How water rights work in Wyoming

Administered by Wyoming State Engineer's Office · sources checked October 8, 2026

Doctrine
Prior appropriation
Administering bodies
State Engineer's Office and Board of Control
Record search
e-Permit water right database
Public point data
Groundwater only, about 18 months old

Wyoming isn't on the map yet. The State Engineer's surface-water diversion points aren't published in a machine-readable public form; only a groundwater copy about 18 months old is public.

State Engineer and Board of Control

Wyoming's State Engineer's Office and Board of Control oversee the appropriation, distribution and beneficial use of the state's water under prior appropriation. Water rights are applied for, changed and adjudicated through the State Engineer, and its e-Permit database is the place to look up a right's official record.

Why Wyoming isn't on the map yet

The State Engineer's surface water points of diversion aren't published in a machine-readable public form. The only public copy covers groundwater and is about 18 months old, so a map built from it would show half the picture.

Sources

A plain-language summary, not legal advice. Rules change; the agency and a water-rights attorney are the people to ask about a specific right.