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A well permit is not a water right
No — and the difference decides what happens to you in a drought. A well permit is an administrative authorization from the State Engineer to construct and operate a well within stated limits. A water right is a court-decreed entitlement to a measured quantity of public water with a priority date. C.R.S. § 37-92-103(12)
Most Colorado households hold a permit and no water right at all. That is normal and usually fine — but it means you have no place in line, and no standing to object when someone else does.
Two different documents, from two different institutions
| Well permit | Decreed water right | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | State Engineer (DWR) | Water court, by decree |
| Governs | Constructing and using a particular well | Diverting a quantity of water from a source |
| Priority date | None that can place a call | Yes — the whole point |
| Can be curtailed? | Exempt wells generally are not administered | Yes, by any senior call |
| Protects you against others? | No | Yes — you can object and call |
| Sellable separately? | No — it runs with the well and land | Yes |
What a permit actually says
A Colorado well permit names the permitted uses, the maximum pumping rate, the annual volume where one applies, the location, and the depth and construction requirements. The State Engineer's job on receiving an application is narrow and statutory:
The state engineer shall first make a determination as to whether or not the exercise of the requested permit will materially injure the vested water rights of others or any other existing well … If the state engineer finds that the vested water rights of others or any other existing well will be materially injured, he shall deny the permit. Otherwise, the permit shall be issued, and it shall set forth such conditions for drilling, casing, equipping, and using the well as are reasonably necessary to prevent waste, pollution, or material injury to existing rights.
Notice what the engineer is protecting: other people's vested rights. The permit is a clearance, not a grant. It says the state has no objection to your well, on these conditions — not that you are entitled to water.
The consequence people discover too late
Because an exempt well sits outside the priority system, it cannot place a call on the stream. If your neighbor's new senior- backed project dries your aquifer, or if the shallow alluvium drops in a dry year, your permit gives you no lever to pull. You are outside the system in both directions: not administered, not protected.
A non-exempt well is the opposite case. It is tied to a decreed right, usually operating under a plan for augmentation that replaces its depletions to the stream. It has a priority — and it can be shut down when a senior calls, exactly like a ditch.
Where each one is recorded
They live in different places, which is itself a clue that they are different things. Well permits are in DWR's well permit database, searchable by permit number, owner, or location — we walk through it. Decreed rights are in the water rights records, organized by structure and WDID, and the governing document is the decree itself, filed in the water court for the division. Reading a decree covers what you will find in one.
All wells, exempt or not, fall under the State Engineer's construction authority, which is why even an exempt well must be drilled by a licensed contractor and logged:
The state engineer in cooperation with the commission has power to regulate the drilling and construction of all wells in the state of Colorado to the extent necessary to prevent the waste of water and the injury to or destruction of other water resources and shall require well drillers and private drillers to file a log of each well drilled whether or not exempt by virtue of section 37-90-105.
When you need an actual water right
You need a decreed right, not a permit, whenever your intended use falls outside the exemptions: irrigating more than an acre, serving more than three dwellings, pumping more than 15 gallons per minute, running a commercial operation beyond drinking and sanitary use, or diverting surface water at all. In an over-appropriated basin that will also mean an augmentation plan and a water court case. Getting a new water right covers what that involves; the rest of wells and home covers what you can do without one.
Common questions
Does having a well mean I have water rights in Colorado?
No. A well permit authorizes you to construct and use a well within stated limits; it is not a decreed water right and carries no priority date that could place a call on the stream. Most residential wells in Colorado are exempt wells permitted under C.R.S. § 37-92-602, outside the priority system entirely.
Can my well be shut off in a drought?
An exempt well is generally not administered under the priority system, so it is not curtailed by a senior call — but it is also unprotected if the aquifer or the alluvium drops. A non-exempt well tied to a decreed right can be curtailed like any other junior diversion unless its depletions are replaced under an augmentation plan.
Is a well permit transferable when I sell my property?
The permit runs with the well and the land rather than being sold separately, but a change of ownership must be filed with the Division of Water Resources. A decreed water right, by contrast, is separate property and can be conveyed apart from the land entirely.
How do I find my well permit?
Search the Division of Water Resources well permit records by permit number, owner name, or location. The permit will show the permitted uses, rate, any annual volume limit, and the construction record.
Primary sources
- C.R.S. § 37-92-602 — exemptions and well permits (Title 37, official text) C.R.S. 2025 edition
- C.R.S. § 37-92-103 — definition of a water right (Title 37, official text) C.R.S. 2025 edition
- C.R.S. § 37-90-138 — regulation of well drilling (Title 37, official text) C.R.S. 2025 edition
- Colorado Division of Water Resources — well permitting read July 22, 2026