Public Information

The Texas Public Information Act guarantees the public a right to access government records.

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is committed to open government and has staff dedicated to quickly and efficiently responding to public information requests. Our Public Information Officer is your contact for all requests of public information held by the GLO.

All public Information requests must be made in writing. You may use this web form to submit your public information request or write to the physical address shown on this page.

Privacy Policy

The GLO values your privacy and the security of your information. This privacy policy describes how the GLO handles the collection of data through this website. The agency will continue to review our website to ensure that the GLO is protecting your privacy as required by law and will update this privacy policy whenever necessary to reflect any relevant changes to the agency’s site or practices. 

For information about how the GLO maintains the privacy and security of any protected health information it might have about you, please see the Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information.

What information do we collect?

Contact Information: The GLO only collects personally identifiable information (e.g., names, physical addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses, etc.) that you choose to provide.

Purchase and Payment Information: For purchases or payments, your name, address, email address, phone number, physical location information, and/or credit card information may be collected and stored only for the purposes of delivering the goods or services you purchased and for processing transactions.

Cookies and Other Technologies: The GLO website uses third-party cookies to monitor and collect specific types of data. Google Analytics and Siteimprove are employed to track session data, including the time spent on a page, whether the visitor is new or returning, the sequence of pages visited, and various device details like type, operating system, and browser. These analytical tools also provide session statistics such as the number of users, page views, bounce rate, pages per session, and session duration. Additionally, such tools capture approximate geolocation data, identifying the city, state, and country of the visitor. Review the Google Analytics Terms of Use at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/ to learn more about how Google uses, collects, and processes analytics data. The GLO also utilizes Meta (formerly Facebook) cookies to track data related to our social media campaigns. The website uses Meta cookies to track visits to deliver a series of advertisement products, including real-time bidding from third-party advertisers and to detect how visitors reached this website by recording a last URL address.

Disabling Cookies: If you wish to withdraw your consent to the use of cookies, you can delete cookies through your browser settings. The “Help” section of the toolbar on most browsers provides instructions on how to prevent your browser from accepting cookies, how to be notified when you receive cookies, and how to disable cookies altogether. Please note that rejecting or blocking cookies may affect the functionality and experience of the GLO website.

How do we use the information we collect?

The GLO uses information only for the purpose for which it was collected or as described in this Privacy Policy.

Compliance with the Public Information Act: All information a state agency maintains is presumed to be public, subject to specific exceptions in the Public Information Act (Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code) or other law. Other than for actual and prospective GLO vendors or their agents and additional limited exceptions under Texas Government Code section 552.137,    email addresses used to communicate with the GLO are confidential and not subject to disclosure.  Protected health information is protected from public disclosure by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 181.

What safeguards do we use to protect your information?

The GLO uses a secure socket layer (SSL) connection to enhance the security of any information you choose to submit to the agency on this website. In other areas of the website, we provide only the security necessary to maintain the website and information we provide to you.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the GLO website employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for routine destruction in accordance with our agency’s retention schedule.

Credit card and bank information is captured only by NICUSA, the state’s authorized, secure credit card processor which is compliant with all Payment Card Industry (PCI) rules and guidelines.

What choices do I have?

You have choices with respect to the collection and use of your personal information.

• You can choose not to voluntarily share information with the GLO through its website.
• You can opt out of marketing emails or text messages by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in the marketing emails and text messages.
• With few exceptions, you are entitled on request to be informed about the information that the GLO has collected about you.
• Under Section 559.004 of the Texas Government Code, you are entitled to have the GLO correct information it has collected about you that is incorrect and may submit a request for such information through the Public Information page.
• You can disable cookies as provided herein.

WEBSITE LINKING POLICY

Fees: The Texas General Land Office does not charge a fee to access, use, or reproduce information on its website or to link to information on its website, unless specifically authorized to do so by the Texas Legislature.

Linking to the GLO Website:

• Advance permission to link to the GLO website is not required.
• Links should be established through the appropriate base uniform resource locator (URL) and not through an abbreviated form.
• The origin or ownership of the content of the GLO website must not be misrepresented by an entity or individual that links to the site.
• A GLO website page may not be captured within the frame of another site without prior permission from the agency.
• GLO website content may not be presented as an entity’s or individual’s own.
• Certain information displayed on the GLO’s website may be trademarked, service-marked, or otherwise protected as intellectual property and must be used in accordance with state and federal laws and must reflect the proper ownership of the intellectual property.
• Links should be full forward links that pass the client browser directly to the targeted website.
• Links that create a downloading burden on the GLO’s server(s), such as certain graphics or tables, constitute a misuse of state resources. To prevent that, entities or individuals should contact the GLO to request permission to post a copy of the GLO’s graphics or tables within their website.
• Entities or individuals that link to the GLO’s website should use reasonable efforts to ensure that persons with disabilities may access their websites.
• Because the GLO may change its subordinate pages at any time without notice, entities and individuals should routinely verify links to GLO’s subordinate pages.

Linking from the GLO Website:

The State of Texas and the GLO promote linking to federal, state, and local government websites that provide information and services that benefit the citizens, local governments and state agencies of Texas. Linking to third-party websites that contain information and/or offer services that further the business goals and missions of the GLO and other state agencies may be considered if there is a public purpose for establishing the link.

The GLO reserves the right to deny links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the purpose of the GLO, or fails to conform to the requirements of the GLO’s linking policy. Linking to another entity’s website does not constitute the GLO’s endorsement of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services, or accessibility of the site. The GLO expressly disclaims any liability and/or responsibility for the content of any third-party website linked to from the GLO website.

A site may not be linked to or from the GLO website if the site:

1. exhibits hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
2. advocates or promotes the use of alcohol, tobacco, or currently illegal substances;
3. belongs to or supports a political affiliation; or
4. furthers the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.

The GLO follows the State Website Linking and Privacy Policy established by the Texas Department of Information Resources.

ACCESSIBILITY POLICY

Texas General Land Office Accessibility Policy

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is committed to making its website accessible to all users through the inclusion of features designed to improve accessibility for users with disabilities.  Two examples of these features are described below.

• A descriptive text equivalent is provided for images and other non-text elements, aiding users who listen to the content of the site by using a screen reader.
• Alternative formats of major reports and other publications on the website may be provided upon request.

The GLO keeps informed of current accessibility practices and tests all posted content. We verify accessibility using various automated testing tools.

The GLO follows the guidelines for accessibility defined by the Department of Information Resources. Administrative rules regarding accessibility are located at 1 TAC 206 and 1 TAC 213. Requests for exceptions to these guidelines/rules are handled in accordance with 1 TAC 213.17. Documentation associated with such requests is maintained by the GLO Information Technology Services division.

The GLO welcomes comments on how to improve the site's accessibility for users with disabilities. GLO’s Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) Accessibility Coordinator can assist users with any accessibility questions or needs. If you use assistive technology and the format of any material available from the GLO interferes with your ability to access the material, please contact our Accessibility Coordinator. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the material, the Web address of the requested material, and your contact information.

Additional information about accessibility programs in Texas is available from the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities.   

Users with disabilities may contact Relay Texas at 1.800.735.2988 or 711 for additional assistance.