To get mineral rights in Texas, you either buy them (together with the surface or separately through a mineral deed), inherit them, or reserve them for yourself when you sell surface land. Whichever route applies, the transfer has to be in writing, signed by the current owner, notarized, and recorded with the county clerk where the land sits. Before any of that, you have to know who actually owns the minerals today, because in most of Texas the mineral estate was severed from the surface long ago and has changed hands many times since.
Find Out Who Owns the Minerals First
Texas law treats the surface of a tract and the minerals beneath it as two separate estates that can be owned by different people. Once split, the result is a severed mineral estate, and in areas with a long history of oil and gas development, severance is the norm.1Railroad Commission of Texas. Oil and Gas Exploration and Surface Ownership
Ownership is traced through public property records at the county clerk’s office in the county where the land is located. The clerk maintains recorded deeds, leases, and other documents that show when the mineral estate was severed and every transfer since. A thorough search tells you whether the surface owner still holds the minerals or whether they were reserved or sold off decades ago.
Because mineral chains of title can run a century or more, with fractional interests split among dozens of heirs, most buyers hire a landman or a real estate attorney to do this work. A landman’s job is specifically to search courthouse records, identify mineral owners, and assemble a clear picture of who owns what. Many Texas counties now offer online access to property records as a starting point, but a complete determination usually still requires examining original documents in person.
The Texas Railroad Commission adds two useful tools. Its online well records database lets you search drilling permits, completion reports, and plugging records tied to a specific lease, which helps identify operators and production history on the tract.2Railroad Commission of Texas. Oil and Gas Well Records – Online The Commission’s public GIS viewer maps oil, gas, and pipeline data so you can see well locations and lease boundaries visually.3Railroad Commission of Texas. Railroad Commission of Texas – Public GIS Viewer
One distinction to keep in mind while you research: not every mineral stake is equal. A full mineral interest carries executive rights, meaning the holder controls whether and how the minerals are leased. A non-executive or royalty-only interest entitles the holder to receive royalties and sometimes lease bonuses but strips out the power to sign a lease. A royalty interest is cheaper, but you will have no say in who drills or on what terms.
The Four Ways Ownership Changes Hands
Buying with the Surface Estate
The simplest path is buying a property where the minerals were never severed. The seller owns both the surface and the minerals, and the deed contains no reservation language. Even then, confirm it through the title search rather than trust the seller’s description. Make sure the purchase contract explicitly states that all mineral rights are being conveyed. A vague deed leads to disputes later about what was actually transferred.
Buying the Minerals Separately
When the minerals have already been severed, you buy them directly from the mineral owner using a mineral deed. The transaction is independent of the surface estate. The current owner might be a private individual, a family trust, or a company that acquired the rights years ago. Pricing typically turns on current and potential production, the geology of the area, and whether any active leases are in place. An existing lease carries over to the new owner, so review its terms before closing.
Inheriting Mineral Rights
Mineral rights are real property in Texas and pass to heirs like any other real estate. If the owner left a valid will, the rights go to whoever the will designates through the probate process. If the owner died without a will, Texas intestacy rules control. When the deceased had a surviving spouse and children, for example, the spouse receives a life estate in one-third of the deceased’s separate real property, which includes severed mineral rights, while the children inherit the remainder.4State of Texas. Texas Estates Code 201.002 – Separate Estate of an Intestate
Inherited interests are where fractionation gets out of hand. A grandparent’s full mineral interest splits among three children, then among their children, and within two generations a dozen owners each hold a tiny undivided fraction. Buyers can sometimes acquire these fragmented interests at a lower cost per acre because the individual holders may not find it worthwhile to manage such a small share.
Reserving Minerals When You Sell the Surface
Reservation is not a way to acquire minerals from someone else. It is how a seller keeps them while selling the surface. When you convey a tract, you can include language in the deed reserving all or a portion of the mineral estate. A seller of a 100-acre tract might reserve 50% of the minerals, creating a severed mineral estate in the process. If you are buying surface land, read the deed carefully for reservation clauses, because they explain why so many Texas properties have split ownership.
What the Mineral Deed Must Say
Texas law requires any conveyance of real property, including mineral rights, to be in writing and signed by the person transferring ownership.5State of Texas. Texas Property Code 5.021 – Instrument of Conveyance A valid mineral deed needs to include:
- The full legal names of grantor and grantee, spelled correctly. Errors here create title problems that can take years to clean up.
