TREC Form 61-0 applicability guide
Who Must Complete TREC Form 61-0?
Separate four questions that are often confused: TREC's mandatory-form rule for license holders, a seller's delivery terms in the actual contract, the contract's five-condition exemption, and any transaction-specific question that needs broker or legal review.
Start here
The direct answer
Form 61-0 is a TREC-adopted form effective July 1, 2026, but that does not mean every Texas seller in every kind of sale must complete it. TREC's “mandatory use” framework primarily governs license holders using Commission-approved forms, subject to Rule §537.11 exceptions.
In five current TREC contracts reviewed for this guide, the Seller's Water Disclosure paragraph records one of three paths: the buyer already received Form 61-0, the seller will deliver it within the filled-in contract period, or the seller claims the paragraph's complete five-condition exemption. The actual contract, transaction type, party roles, selected paragraph option, and seller-known facts must be reviewed together.
Questions about a particular transaction's applicability, deadline, or legal effect belong with the responsible broker or a Texas attorney. This guide identifies the decision points; it does not choose an answer, declare an exemption, or interpret an executed contract.
Four authorities, four different jobs
Why “mandatory use” does not answer the entire question
TREC regulates license holders' form use. Parties agree to contract terms. Form 61-0 asks about seller knowledge. A broker or Texas attorney addresses transaction-specific contract and legal interpretation.
Current final forms
Current TREC contract comparison
Each row was checked against the current final contract effective July 1, 2026. Paragraph numbers and treatment differ, so the executed contract must be read directly.
| Contract | Current form | Transaction type | Seller's Water Disclosure paragraph present | Paragraph reference | Form 61-0 delivery or exemption path | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unimproved Property Contract | 9-18 | Unimproved property intended for one-to-four-family residential use | Yes | 7F | Prior delivery, delivery within the filled-in number of days, or the complete five-condition exemption | Final Form 9-18 PDF |
| One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) | 20-19 | Resale of one-to-four-family residential property | Yes | 7I | Prior delivery, delivery within the filled-in number of days, or the complete five-condition exemption | Final Form 20-19 PDF |
| New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction) | 23-20 | New home with incomplete construction | Yes | 7K | Prior delivery, delivery within the filled-in number of days, or the complete five-condition exemption | Final Form 23-20 PDF |
| New Home Contract (Completed Construction) | 24-20 | New home with completed construction | Yes | 7J | Prior delivery, delivery within the filled-in number of days, or the complete five-condition exemption | Final Form 24-20 PDF |
| Farm and Ranch Contract | 25-17 | Farm and ranch property | Yes | 7K | Prior delivery, delivery within the filled-in number of days, or the complete five-condition exemption | Final Form 25-17 PDF |
| Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) | 30-18 | Resale of a residential condominium unit | No — not in the current final form | Not present | No Seller's Water Disclosure path appears in final Form 30-18; review the actual transaction documents and any other applicable duties | Final Form 30-18 PDF |
A complete, conjunctive test
The five conditions must all be satisfied
The exemption in each covered contract joins five conditions with “and.” Review each condition as written in the actual contract. A favorable fact on one condition does not establish the other four or decide whether a selection is truthful or legally sufficient.
Whether the seller is aware of any water well on the property, operating or not.
- It does not establish
- The condition does not establish present operation, ownership, compliance, yield, or water quality.
- Public-source boundary
- A public search may miss a well and cannot replace what the seller actually knows.
- Evidence or review to consider
- Review seller records, surveys, well reports, physical evidence, and district records; route unresolved legal or compliance questions appropriately.
Whether the seller is aware of a pond, lake, or water tank on the property, including a feature that is dry when reviewed.
- It does not establish
- The feature alone does not establish a surface-water right, authorization, ownership, or regulatory status.
- Public-source boundary
- Aerial or public-map results cannot substitute for the seller's knowledge of the property feature.
- Evidence or review to consider
- Review seller information, surveys, site evidence, and relevant water-right documents; obtain professional review when legal effect is uncertain.
Whether the seller is aware of a TCEQ certificate of adjudication, certified filing, or permit for surface water associated with the property.
