state construction rules before any work begins. You must file a Notice of Intent to Drill with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), hire a licensed well drilling contractor (with a narrow self-drill exception for homeowners), site the well away from contamination sources, and meet minimum construction standards. After the well is finished, both the driller and the owner file separate reports with ADWR.

The specifics shift depending on whether your well is “exempt” (domestic use, 35 gallons per minute or less) and whether your property sits inside one of Arizona’s Active Management Areas (AMAs). Most residential wells are exempt and fall under the lighter set of requirements.

Who Can Drill the Well

All new well construction and modification in Arizona must happen under the direct, personal supervision of a driller who holds an ADWR well driller’s license.¹ Hiring an unlicensed driller or doing the work yourself on a standard well is not permitted.

One exception exists for landowners. If you own the property and want to drill an exempt well, you can apply to ADWR for a single well license at no charge.¹ ADWR issues that license with small-well construction standards attached. It only covers an exempt well on land you own.

When you hire a drilling contractor, confirm two separate credentials. The driller needs the ADWR well driller’s license and a valid contractor license from the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. The Notice of Intent application requires proof of both.² Ask to see each one before signing a contract.

Is Your Well Exempt?

Arizona sorts wells into two categories, and the classification affects fees, siting rules, and ongoing obligations. An exempt well is generally a domestic-use well equipped to pump no more than 35 gallons per minute.³ Most household wells qualify. An exempt well still needs a Notice of Intent, but it does not need a separate groundwater withdrawal permit, and it is not subject to AMA well spacing rules.

A non-exempt well pumps more than 35 GPM or serves irrigation, commercial, or industrial uses. Inside an AMA, a non-exempt well generally requires a groundwater withdrawal permit, must comply with well spacing and impact rules, and triggers annual water-use reporting and metering. Outside AMAs and Irrigation Non-Expansion Areas, the regulatory load is lighter, but the Notice of Intent and construction standards still apply.⁴

Filing the Notice of Intent to Drill

Before any drilling begins, a Notice of Intent (NOI) must be filed with ADWR on Form 55-40.⁵ This rule covers every part of Arizona, inside and outside AMAs, and applies to new wells, deepening existing wells, and modifications.

The application asks for:

A legal description of the land and the well’s position on the parcel
The proposed depth, casing diameter, casing type, and design pumping capacity
The intended use of the groundwater and the land where it will be used
The driller’s name, ADWR license number, and proof of a valid Registrar of Contractors license
When drilling is expected to begin

These requirements come straight from the statute and tend to be more detailed than first-time applicants anticipate.²

Filing Fees

A filing fee is paid with the NOI. The amount depends on the well type and location:

Inside an AMA or INA: $150 for any well
Outside an AMA or INA, domestic use at 35 GPM or less: $100
Outside an AMA or INA, all other wells: $150

These amounts appear on the current version of Form 55-40.⁶

Processing Time and Validity

ADWR has a statutory limit of 15 days to process a Notice of Intent.⁷ Once approved, the drilling authority is valid for one year. If drilling does not happen within that window, a new NOI and a new fee are required.⁴

Where You Can Put the Well

Arizona’s primary siting rule is straightforward. No well may be drilled within 100 feet of any septic tank system, sewage disposal area, landfill, hazardous waste facility, or petroleum or hazardous material storage area.⁸ The ADWR director can authorize a written exception, but it is not routine.

State law does not set specific setbacks from property lines or neighboring wells.⁷ County health departments can and often do impose additional separation requirements, so check with your county before you finalize the location.

Small-Parcel Health Authority Review

If any water from the well will serve domestic purposes on a parcel of five acres or less, the NOI must include a well site plan reviewed and approved by the county or local health authority.² The plan must show the proposed well location, the county assessor’s parcel number, and the position of any septic system on the property or within 100 feet. If the health authority flags a conflict with the septic system, that has to be resolved before ADWR will process the NOI.

Spacing Rules in Active Management Areas

Inside an AMA, additional well spacing and impact rules govern the placement of new non-exempt wells. The rules are designed to prevent large-capacity wells from unreasonably damaging surrounding land or other water users.⁹

Important boundary: spacing rules do not apply to exempt wells inside AMAs.³ If your well is a standard domestic well pumping 35 GPM or less, these spacing restrictions will not affect you. They mainly matter for agricultural, commercial, or municipal wells.

