Selling Arizona land with a well, or without one

For most rural Arizona land, there is no water company. Water means a well, a neighbor's well, or hauling it in. That makes the well question central to what your land is worth and who will buy it. This page covers both sides: selling land that has a well, and selling land that doesn't.

If your land has a well

Find its registration number

Arizona wells are registered with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), and each gets a registration number that starts with 55-. Before you market the land, find that number. You can search ADWR's well registry ("Wells55") by location on the Wells55 search map or through ADWR's well registry lookup. The record shows what ADWR has on file for the well. Our well lookup guide walks through the search.

If you can't find a registration, that is worth knowing too. A buyer will ask, and it's better to find out now than in escrow.

Exempt vs. non-exempt

Under A.R.S. 45-454, a well with a pump capacity of 35 gallons per minute or less is an exempt well. Most domestic wells on rural parcels fall in this category. Larger wells, used for irrigation and other uses, are non-exempt and more heavily regulated, especially inside Active Management Areas. In the Willcox AMA, for example, non-exempt wells pumping more than 35 gallons per minute must be metered.

The AMA question

Whether your land sits inside one of Arizona's eight Active Management Areas (Douglas, Phoenix, Pinal, Prescott, Ranegras Plain, Santa Cruz, Tucson and Willcox) changes the rules. Inside an AMA, A.R.S. 45-454 generally allows only one exempt well to serve the same non-irrigation use at the same location. Outside AMAs there are fewer restrictions, but a notice of intent to drill and a completion report are still required.

The boundaries can run right through a market. Around Chino Valley, the Little Chino sub-basin is inside the Prescott AMA while the Big Chino sub-basin to the northwest is outside it. In Mohave County, Golden Valley is in the Sacramento Valley basin, not the Hualapai Valley Irrigation Non-Expansion Area designated near Kingman in 2022. Check the parcel itself, not the town name. Our APN lookup checks ADWR's AMA and INA boundaries for a specific APN.

Transferring the well when you sell

The well goes with the land, but the registration has to be updated. A.R.S. 45-593 requires the person to whom a well is registered to notify ADWR of a change in ownership. Make sure that notice is filed as part of the sale, and agree in the contract on who files it.

Shared wells

Shared wells are common in rural Arizona: one well on one parcel serving two or more neighbors. If your land shares a well, a buyer will want to see a recorded well-share agreement that says who owns the well, who may use it, how costs are split, and what happens when a parcel is sold. If the arrangement was a handshake, have an Arizona real estate attorney put it in writing and record it before you sell. An unrecorded arrangement is a promise between two people; a recorded one runs with the land.

If your land has no well

Most vacant land doesn't, and it still sells. What buyers want to know is whether a well is realistic.

• Neighbors' wells. Registered wells near you are the best evidence of what drilling on your parcel might involve. Search the Wells55 map around your parcel and note what you find.
• Depth varies widely. Well depth and cost depend on local geology and groundwater conditions and can vary a lot even within one area. We don't publish typical depths because a number that is right in one valley is wrong in the next; a licensed local driller is the right source for a specific parcel.
• AMA status. Inside an AMA, the one-exempt-well-per-use-per-location rule applies. Outside, a new exempt domestic well is generally allowed with the required notice. Under ADWR's process, a notice of intent to drill must be filed before drilling a new well.
• Hauled water. Many owners of recreational or weekend parcels haul water to a storage tank. It works, and some buyers are happy with it; others won't consider land without a well.

For land with no water and no other utilities, our page on selling off-grid land covers power and septic as well.

Your options

• List it, with the well records in hand. A parcel with a registered, working well is a stronger listing. Gather the 55- number, any pump or water quality records, and any well-share agreement before you call an agent.
• Sell to a neighbor who shares the well. They have the most reason to want it.
• Owner-finance it. Rural buyers often can't get conventional loans for land, and terms can widen the pool.
• Keep it. Land with a working well is hard to replace, especially inside an AMA.
• Sell for cash as-is. A direct buyer like us will research the well status ourselves. Faster, usually less than a fully marketed listing.

How we handle land with water questions

First 48 Offers is an Arizona company that buys land directly with cash, with or without a well. We buy as-is, charge no commissions, cover normal closing costs, and close through an Arizona title and escrow company. We aim to give you a written offer quickly, with no obligation; land with title or access issues may take longer to research. Call (480) 818-4105.

Questions sellers ask

How do I know if my land has a registered well?

Search ADWR's Wells55 registry by location. Registered wells have a 55- number. If the land has a well you can see but no registration you can find, ask ADWR.

Does a well add value to my land?

A working, registered well generally answers the buyer's biggest question. How much it adds depends on the location, the AMA status and the well itself. We don't publish a rule-of-thumb figure because there isn't a reliable one.

We share a well with the neighbor but nothing is written down. Is that a problem?

It can be. Buyers and title companies want a recorded agreement. Have an Arizona attorney draft one before you sell.

Can a buyer drill a well on my land if it's inside an AMA?

Generally one exempt well per non-irrigation use per location is allowed inside an AMA under A.R.S. 45-454. Specifics depend on the parcel; ADWR can confirm.

General information, not legal, tax or survey advice. First 48 Offers LLC is a real estate investment company that buys land. It is not a law firm, brokerage, surveyor or title company. Arizona statutes, county procedures and agency boundaries change, and every parcel turns on its own facts. Verify anything important with the county, the agency named, or an Arizona attorney before relying on it.