- It does not establish
- A viewer point or recorded holder does not prove that an authorization belongs to or transfers with the property.
- Public-source boundary
- A no-result search does not establish seller knowledge or the absence of an authorization.
- Evidence or review to consider
- Compare TCEQ documents with the legal description, deed history, title materials, and survey; send title or legal-effect questions to an appropriate professional.
Whether the seller is aware that groundwater rights have been severed, sold, or leased, in whole or in part.
- It does not establish
- A recorded document title or database reference does not determine ownership, scope, validity, or current legal effect.
- Public-source boundary
- Public indexes can identify candidate documents but cannot supply the seller's knowledge or interpret a chain of title.
- Evidence or review to consider
- Review deeds, reservations, conveyances, leases, title materials, and closing files with a title professional or Texas attorney when interpretation is needed.
Whether the property receives water only from the municipality, utility or special district, water-supply corporation, or private water-supply company described in the contract.
- It does not establish
- A utility bill alone may not resolve whether another well, shared supply, pond, tank, or water right exists or is known to the seller.
- Public-source boundary
- Provider and map records cannot replace seller knowledge about every water source or feature serving the property.
- Evidence or review to consider
- Review seller information, utility records, surveys, well evidence, agreements, and transaction documents; ask the responsible broker or Texas attorney about contract interpretation.
Static research sequence
Applicability screening map
Use this sequence to organize the record. It does not output a transaction conclusion.
- 1
Identify the actual contract or transaction document
Record its full name, form number, version, effective date, and whether it is a final TREC form or another authorized document.
- 2
Locate the Seller's Water Disclosure paragraph
Check the actual document. Do not import a paragraph number or delivery term from a different contract.
- 3
Identify the contract path under review
Record whether the paragraph states prior delivery, provides a filled-in period for later delivery, or includes the complete contract exemption.
- 4
Review all five conditions separately
If the exemption is being considered, preserve evidence and uncertainty for every condition. One favorable fact does not resolve the others.
- 5
Separate seller knowledge from record research
Label seller-known facts, public-record candidates, no-result searches, and conflicting evidence as distinct research items.
- 6
Escalate unresolved interpretation
Send contract, deadline, title, ownership, or legal-effect questions to the responsible broker, title professional, surveyor, or Texas attorney as appropriate.
Roles shown by the final form
Who completes, signs, and acknowledges Form 61-0
The seller supplies the knowledge
Form 61-0 states that the disclosure concerns the seller's knowledge as of the date signed. Its questions ask whether the seller is aware of the listed water matters. Public records may inform research, but they do not become the seller's knowledge or choose an answer.
Seller signature lines
The current final form provides two Seller/Date signature lines. It also includes Buyer and Seller initials used to identify the form pages. If the transaction involves additional sellers or signing-capacity questions, review the actual execution requirements with the responsible broker, title professional, or Texas attorney.
Buyer signature lines
The final form provides two Buyer/Date signature lines. Those labels do not state that the buyer independently verified or agreed with every seller statement. The covered contracts separately use receipt and delivery language; transaction-specific effect requires review of the executed documents.
License-holder boundary
A broker or sales agent may organize factual information within the rules but should not invent or choose the seller's selections, give legal advice, or determine title or legal effect. Unusual or interpretive matters require the appropriate professional.
Read the filled-in contract
Delivery timing and buyer rights
The five covered final contracts were inspected separately. Each uses the following three-part structure, but the contract name and paragraph reference differ.
Already delivered
The contract option records that the buyer has already received Form 61-0.
Later delivery
The contract provides a blank number of days after the effective date for seller delivery. Each inspected covered contract states a pre-closing termination-and-refund consequence if the form is not received, and a review period ending seven days after receipt or before closing, whichever occurs first, after delivery.
Complete exemption
The contract option states that Form 61-0 is not required because all five listed conditions are satisfied.
The executed contract, contract effective date, filled-in delivery period, actual receipt date, selections, and transaction facts control any deadline or buyer-right analysis. This guide does not tell a party whether to deliver, sign, terminate, enforce, or waive a right.
