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Federal mining claim rules: the 1872 Mining Law and BLM regulations

Not legal advice. This is a general guide, not legal advice. We work to keep it current, but we make no guarantee that it is complete, accurate or up to date, and laws, fees and office practices change. Read the statutes and regulations linked here, check with the county recorder and BLM, and do your own research (or ask a mining-law attorney) before you rely on it.

Unpatented lode and placer claims, mill sites and tunnel sites on open federal land are governed by the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended, and BLM's regulations in 43 CFR Parts 3830-3839. Every claim also has to meet the location rules of the state where it lies. In short: make a discovery, stake and post the claim under state law, record it locally AND with BLM within 90 days of location with $274 per lode claim (placers $200 maintenance per 20 acres), then pay $200 per claim by every September 1 or, as a small miner, do $100 of work per claim and file by December 30. Nothing here authorizes disturbing the surface; that needs casual-use compliance, a notice or a plan under 43 CFR 3809 (or the Forest Service rules).

Federal law: General Mining Law of 1872 (Act of May 10, 1872, 17 Stat. 91), now 30 U.S.C. Chapter 2 (mineral lands and mining)
BLM regulations: 43 CFR Group 3800 (BLM mining claim regulations)
Federal requirements in every state: ClaimStaker's federal guide

Each state adds its own rules on top of these: see the state guides.

The General Mining Law of 1872

The Act of May 10, 1872 (ch. 152, 17 Stat. 91), "An Act to promote the Development of the mining Resources of the United States," declared "all valuable mineral deposits in lands belonging to the United States, both surveyed and unsurveyed ... free and open to exploration and purchase." As amended, it is codified at 30 U.S.C. 22-54 (Revised Statutes 2319-2339). Act of May 10, 1872, ch. 152, 17 Stat. 91 (GovInfo, Statutes at Large) · 30 U.S.C. 22 · 43 CFR 3830.5 ("General Mining Law") · 30 U.S.C. Chapter 2 (Mineral Lands and Mining)
The 1872 Act set the basic rules that still apply: lode claims up to 1,500 x 600 feet with no location before discovery (sec. 2, now 30 U.S.C. 23); boundaries "distinctly marked on the ground"; records containing the locators' names, the date and a description tied to a natural object or permanent monument; $100 of annual labor per claim (sec. 5, now 30 U.S.C. 28); tunnel rights (sec. 4); placers (sec. 10); and mill sites of up to 5 acres (sec. 15). Act of May 10, 1872, ch. 152, 17 Stat. 91 (GovInfo, Statutes at Large) · 30 U.S.C. 23 · 30 U.S.C. 28 · 30 U.S.C. 42
Miners' districts and states may add location, recording and work rules that do not conflict with federal law (30 U.S.C. 28), so you must follow BOTH federal law and the state's location statute. If a state law conflicts with BLM's rules, you must still follow BLM's rules. 30 U.S.C. 28 · 43 CFR 3832.11 · 43 CFR 3830.1
Major later changes: the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 made oil, gas, coal, phosphate, sodium, potash and similar minerals leasable instead of locatable; the Surface Resources Act of 1955 removed common varieties of sand, stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, cinders and petrified wood and limited surface use; FLPMA (1976) required recording with BLM; and the 1993 fee law replaced annual assessment work with an annual maintenance fee for most claimants. 30 U.S.C. 611 · 30 U.S.C. 612 · 43 U.S.C. 1744 · 30 U.S.C. 28f · BLM Alaska, Alaska Federal Mining Claim Information 2026 Guide (PDF)
An unpatented claim is a possessory right to develop and extract minerals; the United States keeps title. Disputes between rival claimants are decided "by the law of possession." Congress has barred BLM from accepting new patent applications since 1994 through annual appropriations riders (the "patent moratorium"). 30 U.S.C. 26 · 30 U.S.C. 53 · BLM Alaska, Alaska Federal Mining Claim Information 2026 Guide (PDF)
The federal regulations are 43 CFR Parts 3830-3839 (locating, recording and maintaining claims), revised most recently by direct final rules published September 2, 2025, and 43 CFR Subpart 3809 (surface management on BLM land). 43 CFR 3830.1 · 90 FR 42332 (Sept. 2, 2025) (GovInfo) · 43 CFR Subpart 3809 (Surface Management)

