Published
The state keeps a copy of your well's birth certificate, and you are owed one too
The well gets written down, twice
A drilled well leaves two documents behind, and Idaho law is specific about both. The first lives at the well site while the hole is open; the second goes to the state and never comes back:
“…every well driller is hereby required to keep available for inspection at the well site a daily well log and pertinent data concerning each well, and its construction or abandonment… and to complete a report on forms furnished by the director. These reports shall be properly prepared and signed by the driller and deposited with the director within thirty (30) days following the completion of the well.”
— Idaho Code §42-238(11), well drillers’ report. Retrieved 23 September 2026
The signature is not a formality. By signing, the driller attests that the information is accurate and that the well met every minimum construction standard — the casing, the cap, the seals, the depths this site walks through in the construction-standards guide. The report is the well’s birth certificate, sworn.
What the report pins down
The current rule adds precision the old forms never had. The well’s location must be recorded by GPS, in degrees and decimal minutes, and placed within the nearest 40-acre parcel of the public land survey — a legal-description fix on a point, not a guess about which corner of which field. And the paperwork flows to you as well as the state:
- The owner is owed a copy of the approved drilling permit.
- The owner is owed a copy of the driller’s report when it is submitted.
- The state’s copy becomes permanent — the statute says the reports “shall become a permanent record in the office of the director for hydrologic and geologic analysis and research and shall be available for public use.”
That last clause is the one with a long tail: a well’s depth, construction and geology are a public record held at the Idaho Department of Water Resources, long after the drilling invoice is forgotten.
Why the state is strict about it
- No report, the bond pays. If a driller fails to file, the director can go collect the well’s data by any means available and charge the cost against the driller’s bond.
- A false report costs the license. Knowingly inaccurate information, or a late filing, brings a civil penalty and can suspend the license for up to a year.
- The data outlives everyone. Idaho manages its aquifers with these records; a missing log is a hole in the map the state will eventually pay to redraw.
What this means when you buy
Sellers hand over what they can find, and wells outlive filing cabinets. The questions worth asking are the same ones the septic file answers at closing, with one difference:
- If the well’s paper has gone missing, the state still holds a copy of the driller’s report as a public record, retrievable by legal description.
- If the report exists but reads wrong, its signed attestation is the yardstick the driller is held to — and the yardstick the state enforces.
Put the file together before it matters
- Collect the two documents you are owed at completion — the drilling permit and the driller’s report — and keep them with the deed.
- Check the report’s location against reality: GPS coordinates and the 40-acre parcel description should match your ground.
- Read the attestation line and compare it to what the licensed driller was required to build — the two documents describe the same hole.
- If an old well is being decommissioned, file its abandonment report in the same folder; the state requires one, and the next owner will want it.
- Missing paperwork on a well that matters to a purchase? Start with the state’s permanent record, then bring what you find to (208) 656-1467.
The septic system’s twin obligation — the as-built drawing delivered within 30 days — runs on the same clock and the same instinct: the state makes the trades document the work, precisely so the information survives the people.
Common questions
What is a well driller's report?
The signed record a licensed driller must file with the Idaho Department of Water Resources within 30 days of completing (or abandoning) a well, on the state's form, covering the well's construction and pertinent data. By signing it the driller attests the information is accurate and that minimum well construction standards were met.
Does the well owner get a copy of the driller's report?
Yes. Under the current well construction rules the driller must provide the owner a copy of the approved drilling permit and a copy of the driller's report when it is submitted to the state.
How is a well's location recorded on the report?
By GPS - latitude and longitude in degrees and decimal minutes - and recorded within the nearest 40-acre parcel of the Public Land Survey System. The rule replaced older approximate descriptions with a coordinate fix.
What happens if a driller doesn't file the report?
The director can collect the well's data by any available means and charge the cost against the driller's bond. Failing to file, or filing knowingly inaccurate information, can also bring a civil penalty and license suspension of up to one year.
Are well driller's reports public records?
Yes. The statute says the reports become a permanent record in the office of the director, for hydrologic and geologic analysis and research, available for public use.
What is the daily well log?
The log the driller must keep available for inspection at the well site during construction or abandonment - the day-by-day record the final report is built from.
I'm buying a cabin and the seller has no well records. Are they lost?
Not necessarily. The state holds the driller's report as a permanent public record, retrievable by the property's legal description. It is the same paper-trail instinct as the septic as-built: the paperwork exists even when the owner's copy does not.
Does abandoning a well require a report too?
Yes. Authorization from the director is required before abandoning a well, and the person who decommissioned it must submit a report describing the procedure afterward.