Factual patterns, not outcomes
Common scenarios
Use these scenarios to identify evidence and unresolved questions. They do not declare that Form 61-0 applies, that an exemption exists, or that a party complied.
| Scenario | Relevant Form 61-0 issue | Evidence or document to review | What cannot be concluded automatically |
|---|---|---|---|
| City water with no other known water feature or right | All five exemption conditions still require separate review. | Actual contract, seller knowledge, utility records, survey, and property files. | City service alone does not establish the complete exemption. |
| City water plus an inactive or abandoned well | The well condition includes a well whether operating or not. | Seller account, survey, physical evidence, reports, and plugging records. | Inactive or abandoned status does not erase seller awareness or decide the contract selection. |
| Private well on the property | Seller-known well facts and the applicable contract paragraph. | Form 61-0, well reports, district materials, survey, and maintenance records. | A well record does not decide title, operation, compliance, or the seller's response. |
| Off-property or shared private well | Well knowledge plus the private supply arrangement. | Agreements, easements, invoices, seller information, survey, and operator records. | Public maps rarely establish private beneficiaries, access, payment, or operating terms. |
| Dry pond or water tank | The contract condition concerns awareness of the feature, not whether it contains water today. | Seller information, survey, site evidence, and relevant authorization documents. | Current dryness does not automatically remove the feature from review. |
| Known severed, sold, reserved, or leased groundwater rights | The groundwater-right condition and any Form 61-0 seller-knowledge questions. | Deeds, reservations, conveyances, leases, title materials, and closing files. | This guide cannot interpret scope, ownership, validity, or legal effect. |
| Known surface-water authorization | The authorization condition and property association. | TCEQ permit or certificate, legal description, deed history, title materials, and survey. | A mapped point or recorded holder does not prove transfer with the property. |
| Residential condominium resale | Final Form 30-18 lacks the Seller's Water Disclosure paragraph found in the five compared contracts. | Final Form 30-18, executed contract, condominium documents, and other applicable disclosure materials. | The missing paragraph does not resolve every other transaction-specific disclosure issue. |
| New home sold by a builder | Choose the actual completed- or incomplete-construction contract before locating its paragraph. | Final Form 23-20 or 24-20, construction status, and executed transaction documents. | Builder status alone does not decide delivery, exemption, or other duties. |
| Farm and ranch property | Form 25-17 Paragraph 7K if that current form governs the transaction. | Executed contract, seller knowledge, wells, surface features, water-right and title documents. | The property label alone does not decide any Form 61-0 selection. |
| Owner-prepared or attorney-required contract | A possible Rule §537.11 form-use exception and the terms of the actual contract. | Who prepared and required the form, the document itself, and transaction roles. | A rule exception does not automatically resolve separate disclosure or legal duties. |
| Federal-agency-required contract | A possible Rule §537.11 exception when the federal agency requires a different form. | Agency requirement, actual contract, and transaction file. | The exception does not answer every separate contractual, statutory, title, or disclosure question. |
| License holder acting solely as principal | A possible Rule §537.11 exception based on role. | Transaction roles, representation records, and actual documents. | Principal status should not be inferred and does not resolve separate seller obligations. |
| Transaction with no license holder | TREC's license-holder mandatory-use rule may not be the only authority relevant to the parties. | Actual contract, party roles, and any applicable statutory or legal materials. | Absence of a license holder does not establish that no disclosure or contract issue exists. |
| Public-record search returning no result | Seller knowledge and each contract condition remain separate from the search result. | Search source, terms, date, alternative systems, seller files, and physical evidence. | No result does not prove no well, feature, right, document, or seller knowledge exists. |
| Conflicting seller statements and public records | The conflict must remain visible during contract and form review. | Seller account, source copies, dates, identifiers, survey, title materials, and follow-up notes. | Neither source automatically overrides the other or supplies a legal conclusion. |
Form-use exceptions are not universal exemptions
Rule §537.11 and nonstandard transactions
When a license holder negotiates a transaction covered by an appropriate TREC mandatory form, §537.11(a) directs use of that form. The current rule lists possible exceptions for:
- A license holder acting solely as principal, not as agent.Confirm the participant's actual role rather than inferring it from ownership or licensing alone.