Who may locate and what land is open

Who may locate: U.S. citizens who have reached the age of discretion under their state's law; legal immigrants who have filed an application for citizenship (the statute says "those who have declared their intention to become such"); business entities organized under any state's laws; and agents acting for qualified locators. There is no limit on the number of claims a person may hold. 43 CFR 3830.3 · 30 U.S.C. 22 · BLM: Staking a Claim
Land must be federal land "open to mineral entry". Mining claims can be located only on public-domain minerals (not acquired lands) in 19 states: AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, ID, LA, MS, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY. BLM land and National Forest System land are generally open unless withdrawn. BLM: Locating a Mining Claim · 43 CFR 3830.5 ("Federal lands", "open to mineral entry")
Closed (withdrawn) areas include National Parks, National Monuments, Indian reservations, many Bureau of Reclamation projects, military reservations, wildlife areas managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, designated wilderness, and wild portions of Wild and Scenic Rivers (usually with a 1/4-mile buffer during study). A claim located on land closed at the time of location is void. BLM: Locating a Mining Claim · 43 CFR 3830.2 · 43 CFR 3830.91
Only locatable minerals may be claimed: metallic minerals and certain industrial minerals that are not leasable or salable. Common varieties of sand, stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, cinders and petrified wood are NOT locatable, unless the deposit has a property giving it "distinct and special value" (e.g., block pumice, chemical-grade limestone, wallboard-grade gypsum). 43 CFR 3830.11 · 43 CFR 3830.12 · 30 U.S.C. 611
Stock Raising Homestead Act (split-estate) lands: before entering to explore or locate, file a Notice of Intent to Locate (NOITL) with BLM ($40 fee), serve it on the surface owner by certified mail, and wait 30 days. The NOITL lasts 90 days unless you file a plan of operations, and claims located under a void NOITL are void. 43 CFR 3838.11 · 43 CFR 3838.13-3838.15 · 91 FR 1194 (Jan. 12, 2026), Annual Adjustment of Cost Recovery Fees, FY 2026 (GovInfo)
A claim gives no exclusive surface rights: before patent the claim may be used only for prospecting, mining, processing and reasonably incident uses, and the United States may manage the surface and let others use it. 30 U.S.C. 612 · BLM: Mining Claims

Discovery

"No location of a mining claim shall be made until the discovery of the vein or lode within the limits of the claim located"; under BLM rules a lode or placer claim "is not valid until you make a discovery within the boundaries of the claim." Discovery means finding a valuable mineral deposit. 30 U.S.C. 23 · 43 CFR 3832.11 · 43 CFR 3830.5 ("Discovery")
The test is the "prudent man rule" (Castle v. Womble, 19 L.D. 455 (1894)): the find must justify a person of ordinary prudence in spending more time and money with a reasonable prospect of developing a valuable mine. Since United States v. Coleman (1968) this includes "marketability": a reasonable prospect of mining, removing and selling the mineral at a profit. BLM: Discovery · BLM Alaska, Alaska Federal Mining Claim Information 2026 Guide (PDF)
Interior requires a discovery on each claim based on an actual physical exposure of the mineral within the claim. For a lode there must be a vein or lode of rock in place carrying valuable mineral that would justify development (Jefferson-Montana Copper Mines Co., 41 L.D. 321 (1912)). BLM: Discovery
For placer claims, in addition to the discovery, each 10-acre part of the claim must be "mineral-in-character" (a reasonable expectation of further economic mineral). Rights are protected against the United States and other claimants only after discovery. 43 CFR 3832.21 · BLM: Discovery · BLM: Explanation of Location

Lode claims

Use a lode claim for veins, lodes, ledges or other rock in place bearing valuable minerals (including broad disseminated zones). Bedded deposits and placer, alluvial, eluvial, colluvial or aqueous deposits are not located as lodes. 43 CFR 3832.21 · 30 U.S.C. 23
Size: no more than 1,500 feet along the vein and no more than 300 feet on each side of the middle of the vein (600 feet total). Local rules may not cut a claim to less than 25 feet on each side. "The end lines of each claim shall be parallel to each other." 30 U.S.C. 23 · 43 CFR 3832.22
Extralateral rights: if the apex of the vein is inside the claim and the side lines roughly parallel the vein, you may follow the vein downward beyond the side lines between vertical planes through the end lines. To protect these rights, trace the vein's course before marking the boundaries. 30 U.S.C. 26 · 43 CFR 3832.21
Federal location steps: confirm the land is open; stake and monument the corners as the state requires; post a notice in a conspicuous place on the claim with the locators' names, the date of location, a description of the claim and its name or number; record locally and with BLM; and follow all other state requirements. 43 CFR 3832.11 · 30 U.S.C. 28
Describe lode claims by metes and bounds beginning at the discovery point, tied to a natural object or permanent monument, such as a section corner, a mineral survey monument, a geodetic monument, a stream confluence or road intersection, a prominent butte or hill, or an adjoining claim. 43 CFR 3832.12
Boundaries must be "distinctly marked on the ground so that its boundaries can be readily traced"; the type, size and placement of monuments come from state law. BLM's policy is not to use perforated or uncapped pipe as a monument. 30 U.S.C. 28 · BLM: Staking a Claim

