Texas checker

Buying rural land in Texas? Find the offices and sources to contact first.

Use the free Texas Local Authority Checker to route your parcel questions to likely county, district, state, and federal source categories before you make an offer.

Run Texas checker Order Parcel Pre-Screen Report

Why Texas needs routing

One parcel can involve several offices

county GIS, appraisal district, and recorded deeds
OSSF / septic authority or public health district
floodplain administrator and FEMA data
roads, driveway, culvert, or public works office
groundwater district, river authority, or Edwards Aquifer source
county development, building, or subdivision rules

This is screening-grade routing guidance. It does not replace local office, title, survey, engineering, septic, floodplain, or legal review.

Who do I even call?

One Texas parcel can answer to several separate offices

Other tools show map layers. This shows the tangle of authorities you would have to contact to verify a single Hill Country parcel. None of these offices alone clears a parcel — each is a verification step.

County OSSF / septic authority — permits on-site septic (OSSF); ask about perc/soil tests and system approval.
Groundwater conservation district — regulates wells and groundwater; ask about well permits and spacing.
Edwards Aquifer zone — may require aquifer-protection review before site work near the recharge zone.
Floodplain administrator — confirms FEMA flood zone and floodplain development permits.
River authority — may govern water quality and discharge near rivers and lakes.
Appraisal district — parcel ID, ownership, value, and ag-exemption status.

Check Texas local authority routing

Enter the county, parcel details you have, and the concerns you want to route.

Texas county

Choose the county if you know it. County source coverage changes the routing.

Intended use

Tell us what you want to do with the land so the local questions fit the use case.

Parcel ID / APN / account

Optional, but useful for county GIS, appraisal, and deed-record checks.

Location detail

Use whatever location detail you have.

Concern types

Septic / OSSF Who handles septic, OSSF, perc, or wastewater review? Floodplain Who checks FEMA/local floodplain or drainage review? Access / driveway Who handles road access, driveway, culvert, or frontage questions? Restrictions / subdivision Where should deed restrictions, plats, or subdivision rules be checked? Utilities / water / well Who may matter for water, wells, utilities, or service-area questions? Permits / building Which local office may handle county development or building questions? Edwards Aquifer Which Edwards Aquifer or state source may need review? Groundwater Which groundwater district or well source may matter? Other / not sure Start with general parcel identity, records, and local authority routing.

Select at least one. The result uses a deterministic mapping from concern type to likely source categories.

Listing URL

Optional. Include it if you want the report CTA to preserve listing context later.

Listing text or buyer question

Optional. This is not treated as proof; it helps tailor the question list.

Results are routing guidance and public-source context. They are not a final parcel-specific determination.

Your Texas local authority result

Matched countyNot checked yet.
Selected concernsSelect concern types in the form.
Routing basisCounty source inventory plus deterministic concern-to-source mapping.
Safety noteThis tool surfaces likely verification paths, not final conclusions.

Recommended offices and sources

Categories are ordered by general parcel identity first, then your selected concerns.

Run the checker to see source categories and links.

What to ask each office

Use these as starting scripts before relying on a listing.

Run the checker to see office questions.

What is still unknown

Keep these open until a source or office answers them.

Run the checker to see unresolved items.

Recommended next step

Use the routing result to decide what to verify next.

The checker will point you to the first offices and sources to review.

County support statuses

Supported county
Directory-only county
Planned county / coverage-review

Use the result carefully

Texas routing can involve county offices, districts, state programs, federal map data, recorded documents, and parcel-specific facts. Treat the output as a call list and source checklist.