- A federal agency that requires a different form.Preserve the agency requirement and the actual document used.
- A property-owner-prepared form.Record who prepared the form and whether the property owner required it.
- An attorney-prepared form required by the property owner.Review the document and requirement; do not treat attorney preparation as an answer to every separate issue.
- A transaction for which TREC has not adopted an appropriate mandatory form.The rule specifies qualifying attorney or trade-association forms, or a voluntary Broker-Lawyer Committee form approved by TREC.
A §537.11 form-use exception does not automatically resolve a separate disclosure, contract, statutory, title, deadline, or legal-effect question. The rule also bars license holders from giving legal advice or opinions about title or legal effect.
Identify the disclosure by form number
Form 61-0 is not Form 55-1
Groundwater and surface-water disclosure
Seller's Disclosure about Groundwater and Surface Water Rights addresses seller knowledge involving groundwater districts, wells, shared or off-property supply, groundwater-right transactions, surface-water authorizations, and ponds, lakes, or tanks.
Official Form 61-0 pageProperty-condition disclosure
Seller's Disclosure Notice addresses a separate Texas property-condition disclosure framework. Its authority, applicability, exemptions, delivery rules, and deadlines may differ.
Official Form 55-1 pageA reference to “seller disclosure” should identify the form. Completing one form does not automatically replace the other.
Frequently misunderstood questions
Frequently misunderstood questions
Does every Texas seller complete Form 61-0?
No universal statement follows from TREC's mandatory-use classification. Review the actual contract, transaction type, party roles, paragraph choices, seller-known facts, and any Rule §537.11 issue.
Does city water automatically create the exemption?
No. The covered contracts state five conditions that all must be satisfied. Water supplied only by a listed provider type is one condition, not the entire exemption.
Does an unused well count?
The well condition addresses seller awareness of any water well on the property, whether operating or not. Transaction-specific application belongs with the responsible broker or Texas attorney.
Does a dry pond or tank matter?
The condition addresses seller awareness of the feature. Present dryness does not itself decide the contract selection or the feature's legal or regulatory status.
Does a no-result well search establish the exemption?
No. A search result cannot replace seller knowledge, establish the absence of a well, or satisfy the other four conditions.
Is a condominium seller automatically covered by the same paragraph?
The current final Form 30-18 does not contain the Seller's Water Disclosure paragraph found in the five other compared contracts. The actual condominium transaction documents and any other applicable duties still require review.
Can a broker or sales agent answer the form for the seller?
Form 61-0 asks for the seller's knowledge. A license holder should not invent or choose seller answers, and Rule §537.11 restricts legal advice and legal-effect opinions.
Is Form 61-0 the same as Form 55-1?
No. Form 61-0 addresses groundwater and surface-water matters; Form 55-1 is a separate property-condition Seller's Disclosure Notice.
What happens when the form is delivered after the effective date?
The covered contracts state buyer-right language tied to delivery and receipt. The executed contract, its effective date, the actual receipt date, and transaction facts control; this page does not calculate or advise on a deadline.
Does a buyer's signature mean the buyer verified the seller's answers?
The final form provides Buyer/Date signature lines but does not label them as buyer verification of each seller statement. Ask the responsible broker or Texas attorney about the effect of a signature in a particular transaction.
What if an attorney-prepared contract is being used?
Rule §537.11 includes a possible exception for an attorney-prepared form required by the property owner. Review who prepared and required the document, its actual terms, and any separate duties.
What if the parties disagree about whether the form applies?
Preserve the executed documents, selections, dates, and disputed facts. Contract applicability and legal-effect disputes require transaction-specific review by the responsible broker or Texas attorney.
Printable research record
Applicability research checklist
Print this checklist to preserve the transaction documents, selected contract path, evidence, and open questions. It does not select a contract option or a Form 61-0 answer.
