Minnesota Well Disclosure Certificate: Fee, Filing, and Seller Liability

The Minnesota Well Disclosure Certificate is a state-required form that identifies every known well on a property, its location, and its operating status. Sellers must give buyers written well information before signing a purchase agreement and then file a completed certificate with the county recorder at closing. The filing fee is $54, and the county recorder will not record the deed without the certificate (or a valid exemption statement) attached.¹

What Goes on the Certificate

The certificate is an official Minnesota Department of Health form. You can download the PDF from the MDH website or complete one through the state’s e-Well Disclosure system. Either way, the required information is the same.²

You’ll need the property’s full legal description, which you can pull from the current deed. Unplatted land is identified by quarter section, section, township, and range. Platted property uses the lot number, block number, and addition name. The form also asks for the street address and county.

Then you report the total number of wells on the property and give each one a status. Every well type counts: drinking water, irrigation, monitoring, and dewatering wells all must be disclosed. The only wells left off are temporary borings and unsuccessful wells that a licensed contractor has already sealed.¹

The Three Well Status Categories

Every well on the property must be labeled one of three ways:³

In use. The well operates on a daily, regular, or seasonal basis. A well still counts as in use if it runs only for irrigation, fire protection, or emergency pumping.
Not in use. The well is not functioning or is not capable of functioning. A well with a disconnected pump or no power supply fits here.
Sealed. A licensed well contractor has completely filled the well with approved grout material, and MDH has a Well and Boring Sealing Record on file.

If you mark a well as sealed, verify with MDH that the sealing record is actually on file. Marking a well sealed when no record exists creates a discrepancy that can hold up recording.²

Finding the Wells and Drawing the Sketch Map

The certificate includes a sketch map section where you mark each well’s location and estimated distances from roads and buildings. It doesn’t have to be a professional survey, but it needs to be accurate enough that someone could use the drawing to find the well head.²

Locating every well is often the hardest part, especially on older rural parcels. Well heads can be buried under landscaping, hidden in overgrown areas, or covered by additions built decades ago. Old surveys, historical records, and MDH well records for the address can help turn up wells that aren’t visible from the yard. Doing this work before closing is far better than having a buyer discover an undisclosed well afterward.

When You Don’t Need the Full Certificate

If you genuinely don’t know of any wells on the property, you can skip the full form by placing a specific statement on the deed: “The Seller certifies that the Seller does not know of any wells on the described real property.” That statement, printed on the deed or an attached sheet, satisfies the disclosure requirement.¹

Two kinds of transfers are fully exempt from the disclosure requirement:

Severed mineral interests. Transfers that consist solely of mineral rights don’t require a certificate.
Individual condominium units. Selling a single condo unit (as described in Minnesota Chapters 515 and 515B) doesn’t require disclosure. The condo association, though, is separately responsible for reporting well locations and status changes in the common areas to MDH.

Contract-for-Deed Transfers

When a deed is given under a contract for deed, the roles flip. The buyer, not the seller, signs the Well Disclosure Certificate. A buyer with no knowledge of any wells can use a parallel statement on the deed: “The Grantee certifies that the Grantee does not know of any wells on the described real property.” That statement needs the grantee’s signature but does not need to be notarized for the deed to be recordable.¹

Filing the Certificate and Paying the $54 Fee

Two filing routes work. You can download the PDF, fill it out, and present the signed paper copy at closing, or you can use the state’s e-Well Disclosure system to enter and submit the information online.⁴

The completed certificate must be filed with the county recorder or registrar of titles in the county where the property is located, at the same time the deed is recorded. The filing fee is $54.⁵

The county recorder will refuse to record the deed if the certificate or a valid exemption statement is missing. That’s the teeth in the law: no certificate, no recording, no transfer.⁶

Seller Liability for Six Years

A seller who knew or had reason to know about a well and failed to disclose its existence or status at the time of sale is liable to the buyer for the cost of sealing that well, plus reasonable attorney fees the buyer incurs collecting those costs. That liability runs for six years from the closing date.¹

The “knew or had reason to know” language matters. A seller who truly had no knowledge of a buried well on a large rural parcel sits in a different position than one who disconnected a pump a few years back and left the well off the form. Because attorney fees are recoverable, this is also a claim buyers can realistically pursue.

Buyers and sellers can agree in writing before closing to waive this liability. A buyer thinking about signing a waiver should pause: you’re giving up the right to recover sealing costs if undisclosed wells turn up later.

What Buyers Should Do With the Certificate

Once you take ownership, every well on the property is yours to deal with. Under Minnesota Statute 103I.301, a well that is not in use must be sealed by a licensed contractor unless you obtain a maintenance permit for it. The same rule applies to environmental and dewatering wells no longer operating.⁷

This is where the certificate earns its keep for a buyer. If a well is listed as “not in use,” you know going in that you’ll need to either seal it or get a maintenance permit. Sealing typically runs $1,000 to $4,000 depending on depth and condition, so building that figure into your offer or asking for a seller credit is a reasonable move. Doing nothing isn’t a legal option.

What the State Does Not Require

Minnesota does not require private well water to be tested at property transfer, does not require a well inspection, and does not require an existing well to meet the current well code when the property changes hands. The well code (Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4725) governs new construction, modifications, and sealing — not the transfer of an existing well as-is.⁸

Your lender may still require coliform bacteria and nitrate testing as a condition of loan approval, and Dakota County has a local ordinance requiring well testing at property transfer. If either applies to your deal, schedule the testing early enough that the results are back before closing.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 103I.235 – Real Property Sale; Disclosure of Location of Wells
2
Minnesota Department of Health. Well Disclosure Certificate Instructions and Form
3
Minnesota Department of Health. Well Disclosure/Property Transfer
4
Minnesota Department of Health. e-Well Disclosure Filer Login
5
Minnesota Association of Counties. Statewide County Fees
6
Minnesota Department of Health. Well Disclosure/Property Transfer
7
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 103I.301 – Sealing Wells and Borings
8
Minnesota Department of Health. What You Should Know About Wells at Property Transfer