How to search CalGEM for oil wells by address
California publishes every recorded oil and gas well for free. Here is exactly how to use the state's own tools — Well Finder for the map, WellSTAR for the documents — including the address that replaced the old DOGGR links.
Homeowners, buyers, agents and developers all end up asking the same question: is there a well on or near this property? The state has the answer and does not charge for it. The catch is that the tools are built for regulatory work rather than for someone checking a house, so a short orientation saves a lot of time.
The two official tools
The Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources became CalGEM in 2020, and in January 2026 the map moved again. Links to maps.conservation.ca.gov/doggr/wellfinder are out of date. The current address is the findwells one above, and CalGEM asks people to update their bookmarks.
Method 1 — Well Finder, the map search
Well Finder is CalGEM's interactive map of wells, fields, facilities and permits statewide. It is the right starting point for anyone working from an address. It reads from the WellSTAR database and refreshes nightly.
Open the map
Go to maps.conservation.ca.gov/calgem/findwells. It supports recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, and works far better on a desktop than on a phone.
Search for the property
Use the search bar and enter a full street address including the city. The map will zoom to it. The same box also accepts:
- Latitude and longitude
- An API number, the unique well identifier
- A PLSS township, range and section
- An oil field name, such as Huntington Beach or Midway-Sunset
Zoom in until wells appear
This trips up most people. Wells are hidden at wide zoom levels and only draw once you are close enough. If an address looks clear, zoom further before believing it.
Click a well symbol
The pop-up gives the API number, status, operator and field. Write down the API number for any well you care about — it is the key to everything in the next section.
Use the buffer or query tool for a radius
Rather than eyeballing the map, use the query tool to select everything within a set distance, say 500 feet or half a mile. This is the single most useful function for property research, and results can be exported.
Check the legend and the layers
The layers panel switches wells, fields, permits and boundaries on and off. The legend explains the symbols. The January 2026 release added extra layers, sharing features, in-app slide tutorials and an updated reference card.
Reading the symbols
Wells are distinguished by status and type — active, idle, plugged and abandoned, permitted, cancelled, along with injectors and gas storage wells. Symbology has changed between releases, so read the legend inside the app rather than trusting a colour key from an older guide, including this one.
Method 2 — WellSTAR, the actual records
Well Finder tells you a well exists and roughly where it is. WellSTAR is where you find out what was done to it.
Open the public portal
Go to the public WellSTAR page and follow the public access link. Accept the disclosure if prompted.
Explore Data, then Wells
Search by the API number you noted from the map. You can also filter by operator, field, county or status.
Open the well detail page
Click the hyperlinked API number. The tabs cover basic status, production and injection history, tests, permits and maintenance.
Go to Documents
This is the part that matters. Scanned filings live here, including the abandonment record if one was digitised. Older wells frequently have little or nothing online, in which case a file request to the district office is the route.
What these tools will not tell you
The state's data is the best public source available and it is genuinely good for modern wells. It has real limits that matter for a property decision.
- Recorded locations can be well off. Many older wells were plotted from digitised maps rather than surveyed, and can sit hundreds of feet from where the record puts them.
- Many wells have no drill date at all. Where the file cannot say when a well was drilled, it cannot tell you which era's plugging practice was applied.
- Some wells appear in no record. California was drilled before permitting existed. An empty map is not proof of an empty lot.
- Plugged is a filing, not an inspection. It does not describe the casing, the cement, the method used, or the condition of the well now.
- Surface location is not the whole well. A directionally drilled well enters the ground in one place and can travel a long way underground from there.
Cross-check against the preliminary title report, the seller's disclosures, and where the stakes justify it, a qualified environmental professional or attorney. Prior oil operations, easements and mineral reservations often surface in the title report rather than the disclosure packet.
Frequently asked questions
Is the CalGEM Well Finder free?
Can I search CalGEM by street address?
What happened to the DOGGR well map?
What do the well colors mean on the map?
Where do I get the actual well documents?
How often is the data updated?
Does a plugged well mean the property is safe?
Or let us run the search for you
Our free search does the same thing against the same state data, in one step, with the counts and distances already worked out. No account, no email required to see the result.
Search an address freeThis guide reflects CalGEM's public tools as of 2026. State interfaces change; always defer to the official pages and in-app help. We are not affiliated with CalGEM or any government agency. For questions about the state tools themselves, contact CalGEM directly through the addresses published on their website.