- Transaction type
- Actual contract name and form number
- Contract version and effective date
- Seller's Water Disclosure paragraph reference
- Delivery option selected in the contract
- Condition A — seller awareness of any water well
- Condition B — seller awareness of a pond, lake, or water tank
- Condition C — seller awareness of a named surface-water authorization
- Condition D — seller awareness of groundwater rights severed, sold, or leased
- Condition E — water received only from a contract-identified provider type
- Seller-known facts documented separately from public-record research
- Form 61-0 delivery date
- Buyer receipt date
- Unresolved broker or attorney questions
- Official sources checked with review dates
- Documents and final-form copies preserved
Keep final-form copies, official links, selections, dates, seller-known facts, public-record candidates, and questions for the responsible broker or Texas attorney.
Research boundary
What this page cannot establish
- This page does not determine whether Form 61-0 legally applies to a particular transaction.
- This page does not interpret an executed contract or establish whether an exemption is truthful or legally sufficient.
- This page does not determine seller knowledge or select a seller response.
- This page does not calculate a delivery, receipt, review, or termination deadline.
- This page does not advise a party to deliver, sign, terminate, enforce, or waive rights.
- This page does not determine title, ownership, severance, transferability, jurisdiction, or compliance.
- A public-record result or no-result search does not establish seller knowledge or property association.
- The final executed contract, effective date, receipt date, selections, roles, and transaction facts control transaction-specific analysis.
- This page does not replace the responsible broker, title professional, surveyor, or Texas attorney.
Source record
Official sources checked
Texas Real Estate Commission
Seller's Disclosure about Groundwater and Surface Water Rights — Form 61-0
Official Form 61-0 page; current form effective July 1, 2026. Supports the official title, form number, effective date, purpose, and current final download.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
Form 61-0 — current final PDF
TREC No. 61-0, final PDF dated May 4, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026. Supports the seller-knowledge questions, initials, and Seller/Date and Buyer/Date signature lines.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
TREC Rules — Chapter 537
Current TREC rules. Provisions reviewed: §§537.1, 537.11, 537.20, 537.28, 537.30, 537.31, 537.32, 537.37, 537.62, and 537.68; supports mandatory-use definitions, exceptions, contract adoption, Form 55-1 voluntary use, and Form 61-0 mandatory use.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
Unimproved Property Contract — Form 9-18
Current final Form 9-18, effective July 1, 2026. Paragraph 7F supports the Seller's Water Disclosure choices, delivery language, buyer-right language, and five-condition exemption.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) — Form 20-19
Current final Form 20-19, effective July 1, 2026. Paragraph 7I supports the Seller's Water Disclosure choices, delivery language, buyer-right language, and five-condition exemption.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction) — Form 23-20
Current final Form 23-20, effective July 1, 2026. Paragraph 7K supports the Seller's Water Disclosure choices, delivery language, buyer-right language, and five-condition exemption.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
New Home Contract (Completed Construction) — Form 24-20
Current final Form 24-20, effective July 1, 2026. Paragraph 7J supports the Seller's Water Disclosure choices, delivery language, buyer-right language, and five-condition exemption.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
Farm and Ranch Contract — Form 25-17
Current final Form 25-17, effective July 1, 2026. Paragraph 7K supports the Seller's Water Disclosure choices, delivery language, buyer-right language, and five-condition exemption.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) — Form 30-18
Current final Form 30-18, effective July 1, 2026. Supports the separate condominium comparison and confirms that the final form does not contain a Seller's Water Disclosure paragraph.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
Broker-Lawyer Committee Reviews Contract Form Updates at April Meeting
Official TREC revision-history explanation dated April 30, 2026. Supports the reported removal of the proposed water-disclosure paragraph from Form 30-18; the final contract remains controlling.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
Seller's Disclosure Notice — Form 55-1
Current final Form 55-1, effective May 28, 2026. Supports the comparison with the separate Texas property-condition seller-disclosure framework.ReviewedTexas Real Estate Commission
Does a license holder have to use TREC's contract forms?
Official TREC mandatory-form FAQ. Supports the license-holder focus of adopted contract forms and directs readers to Rule §537.11(a) exceptions.ReviewedResearch compiled by Texas Water Sources through official-source review, source comparison, editorial drafting, and substantive claim checks against the cited sources before publication. This independent guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by TREC.