First royalty check
When is my first royalty check due?
120 days, counted from the end of the month.
Free lease check
Find your first-check date
Type the lease name from your division order or stub. Pick it from the list.
Your date will show up here.
The month production started, the date the first check is due by, and how we worked it out. Every date is an estimate.
How the date is worked out
120 days from the end of the month of first sale
Month of first sale
The first oil or gas is sold
The state does not publish this month, so we use the first month of reported production as the closest public marker.End of that month
The clock starts
The 120 days are counted from the last day of that month.120 days later
The first check is due
After that, payments are due 60 days (oil) and 90 days (gas) after the end of each sale month, unless the lease or a written agreement sets the time.
Why it is an estimate
- The month of first sale is not public. Reported production stands in for it, and the first sale can come later.
- State data runs about 2 to 4 months behind, so a very new well may not show yet.
- Our data starts in January 2020. A lease already producing then has no first month we can read.
FAQ
Questions people ask
How long does a payor have to pay my first royalty check?
Under Texas Natural Resources Code section 91.402(a), the first payment from a new well is due on or before 120 days after the end of the month of first sale. Later payments are due 60 days after the end of the month of oil sales and 90 days after the end of the month of gas sales, unless the lease or a written agreement sets the time.
Why is the date an estimate?
The state publishes production by month, not the month of first sale, so we use the first month of reported production as the closest public marker. The first sale can come after the first production, which would make the real deadline later. The state's data also runs about 2 to 4 months behind, so a very new well may not show yet. Your division order or the operator can tell you the month it counts from.
My first check has not come and the date has passed. What can I do?
Ask the operator in writing which month it counts from and when it expects to pay, and keep a copy. If the money is late, interest can run from the end of the payment period (section 91.403), unless one of the reasons in section 91.402(b) lets the payor hold it, such as a title dispute. The checks-stopped page can fill in the letter for you.
Can a payor hold my first check?
Only for the reasons in section 91.402(b): a dispute about title that would change who gets paid, reasonable doubt that you have clear title or authorized the sale of your share, a title-opinion requirement about your title, identity or whereabouts that you have not met after a reasonable request, or a child support lien or withholding order. Operators usually ask new owners for a division order and a W-9 before the first payment, so check whether one is waiting for you.
Why does my lease show no date?
The state record gives us a first month only for leases that began reporting production after our data starts in January 2020. A lease that was already producing then has no first month we can read, and a lease that has not produced yet has none either. Ask the operator for the first-sale month and the due date, or use the checks-stopped check to read the lease's record.
First check in hand? Line the statement up against the state.
The check compares each month on your statements with what the Railroad Commission says the lease sold, and points to the months that are missing.
Sources
Primary sources, opened on 29 September 2026. Statute text is the current version on statutes.capitol.texas.gov.