The license is checkable
Texas licenses water well drillers and pump installers through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, with a public license search on the TDLR site. Confirm the license before the rig shows up. It is a two-minute check that filters out the guy with a trailer rig and no accountability, and a licensed driller has a number they will give you without being asked twice.
Demand the paperwork
Every new well in Texas gets a well report filed with the state documenting the depth, what the driller passed through, and how the well was completed. Ask up front for your copy, along with the pump specifications. That paperwork is what turns a hole in the ground into a documented asset when you sell the place, fight a problem, or size a replacement pump years from now. A driller vague about the report is telling you something.
Local knowledge is the product
Out here the real skill is knowing the ground: which zones run brackish near the coast, how deep the good water sits in your county, and what nearby wells hit. Ask what they have drilled within a few miles of you and what depth it took. A driller who works your area answers in specifics, and a vague answer means your property is the experiment.
- Drillers and pump installers are licensed through TDLR
- A state well report gets filed on every new well, and you want your copy
- Local drilling history matters more than equipment photos
Texas requires drillers and pump installers to carry state licensing under separate occupational codes covering each trade. Local groundwater district rules can add their own requirements for spacing, well logs, completion, and shutting a well down properly.
Questions people ask about how to choose a well driller
What should I check no matter what?
Four things, every time: proof of liability insurance sent directly from their insurer, not a photocopy; how long they have worked this area under this name; local references you can actually call; and a written scope before any money moves. Anyone offended by those four is answering your question.