Construction Standards the Well Must Meet

Once drilling authority is in hand, the well itself has to meet ADWR’s minimum construction standards. These standards protect the aquifer from contamination and keep the well functional over time.

Casing

Wells must be constructed with steel or thermoplastic casing (PVC or ABS). No other materials are allowed unless the driller obtains a variance from the ADWR director.¹⁰ The casing must extend at least one foot above the natural ground surface. That stickup keeps surface runoff, floodwater, and debris from flowing directly into the well.

Surface Seal

Every well needs a surface seal, a layer of cement grout placed in the space between the outside of the casing and the borehole wall. The seal isolates the well from shallow, potentially contaminated water. The minimum seal length is 20 feet below the land surface.¹⁰

The annular space, meaning the gap between the casing and the borehole, has a minimum width that depends on well type. For standard drilled wells it is one and one-half inches. For hand-dug wells that use casing, the minimum widens to three inches.¹⁰

Reports Due After Drilling

Arizona requires two separate post-construction filings. They are easy to confuse.

Well Driller Report (Form 55-55)

Within 30 days of finishing the drilling work, the licensed driller files a Well Driller Report and Well Log on Form 55-55.¹¹ This is the driller’s job, not the owner’s. The report records the well’s as-built specifications: actual depth, casing material and depth, annular seal materials, and a detailed geologic log of the formations encountered.¹² The driller can submit it through ADWR’s online portal or by mail.

Well Completion Report

After the pump is installed, the well owner (not the driller) files a separate completion report within 30 days of the pump installation.¹¹ It covers the pump equipment type, tested pumping capacity in gallons per minute (based on at least four hours of continuous operation), drawdown measurements, and the static groundwater level. The completion report becomes the official record of your well’s capacity and water level, which matters if a water rights dispute arises or when you sell the property.

Abandoning an Old Well

If an old, unused, or failing well sits on the property you’re drilling on, Arizona law requires it to be properly abandoned rather than left in place. An open or improperly sealed well can act as a channel for contamination to reach the aquifer.

Abandonment must be performed by a licensed well drilling contractor or a single well licensee. The well owner first files a notice of intent to abandon with ADWR, and the driller cannot begin work without an abandonment authorization card issued by the director for that specific well.¹³

The physical work involves filling or sealing the well so it cannot carry water vertically. A cement grout surface seal extending at least 20 feet below the land surface is required, and wells that penetrate aquifers with vertical flow between layers must be sealed with cement grout or bentonite mud dense enough to prevent communication between those layers.¹³ Within 30 days of completion, both the driller and the owner file abandonment reports with ADWR.

Water Quality Testing

One thing to know going in: neither the federal government nor Arizona requires ongoing water quality testing for private domestic wells. The EPA states that private well safety is not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and responsibility for safe water falls on the homeowner.¹⁴

The lack of regulation doesn’t mean testing is unnecessary. It means nobody will do it for you. The EPA recommends annual testing for coliform bacteria and nitrates at a minimum, with additional testing for contaminants common in your area. Standard laboratory tests typically run $30 to $400 depending on scope. In parts of Arizona with known arsenic or fluoride in the groundwater, broader panels are worth the cost. Keeping records also helps at resale, since buyers and lenders often ask for proof of water quality on well-served parcels.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 45-595 – Well Construction Requirements; Licensing of Well Drillers
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 45-596 – Notice of Intention to Drill; Fee
3
Arizona Department of Water Resources. Well Drilling in Arizona
4
Arizona Department of Water Resources. Groundwater Wells and Permitting
5
Arizona Department of Water Resources. 55-40 Notice of Intention to Drill, Deepen, Replace or Modify a Well
6
Arizona Department of Water Resources. 55-40 Notice of Intention to Drill, Deepen, Replace or Modify a Well
7
Arizona Department of Water Resources. Frequently Asked Questions
8
Legal Information Institute. Arizona Administrative Code R12-15-818 – Well Location
9
Arizona Department of Water Resources. Well Spacing and Impact Rules
10
Legal Information Institute. Arizona Administrative Code R12-15-811 – Minimum Well Construction Requirements
11
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 45-600 – Filing of Report by Driller; Filing of Completion Report
12
Arizona Department of Water Resources. Form 55-55 Well Driller Report and Well Log
13
Legal Information Institute. Arizona Administrative Code R12-15-816 – Abandonment
14
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Private Drinking Water Wells