Home / For claim owners / Utah

Claim owners · Utah

Selling mining claims in Utah

Utah had about 22,000 BLM mining claims at the end of 2023, according to the Utah Geological Survey. They are filed with the BLM Utah State Office in Salt Lake City and recorded with the county recorder. Before selling, confirm the BLM fee or waiver is current, check the county record for each year’s affidavit, and list any Division of Oil, Gas and Mining permit that would need an approved transfer to the buyer.

Submit your claimsSale, option, royalty or partnership?

Before you sell

What to check for Utah claims

BLM officeBLM Utah State Office, Salt Lake City
Federal feeBLM maintenance fee of $200 per lode claim, or per 20 acres of placer, by September 1 each year, or a small miner waiver if you hold 10 or fewer claims.
County filing each yearAn affidavit recorded with the county recorder within 30 days after the end of the federal assessment year, giving the owner, the claim name and BLM serial number, and either the work done or the intent to hold and the federal fee paid (Utah Code 40-1-6).
New locationsA vein discovered first; a monument at the discovery point with the location notice posted on it; boundaries marked so they can be readily traced; then a copy of the notice recorded with the county recorder within 30 days of posting (Utah Code 40-1-1 to 40-1-4). A copy goes to the BLM within 90 days of location, with a map.
TransfersDeed recorded with the county recorder, then filed with the BLM. A Division of Oil, Gas and Mining permit does not pass with the deed: the transfer needs the division’s approval and a new reclamation surety from the buyer.
Permits and reclamationUtah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining: a notice of intention and approved reclamation surety before ground is disturbed. Small mining operations disturb up to 20 acres at a time in unincorporated areas, or 10 acres in incorporated areas (Utah Code 40-8-4); exploration and large mines have their own notices.
Commonly claimedCopper, gold, silver, molybdenum, uranium, vanadium and lithium.

Rules and fees change. Confirm them with the BLM and the county recorder before relying on them.

How a sale of Utah claims usually works

  1. Check each claim on the BLM’s records system. How to check a claim.
  2. Check the county record for the location notice and each year’s affidavit.
  3. List any Division of Oil, Gas and Mining notices, permits and reclamation sureties tied to the ground.
  4. Agree the structure and terms in writing.
  5. Every claimant of record signs the deed; it is recorded with the county recorder.
  6. File the recorded deed with the BLM state office, with a processing fee per claim for each new owner. The BLM does not recognize the buyer until the transfer is filed, and keeps treating the seller as the owner of record.
  7. Apply to the division to transfer any permit, with the buyer’s new surety, and agree who pays the next September 1 fee.

Things that trip up Utah sellers

  • Paying the BLM is not enough: Utah also wants the county affidavit within 30 days after the federal assessment year ends (Utah Code 40-1-6).
  • The county deadline for a new location notice is 30 days from posting, much shorter than the BLM’s 90 days (Utah Code 40-1-4).
  • The seller stays liable under a state mining permit until the division approves the transfer and the buyer’s surety (Utah Admin. Code R647-4-120).
  • Claims on Utah state trust lands follow separate rules and filings with the Trust Lands Administration.

Sources: Utah Code title 40, chapter 1; Utah Admin. Code R647-4-120 (permit transfers); BLM, mining in Utah; Utah Geological Survey, Circular 138 (2024); Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining; BLM, 2027 mining claim season fees; 43 CFR part 3833 (recording and transfers). General information, not legal advice.

Own claims in Utah? Send the basics; nothing you send commits you.

Submit your claims

Free reminder

Don’t lose your claims to a missed deadline

The BLM maintenance fee, or a small miner waiver, is due by September 1 every year. Miss it and unpatented claims are forfeited. Leave your email and we’ll remind you about a month before the deadline.

One reminder a year, plus an occasional note when claim rules change. No sales emails. Unsubscribe at any time. See the privacy notice.