Texas RRC Drilling-Permit Query Retrieval Provenance Worksheet

Direct answer

Give one official RRC drilling-permit query attempt a neutral ID. Record the exact entry route, criteria labels and controlled values, navigation path, displayed result fields, access timestamp and timezone, source-stated limitation, retained result reference, and only located, not located, or unverified. The worksheet proves how the query was run, not what a permit means or whether it connects to a private mineral interest.

Key takeaways

• Start from the official RRC Research Queries directory and preserve the exact W-1 query route.
• Copy every criterion label and selected or entered value into a controlled query snapshot.
• Keep result-header criteria, result-row fields, sorting, pagination, and detail links separate.
• Use only located, not located, or unverified and preserve the source-stated limitation.
• Stop before permit interpretation, property connection, title, acreage, compliance, drilling, production, valuation, offer, or transaction conclusions.

Public-record retrieval boundary. This article records one Texas RRC drilling-permit query attempt. It does not interpret a W-1, permit, plat, exception, status, operator field, lease label, survey call, pooled-unit field, result row, detail page, attachment, or filing. It does not establish property connection, title, ownership, acreage, tract or unit inclusion, lease effect, royalty share, decimal, entitlement, spacing, compliance, completeness, accuracy, drilling likelihood, development inventory, operator intent, geology, reserves, completion probability, production, cash flow, value, price, range, offer quality, or a transaction result. It does not provide legal, title, land, tax, accounting, appraisal, engineering, geological, reserve, investment, or financial advice. MRX may have an economic interest in a later transaction; when that applies, the buyer relationship is disclosed in writing before an agreement is signed.

A Texas RRC drilling permit query retrieval worksheet answers one narrow question: exactly how was one official public query attempted? Record the entry route, source-displayed criteria, navigation steps, result-header state, result-row locator, access timestamp, source limitation, retained reference, and one bounded retrieval status.

Use only located, not located, or unverified. Those terms describe the query attempt. They do not interpret a permit or connect a displayed result to private property.

Start with the named official query

The Railroad Commission of Texas Research Queries directory lists the Drilling Permit (W-1) Query separately from production, wellbore, organization, imaged-record, field-rule, and other systems. Open that named route and preserve the complete HTTPS address in the worksheet.

Do not write only RRC search. A reproducible attempt should distinguish:

• the Research Queries directory used as the entry point;
• the Drilling Permit Application Query screen;
• the result list reached after the criteria were submitted;
• any displayed detail route opened from a result; and
• any authorized screenshot or retained reference created during the attempt.

The directory states that its online datasets are continually updated, informational, non-authoritative, and without legal force or effect. It also displays an update label for the W-1 query. Record the limitation and the access time; do not turn either into a claim that a result is complete, current for every purpose, or legally controlling.

For a broad introduction to different Commission systems, use Texas Railroad Commission: How to Use Public Records to Understand Your Mineral Rights. This worksheet owns a smaller job: the reproducibility record for one named permit-query execution.

Create an attempt header before entering criteria

Give the attempt a neutral ID such as TX-DP-RET-01. The ID identifies a query session, not a tract, owner, permit conclusion, or transaction.

Record these header fields before searching:

• Attempt ID: a stable internal label;
• Purpose: public drilling-permit query retrieval only;
• Official entry route: the complete address opened;
• Query-page label: copied exactly as displayed;
• Access date and time: when the query screen was viewed;
• Timezone: the timezone attached to that timestamp;
• Prepared by: a role or controlled identifier;
• Worksheet version: the version used for this attempt; and
• Source limitation: the source’s own authority, update, access, or coverage note.

Create a new attempt for a later rerun. Do not overwrite an earlier set of criteria, result state, timestamp, or retained reference. The public interface and the data it displays can change.

Capture the query criteria exactly as entered

The official Drilling Permit Query About page identifies searchable categories that can include permit or status number, district, API number, county, operator, lease, well, field, survey, total depth, statewide rule, well type, filing purpose, amendment state, status, location, profile, completion status, and date ranges.

These are source-displayed locator fields. They are not conclusions. Create one criterion row for every field you used:

• Criterion label: copied exactly from the query screen;
• Entry method: typed value, selected option, date, or left unused;
• Controlled value reference: the entered or selected value, stored appropriately;
• Format shown by source: punctuation, split boxes, option label, or date format;
• Used in submission: yes or no; and
• Capture note: any source-displayed instruction that affected the entry.

