Patented or unpatented: what is the difference?

Short answer: an unpatented claim is a right to explore for and mine certain minerals on federal land; the United States still owns the land, and the claim must be kept up with the BLM every year. A patented claim is private land: the government has passed title to the owner, and it is bought, sold and taxed like other real estate. No new patents have been issued on applications filed since October 1, 1994.

Unpatented claims

Most mining claims in the western United States are unpatented. The claimant holds the right to the locatable minerals and to use the surface for mining-related purposes, subject to federal and state rules. The claim stays valid only while the annual BLM maintenance fee is paid, or a small miner waiver is filed, by September 1, along with any county filings the state requires.

Patented claims

A patented claim is one for which the federal government has passed its title to the claimant. The owner holds the minerals and, in most cases, the surface. There is no BLM fee, but the county charges property tax. Congress has barred the BLM from accepting new patent applications since October 1, 1994, so patented claims today are ones patented before then.

How a sale differs

Unpatented: transferred by deed, usually a quitclaim deed, recorded with the county and filed with the BLM. A buyer checks the claim’s status in the BLM’s records and the recorded chain of transfers. Patented: sold like other land, with a deed, a title search and often title insurance and an escrow.

Which do you have?

If you pay the BLM each year, or file a waiver, your claim is unpatented. If you receive a county property-tax bill for the claim and hold a deed that traces back to a federal patent, it is patented. Some families hold both.

Sources: BLM, mineral patents; BLM, mining claims. General information, not legal advice.