A.R.S. 45-596: Notice of Intention to Drill a Well

The statute is blunt about timing. It says "a person may not drill or cause to be drilled any well or deepen an existing well without first filing notice of intention to drill." You file the Notice with the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). This applies to a brand new well. It also applies when you deepen an existing one. The notice comes first. The drilling comes after.

The Notice is not only about the landowner. It must name the well driller who will do the work. The form lists that driller by license number. In practice, that means a licensed well driller has to be lined up before the Notice is complete. Arizona does not let just anyone bore a well. The person drilling must hold a current well driller's license with the state.

Filing the Notice comes with a fee. The standard fee is $150. A lower fee of $100 applies to a domestic well drilled outside an Active Management Area. After you file, ADWR reviews the Notice, generally within 15 days. If the Notice is approved, the state mails a drilling card to the named driller. That card authorizes the drilling. The driller keeps it for the job. Drilling without an approved Notice and card is not allowed. The Notice is tied to a specific piece of land and a specific driller, so it is not a blanket pass to drill anywhere. After the well is finished, a separate well completion report is filed with ADWR to record what was built and what the driller found.

If you plan a well on a Phoenix-area lot, the Notice of Intention to Drill is step one, before the rig ever arrives. A good well driller handles most of this for you. They file the Notice, list their own license number, and hold the drilling card. Your job is to hire a licensed driller and confirm the Notice is approved before work begins.

A well inside an Active Management Area, such as the Phoenix AMA, may also have to meet the exempt-well limits in A.R.S. 45-454, including the pump-size cap and the 100-foot rule. The build itself must meet the construction and capping standards in A.R.S. 45-594. For the basics of a home well system, see well water system basics. If an existing pump short-cycles, see well pump short cycling. This page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule text and current fees with the Arizona Department of Water Resources before you drill.