The official W-1 user guide states that when more than one search criterion is selected, all selected criteria must be true for the W-1 to appear in the result list. Preserve that rule beside the criteria snapshot. It makes a later not located result understandable without turning the result into no permit exists.

Avoid a summary such as searched by operator and county. Record the source labels and the actual criteria separately. If a dropdown remained at its default, say unused rather than inventing a value.

Record the submission and navigation path

After submitting the criteria, preserve the sequence that actually occurred. A bounded path can use this form:

official directory → W-1 query screen → criteria submitted → result list → displayed detail link

Add only the steps you took. For each step, record:

• the displayed page or link label;
• the route or a controlled route reference;
• the action taken;
• the access time;
• whether the page loaded, changed, timed out, or returned no displayed rows; and
• the next step actually selected.

Do not reconstruct a route from memory. If the session ended or the interface changed, preserve that event and use not located or unverified for the narrow retrieval fact.

Preserve the result-header state

The Drilling Permit Query Results Help explains that the results page displays the criteria used for the query in its header. Capture that header separately from the result rows.

The result-state block should include:

• Criteria echoed by result page: exact labels and controlled values;
• Displayed result count or range: copied as shown, if present;
• Sort field and direction: only when displayed or selected;
• Page or navigation state: the page, range, or control used;
• Download or display mode: only when actually used;
• Result-page access time: with timezone; and
• Result-page limitation or message: copied or accurately paraphrased.

This snapshot helps another authorized reviewer reproduce the same attempt. It does not certify that the system returned every relevant record.

Keep result-row labels attached to values

The official help describes displayed result fields such as API number, district, lease name, well number, permitted operator, county, status date, status number, wellbore profile, filing purpose, amendment indicator, total depth, and status.

Record only fields you actually observed. Keep each source label attached to its displayed value:

• API number: [controlled value];
• district: [displayed value];
• lease name: [controlled value];
• well number: [controlled value];
• permitted operator: [controlled value];
• county: [displayed value];
• status date or number: [displayed value];
• wellbore profile: [displayed value]; and
• filing purpose, amendment, total depth, or status: [displayed value].

Use not displayed when the source does not show a field. Do not merge labels merely because two values look similar. A permit number is not an API number; a lease label is not a private lease interpretation; and a permitted-operator label is not a conclusion about current authority or ownership.

The separate Mineral Rights Operator-Name Change Log owns name-history comparison across sources and dates. This worksheet preserves only the label and value displayed in the recorded query attempt.

Treat detail links as separate retrieval steps

The results help describes links that can lead from a result row to permit, wellbore, operator, lease, field, or other details. Opening a link changes the retrieval context. Create a new step rather than folding the detail page into the original row.

For a detail route, record:

• originating attempt ID and result-row reference;
• displayed link label;
• destination route or controlled reference;
• destination page label;
• new fields or record class displayed;
• access timestamp and timezone;
• retained reference location; and
• located, not located, or unverified.

Do not treat every linked page as one interchangeable well record. Do not infer a property relationship from similar operator, lease, county, survey, field, well, permit, or API labels. Property-connection analysis belongs to the separate Offset Activity Property-Connection Cross-Check and remains outside this article.

Separate the public query from application filing

The Commission’s Drilling Permits page and W-1 user guide contain application and online-filing materials. This worksheet does not teach a person to prepare, submit, pay for, amend, or obtain approval of a drilling-permit application.

Label the source role in every row:

• public research query entry;
• public result list;
• public detail route;
• application or filing guidance reference; or
• authorized retained query reference.

Do not relabel filing guidance as a query result. Do not infer that viewing an application field means an application was submitted, accepted, approved, current, applicable to a property, or legally sufficient.

Use only bounded retrieval statuses

Keep the status vocabulary intentionally small:

• Located: the recorded official query exposed an identified result reference.
• Not located: the recorded attempt did not expose the sought result.
• Unverified: a label, identifier, route, or result appeared, but the narrow retrieval fact or relationship was not established.

Located does not mean connected, applicable, complete, accurate, current, approved, compliant, legally effective, or valuable. Not located does not mean nonexistent. Unverified preserves uncertainty without alleging an error or defect.

