Texas drilling permits by RRC district
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) runs oil and gas regulation through 13 districts. Each page below lists a district's counties, its office, the major formations the RRC associates with it, recent permit numbers, and how to follow new permits.
Why districts matter to mineral owners
Every Texas drilling permit (Form W-1) carries a district. District offices handle field operations, inspections and local questions, and RRC statistics are reported by district. If you own minerals or land in a county, knowing its district tells you which office to call and how busy the area is.
The RRC's production filing rules list 13 district codes: 01 to 10, plus 6E, 7B, 7C and 8A (there is no 07 or 8B in use) (RRC Form PR filing requirements). Twelve of them divide up the state's 254 counties; 6E is used for the East Texas Field and has no counties of its own in the RRC's county table.
Districts at a glance
| District | Office | Counties | Original permits, Jul–Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | San Antonio | 33 | 250 |
| 02 | San Antonio | 10 | 113 |
| 03 | Houston | 29 | 105 |
| 04 | Corpus Christi | 15 | 32 |
| 05 | Henderson | 24 | 34 |
| 06 | Henderson | 23 | 133 |
| 7B | Abilene | 24 | 51 |
| 7C | San Angelo | 14 | 212 |
| 08 | Midland | 20 | 939 |
| 8A | Lubbock | 21 | 152 |
| 09 | Wichita Falls | 15 | 103 |
| 10 | Pampa | 26 | 23 |
| 6E | Henderson (East Texas Field counties) | none in the county table | not reported separately |
Permit counts are original W-1 drilling permits approved, from the RRC monthly summaries for July, August and September 2026 (statewide 2,147).
All districts
Per-county pages are planned once Permit Watch has collected real permit data for each county; until then, each county links to its Permit Watch view.