- A granting clause stating the seller’s intent to transfer the mineral interest, specifying the exact fraction or percentage being conveyed.
- Consideration, meaning the price paid. For privacy, deeds commonly recite a nominal amount such as “ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration” rather than the actual purchase price.
- A precise legal description of the land under which the minerals lie, typically using metes and bounds, lot and block references, or a survey description. This is the single most important element; an ambiguous or incorrect legal description can void the transfer or create a boundary dispute.
The grantor must sign the deed. Texas does not require the grantee to sign. The deed must also be delivered to the grantee and accepted to complete the transfer.
Warranty Deed vs. Quitclaim Deed
The type of deed you receive affects your protection as a buyer. A general warranty deed means the seller guarantees clear title and agrees to defend it against all claims, past and present. That is what you want in a standard arm’s-length purchase. If the title turns out to have a defect, the seller bears responsibility.
A quitclaim deed transfers only whatever interest the seller happens to have, with no guarantees at all. If the seller owns nothing, you get nothing. Quitclaim deeds are common in family transfers, estate settlements, and situations where one party is cleaning up a title cloud. As a buyer paying market value, insist on a warranty deed.
Notarize and Record the Deed
After the deed is signed, the grantor’s signature must be acknowledged before a notary public. The notary verifies the signer’s identity and confirms they signed voluntarily. Without proper notarization, the county clerk will reject the document for recording.
The notarized deed then gets filed with the county clerk in the county where the property is located. The clerk scans it into the official public records and returns the original to the grantee. Recording costs a base fee of $5 for the first page plus $4 for each additional page. Counties also add supplemental fees for records management, archiving, and technology that can bring the total for a typical one-page mineral deed to roughly $20 to $30.6State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code 118.011 – Fee Schedule
Recording is not technically required for the deed to be valid between buyer and seller. Skipping it is reckless anyway. Under Texas law, an unrecorded conveyance is void against a later buyer who pays value and has no knowledge of the earlier transfer.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 13.001 – Validity of Unrecorded Instrument If the seller turns around and conveys the same mineral interest to someone else who records first, you can lose your rights entirely. Record the deed the same day it is signed if possible.
What You Take On as a Mineral Owner
Property Taxes
Severed mineral interests are subject to ad valorem property taxes in Texas, like surface land. The county appraisal district values mineral interests based on the income they produce or their potential to produce. If you own minerals under a producing well, expect a tax bill that reflects the value of that production. Even non-producing mineral interests may carry some assessed value, though Texas exempts mineral interests with a taxable value below $500 from property tax entirely.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.146 – Mineral Interest Having Value of Less Than $500
Failing to pay property taxes on a mineral interest can eventually lead to a tax lien and foreclosure, as with any other real property in Texas. If you are buying a small fractional interest in a non-producing area, the $500 exemption may mean you owe nothing, but verify that with the local appraisal district.
Surface Access if Someone Else Owns the Surface
When you acquire mineral rights on land where someone else owns the surface, you have an implied right to use the surface as reasonably necessary to explore for and produce minerals. The mineral estate is the “dominant” estate under Texas law.1Railroad Commission of Texas. Oil and Gas Exploration and Surface Ownership
That right is not unlimited. Under the accommodation doctrine, a mineral owner or lessee must accommodate the surface owner’s pre-existing uses when feasible alternatives exist. If the surface owner can show a permanent, pre-existing use that would be destroyed by mineral operations, and an established industry alternative exists that would let the minerals be recovered while preserving that use, the mineral owner must adopt the alternative, even if it costs more.9Texas Real Estate Research Center. Surface Tension: Accommodation of the Estates Doctrine Many mineral owners and operators negotiate a surface use agreement covering compensation, facility placement, safety, and land restoration before beginning operations, even though Texas does not legally require one.
Leasing to an Operator
Most mineral owners do not drill wells themselves. They lease their rights to an operator in exchange for a bonus payment at signing, a primary term of three to five years during which the operator must begin drilling or lose the lease, delay rentals to keep the lease alive during the primary term if drilling has not started, and a royalty on production (historically one-eighth, though owners with leverage negotiate higher). Once production begins, the lease continues as long as the well produces in paying quantities, which can be decades. The bonus gets the headlines, but the royalty percentage is where the real money is over the life of a producing well. Hiring an oil and gas attorney to review lease terms before you sign is worth the cost, especially for pooling clauses, shut-in royalty terms, and post-production cost deductions, which can quietly reduce what you actually receive.