Turn gaps into neutral retrieval questions:

• Which criterion may have narrowed this recorded attempt?
• Did the result header echo every criterion as entered?
• What source-displayed result range or page was reviewed?
• Does the result row expose a separate detail route?
• Which official route displays the identifier type in the private reference?
• What update, access, or authority limitation does the source state?
• Which retained screenshot or file corresponds to this attempt?

Do not convert those questions into statements about title, ownership, acreage, a tract or unit, lease effect, compliance, drilling likelihood, development, production, or value.

Preserve an authorized result reference

The live query and the retained object are different evidence. For every authorized screenshot, export, or file, record:

• attempt ID;
• official route and navigation path;
• criteria snapshot;
• result-header state;
• result-row or detail reference;
• access timestamp and timezone;
• controlled storage location;
• file hash when your records process uses one; and
• handling note for owner names, addresses, legal descriptions, account data, or other sensitive information.

Do not publish actual property identifiers or private documents in a reusable example. A controlled reference proves what was retained for that attempt; it does not establish what the displayed record means.

Blank query-provenance worksheet

• Attempt ID: __________
• Purpose: public drilling-permit query retrieval only
• Official entry route: __________
• Query-page label: __________
• Access date, time, and timezone: __________
• Criterion labels and controlled values: __________
• Source-displayed multiple-criteria instruction: __________
• Navigation path: __________
• Result-header criteria: __________
• Result count, sort, and page state: __________
• Result-row labels and controlled values: __________
• Displayed detail-link path: __________
• Source-stated limitation: __________
• Authorized retained-reference location: __________
• Retrieval status: located / not located / unverified
• Neutral next retrieval question: __________

Use one attempt per worksheet row or record. If a qualified reviewer later interprets a permit, links it to private property, or uses it for engineering, regulatory, title, valuation, or transaction work, preserve that as a separate output with its own author, date, sources, assumptions, and scope.

Final quality check

Before closing the worksheet, confirm that:

• the exact official directory and W-1 query routes are named;
• every submitted criterion preserves its source label and controlled value;
• the multiple-criteria instruction is attached to the query snapshot;
• the navigation path records only steps that occurred;
• result-header state, result rows, and detail pages remain separate;
• sorting, pagination, and result count are recorded only when displayed;
• the access timestamp, source limitation, and retained reference are attached;
• every status is only located, not located, or unverified;
• no row interprets a permit, plat, exception, status, operator, lease, survey, unit, attachment, or filing;
• no row establishes property connection, ownership, title, acreage, lease effect, royalty share, entitlement, spacing, compliance, completeness, or accuracy; and
• no row infers drilling likelihood, development inventory, operator intent, geology, reserves, completion probability, production, cash flow, value, price, range, offer quality, or a transaction result.

A strong provenance worksheet is narrow by design. It lets an authorized reviewer understand and repeat the recorded query attempt. It does not decide what a permit means.

Frequently asked questions

Does a located drilling-permit result prove that the permit affects my mineral interest?

No. Located means only that the recorded official query exposed an identified result reference. It does not establish a property connection, tract or unit inclusion, ownership, lease effect, acreage, royalty share, entitlement, compliance, drilling likelihood, or value.

Does not located mean that no permit exists?

No. Not located describes one recorded attempt using stated criteria at a stated time. A criterion mismatch, interface limit, coverage issue, data change, or another official route may produce a different result.

Should I preserve every criterion used in the query?

Yes. Record the exact source-displayed label and selected or entered value in a controlled reference. The RRC user guide states that when more than one criterion is selected, all selected criteria must be true for a W-1 to appear in the results.

Can I treat a result-row status or operator label as a legal conclusion?

No. Preserve the label and displayed value exactly as retrieval evidence. This worksheet does not interpret permit status, operator authority, a lease label, a survey call, a filing purpose, an amendment indicator, or another field.

Can this worksheet support a drilling forecast or mineral-rights valuation?

No. It records query provenance only. It does not establish reserves, development inventory, operator intent, completion probability, production, cash flow, value, price, range, offer quality, or a transaction result.

Sources

• Railroad Commission of Texas, Research Queries (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Drilling Permit Query About (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Drilling Permit Application Query (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Drilling Permit Query Results Help (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Drilling Permits (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Drilling Permits W-1 Online Filing User Guide (accessed 2026-08-23)