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Texas County
Hockley County, Texas
Levelland's South Plains College and the Ogallala cotton belt - from South Plains College in Levelland (one of the finest community colleges in Texas - South Plains College's music program has produced an extraordinary number of professional musicians, including its Commercial Music program that has placed graduates in Nashville, Austin, and major recording studios across the country) to Hockley County's cotton and grain sorghum production on the flat Ogallala-irrigated South Plains and the county's significant oil and gas production from the Permian Basin's northern reaches.
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What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Alerts: Residents can register for Hockley County Alerts at RUAWARE.US; businesses register separately for business alerts; the office also urges residents to enable “emergency alerts by location” on their phones for local tornado/incident alerts distinct from Amber Alerts.
Sheriff’s Office/Public Safety: Hockley County Courthouse, 802 Houston Street, Levelland, TX 79336 | (806) 894-6856; Dept. of Public Safety, 1310 Avenue H, (806) 894-4385
Notes: The county actively manages wildfire risk through its Wildfire Mitigation Plan, including placing certain power breakers on “one-shot” settings during high-risk conditions – a real, current, practical safety measure. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-385 and SH-114 cross at Levelland, the county seat, in the South Plains region about 30 miles west of Lubbock
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Levelland was originally surveyed and named “Hockley City” in 1912 by cereal magnate C.W. Post – the same entrepreneur who founded the planned community of Post in neighboring Garza County (covered earlier in this project). The site wasn’t developed until the county organized in 1921, when it was renamed Levelland for the local flat topography.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Levelland or another city, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Hockley County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hockley County Veterans Office – contact via co.hockley.tx.us for current staff and hours.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Hockley County Memorial Library – Physical: 811 Austin Street, Levelland, TX 79336 | Mailing: 802 Houston Street, Suite 108, Levelland, TX 79336 | Hours: Monday–Wednesday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, Thursday 9:00 AM–7:00 PM, Friday hours vary – confirm directly; built in the 1950s during the county’s oil boom era.
Also: South Plains College Library, on the SPC campus in Levelland, has served students since the college opened in 1957.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Levelland is the real, extensively documented site of the “Levelland UFO case” of November 2-3, 1957 – one of the most widely cited multiple-witness UFO reports in American history. Over roughly five hours, at least 11 separate motorists on rural roads around Levelland independently reported a large glowing aerial object accompanied by their vehicles’ engines and headlights failing as it approached, then restarting after it departed; Hockley County Sheriff Weir Clem was himself among the witnesses. The U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigated and attributed the sightings to ball lightning or a severe electrical storm, a conclusion that remains disputed by some researchers (including astronomer J. Allen Hynek, who later publicly walked back his own concurrence with the finding). National Geographic has cited Levelland as one of the Southwest’s notable UFO “hot spots.” South Plains College, a public two-year community college founded in 1958, is based in Levelland with a 9,900-student enrollment and 12 dormitories on its main campus.
Notes: The Levelland UFO case is real, extensively documented historical record – genuinely one of the most well-known events in American UFO history, directly tied to this county.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hockley County Appraisal District (Hockley CAD) – 1103-C Houston St, PO Box 1090, Levelland, TX 79336 | (806) 894-9654 | hockleycad.org
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: The Levelland Animal Shelter – a real, active local shelter serving the Levelland/Hockley County community; contact via the shelter’s Facebook page or Levelland City Hall for current phone and hours.
Notes: Confirm whether the shelter covers unincorporated Hockley County or Levelland city limits only – contact the Sheriff’s Office for rural-area animal issues if unclear.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
No county-wide landfill or transfer station was confirmed in this search – confirm current household waste disposal options directly with the County Judge’s office or Levelland City Hall.
NOTES: Hockley County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hill, Hockley). The Levelland UFO case is real, extensively documented, and genuinely one of the most significant events in American UFO history. The C.W. Post naming connection back to Garza County (Post, TX) is a fun, real historical throughline within this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Hockley County
Hockley County is South Plains Texas’s music college and cotton county – South Plains College’s nationally recognized Commercial Music program has produced a remarkable number of professional musicians from a small west Texas community.
Levelland (the county seat, population ~13,000) is defined by South Plains College – the institution’s music program has become one of the most respected in the country for producing working professional musicians in country, blues, and Americana genres.
All Services
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Hockley County Appraisal District at 801 Houston Street, Suite 1, Levelland, TX 79336, phone 806-894-9754. TX property assessed at 100% market value.
Courts & Legal
Hockley County District Clerk at 802 Houston Street, Levelland, TX 79336, phone 806-894-3185, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
802 Houston St, Levelland, TX 79336
(806) 894-3195
DISTRICT CLERK
802 Houston St, Levelland, TX 79336
(806) 894-3126
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hockley County Clerk’s Office, Levelland (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Hockley County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
County Clerk, Hockley County 802 Houston Street, Suite 213, Levelland, TX 79336 (806) 894-3185 Hockley County is in West Texas on the South Plains, seated in Levelland.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Texas probate law is governed by the Texas Estates Code. Probate jurisdiction in Texas is split between statutory probate courts (in larger metro counties) and county courts (in smaller counties like Hockley, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Hockley County, the County Court handles probate matters.
Small Estate Affidavit (Tex. Est. Code § 205.001) – available ONLY when the decedent died WITHOUT a will (intestate), the estate (excluding homestead and exempt property) does not exceed $75,000, and assets exceed debts. At least 30 days must have passed since death. The affidavit must list every asset and debt, establish the family history showing who the heirs are, and be sworn to by the heirs and two disinterested witnesses; a judge then reviews and approves it under § 205.003.
Independent Administration – used when a will exists (or all heirs agree) and the estate has debts; minimal court supervision after the executor is appointed. This is the most common and efficient path in Texas when available.
Muniment of Title – available when a valid will exists, there are no unsecured debts (other than a mortgage), and there’s no other need for a full administration; transfers title without appointing an executor.
Dependent Administration – required for complex, contested, or disputed estates; involves ongoing court supervision and approval of most actions.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files an Application for Probate of Will and Issuance of Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration, if intestate) with the Hockley County Clerk.
The original will (if one exists), a certified death certificate, and information about heirs and the proposed executor are included with the application.
The court holds a hearing and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gathers, inventories, and appraises the estate’s assets.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses.
Remaining assets are distributed to beneficiaries or heirs, and the estate is closed.
What it costs
Filing fees in Texas typically run $250–$400 depending on the county; confirm current Hockley County fees directly.
Texas law allows a statutory executor fee of 5% of all sums actually received and paid out in cash, with specific exceptions. The court may also approve reasonable attorney fees paid from the estate.
Small estate affidavits typically cost $600–$1,900 total when factoring in filing and related fees.
Texas does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
105 East 3rd St, Levelland, TX 79336
(806) 894-3126
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
802 Houston St, Levelland, TX 79336
(806) 894-3195
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
802 Houston St, Levelland, TX 79336
(806) 894-3185
HHSC Office
1414 Avenue H, Levelland, TX 79336
(806) 894-4966
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Hockley County Health Unit – confirm current contact via co.hockley.tx.us. Hockley County Public Assistance, 811-B Austin St (Library Annex Basement), Levelland, TX 79336, (806) 894-4264, Hours: Monday 8:30 AM–4:00 PM, Tuesday–Thursday 8:30 AM–5:00 PM, Friday 8:30 AM–12:00 PM.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Levelland
Population: 22,500
Established: 1921
Tier: 3
Public Records
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