Do I need one?
To get one you must sign there user agreement. In doing so you agree to what is written there, plus what ever they add to it later on. People who regulate and over see license's for drilling, are hired by your state, 90% do not even know anything about water well drilling, but have the jobs and the power that goes with it.Also they are under pressure to collect fines, there job proformance is graded by this. To collect a fine is easy for them, if your a current license holder. All they have to do is violate you for any reason, then you pay the fine or loose your license. Any one without a license that the state wants to violate, they have to take to civil court At least with civel court you have recorse, and a chance..One rule they have is if any current water well license holder see's a abandon well, he MUST REPORT IT TO THE STATE. What this is, if your working anywhere and see a old abandon well where your working, you must turn it in. The the well owner gets fined, has to pay 1000's to fill it in ONLY BY a license water well man. If you don't turn in the abandon well, you violate your user agreement you signed,and are not truthful .Iif you do turn in the abandon well, the land owner gets stiffed with the bill and tells everone in three countys how he hired you, payed you, then got double clutched by you when you turned him in for ther abandon well. When you hold a license, you do the states dirty work for them, but don't get payed to do it, just known as the jerk by the land owners. Some States are easier than others to get a license. If your state is a hard to get one , you can go to a easier state and get it ,an out of state drilling license, then come back to your state and transfer it to yours. One other option is find a old retired driller with current license in your state and pay him a % off ever well to work under him, or work with him until you get yours. Some states require a apprenticeship. The apprenticeship can be 1 to 2 years, depending on your state. Thats when getting a out of state license is faster, then transfer it to your state. There are drilling schools, but schools can not issue license's, only the states can. Also most states require a driller with a current license to sign for you.
This is hard, because what person thats making 150,000.00 a year working 3 days a week ,sign so someone else in there area can do the same thing. This is the biggest reason why well prices are up 100% in 2 years. To get someone to sign for you is easier if you go to a state ground water convention, there are 100s of license drillers there.,But they are from other parts of the state not near you and dont mind signing for someone then. This is there way to get at a old rival company ,or just don;t care because your to far away from them to affect there bussness. What ever way you go about this, it will take time. One more thing, having a license does not mean your a better driller, it just means you passed there requirments, and payed them the 350.00 per yr for it.You can have a license for 30 years, then quit paying the yearly fee's, and your no longer licensed. Land owners do not care if you have a license. The only thing a land owner wants to know is How much - how deep- when can you start.. This is why there are so many water well drillers drilling all over the USA without a license. Most land owners only want water. Using a driller without a license means well is not permitted, or logged with the state. With water laws changing daily, and people in high places who want power ,controling water more and more, some people think a un-permeitted well is more vaulable. Do the research, some states put water meters on land owners water wells, and charge land owners for the water they take out.
Please checkout your local and state laws for more .Also vist the next ground water convention in your state.