NM · wells & permits

Water wells in New Mexico

Real drilling records, county depth medians, active contractors, and exactly what it takes to pull a well permit in New Mexico.

The permit, in plain language

Paper / PDF filingverified landing

OSE Water Rights District Office

NMSA 72-12-1.1; 19.27.5 NMAC

Instrument: permit
Fee: $125
Who files: Property owner applies
Timeline: Largely ministerial

$125 new / $75 replacement (19.27.5.8(A))

Before the rig arrives

Confirm parcel allows a private well (vs required public water connection).
Select a licensed well contractor; obtain owner authorization as required.
File permit with OSE Water Rights District Office (PDF/email/mail — WellMap prepares the packet; lawful submitter files).
Do not drill until authorization is issued (or notification accepted, per regime).

After drilling: Driller well record ≤20 days within 20 days → OSE Water Rights District Office

WellMap prepares estimate-backed quote packets and dual-party approvals. It does not issue permits and never auto-submits to government systems. The licensed driller (and/or owner where required by law) is the submitter of record. Verified 2026-07-14.

Top drillers on record

No contractor statistics for New Mexico yet — several states publish drilling records without contractor names, and a few aren't in bulk form at all. See data & methodology.

Get a depth estimate anywhere in New Mexico

County by county

Depth statistics across New Mexico

Medians from wells with verified total depth. Click a county for its permit authority, fee and filing channel.

County	Wells	With depth	Median	p10–p90
BE	28,878	22,741	144 ft	38–550 ft
SF	22,449	15,250	260 ft	83–600 ft
LE	22,140	15,989	136 ft	80–240 ft
VA	19,754	16,498	160 ft	40–276 ft
DA	19,517	14,329	157 ft	60–400 ft
SA	13,677	10,421	230 ft	49–575 ft
RA	13,275	8,275	100 ft	45–340 ft
TA	12,387	8,409	160 ft	60–420 ft
CH	11,065	7,180	180 ft	73–400 ft
GR	9,984	5,749	212 ft	65–604 ft
ED	9,731	5,648	178 ft	50–431 ft
OT	9,653	7,176	239 ft	100–470 ft
TO	8,387	6,653	214 ft	115–403 ft
LU	7,892	5,920	250 ft	151–400 ft
LI	7,303	5,187	200 ft	77–600 ft
SJ	6,621	3,295	48 ft	20–254 ft
RO	6,522	3,911	118 ft	83–194 ft
CA	5,726	3,568	210 ft	70–575 ft
SM	5,377	3,812	225 ft	85–509 ft
SI	5,202	3,608	122 ft	40–380 ft
CI	4,763	3,469	180 ft	47–603 ft
CU	4,253	2,982	390 ft	250–450 ft
SO	4,252	3,320	152 ft	60–460 ft
MK	3,648	2,162	380 ft	58–2075 ft
HI	3,006	1,717	255 ft	85–600 ft
UN	2,698	774	300 ft	94–549 ft
MO	2,496	1,888	180 ft	78–476 ft
CO	2,312	1,718	200 ft	40–498 ft
QU	2,045	1,611	125 ft	43–289 ft
DB	1,479	952	150 ft	60–300 ft
GU	974	541	180 ft	60–620 ft
HA	872	713	150 ft	55–384 ft
XX	456	343	140 ft	50–334 ft
LA	229	78	325 ft	39–1334 ft
Eddy	1	1	199 ft	199–199 ft