Placer claims (including 10-acre aliquot parts, Snow Flake compactness, association placers)

Placers include "all forms of deposit, excepting veins of quartz, or other rock in place": e.g., gold-bearing sands and gravels; minerals in soils, alluvium or talus; bedded gypsum, limestone, cinders and pumice; and certain mineral brines. Building stone must be located as a placer. 30 U.S.C. 35 · 43 CFR 3832.21 · 30 U.S.C. 161
Size: an individual placer claim (including one located by a corporation) may not exceed 20 acres. An association placer may not exceed 160 acres, at 20 acres per locator, so 160 acres requires at least eight co-locators; associations may have more than eight members but still cannot exceed 160 acres. 30 U.S.C. 35 · 30 U.S.C. 36 · 43 CFR 3832.22 · BLM: Explanation of Location
Dummy locators: "You may not use the names of other persons as dummy locators (fictitious locators) to locate an association placer claim for your own benefit." An association placer may be transferred to fewer owners only after discovery or after reducing the acreage to 20 acres per owner. 43 CFR 3832.22 · 43 CFR 3833.33
Conformity: placers must "conform as near as practicable with the United States system of public-land surveys." Where the land is surveyed or protracted, describe the claim by aliquot parts and complete lots. Where a section is divided into lots, use the lots. 30 U.S.C. 35 · 43 CFR 3832.12 · George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013)
10-acre minimum part: "Legal subdivisions of forty acres may be subdivided into ten-acre tracts", so the smallest aliquot part allowed is a 10-acre tract (a quarter-quarter-quarter section). In George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013), the Board held that descriptions using 2.5-acre and 5-acre parcels violated the conformity requirement and upheld forfeiture (see also Roman Placer, 34 L.D. 260 (1905), rejecting 5-acre tracts). 30 U.S.C. 36 · George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013)
Exceptions to the 10-acre minimum: (1) where a 10-acre part would force the claim's lines onto other prior claims, or the claim is surrounded by prior locations (Snow Flake Fraction Placer, 37 L.D. at 258; U.S. v. Meyers, 17 IBLA 313, 315 n.1 (1974)); and (2) the statute lets two or more persons with contiguous claims "of any size, although such claims may be less than ten acres each" make joint entry. Snow Flake Fraction Placer, 37 L.D. 250 (1908) (Interior Land Decisions vol. 37, PDF, p. 250) · United States v. Meyers, 17 IBLA 313 (1974) · 30 U.S.C. 36 · George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013)
Metes-and-bounds descriptions are allowed only for placers on unsurveyed land (use the protracted survey if BLM has one), gulch placers (a riverbed between steep, nonmineral canyon walls), bench placers, or claims bounded by other claims or nonmineral land. Kendall noted that slopes of 20-30 degrees do not by themselves make a claim a gulch placer. 43 CFR 3832.12 · 43 CFR 3830.5 ("gulch" and "bench placer") · George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013)
Compactness (Snow Flake Fraction Placer, 37 L.D. 250 (1908)): every claim must be "as compact and regular in form as reasonably possible"; Interior will not sanction claims that cut the public domain into "long narrow strips or grossly irregular or fantastically shaped tracts." Under Snow Flake's 40-acre-square guidance, a location by 1-2 persons should fit within one square 40-acre tract, 3-4 persons within two such tracts end to end, 5-6 within three, and 7-8 within four. Snow Flake Fraction Placer, 37 L.D. 250 (1908) (Interior Land Decisions vol. 37, PDF, p. 250) · 43 CFR 3832.12
The Snow Flake 40-acre-square test is MANDATORY for association placers described by metes and bounds (43 CFR 3832.12(c)(3)). Kendall held that BLM may also apply it, case by case, to claims described by aliquot parts and lots. Intentionally "shoestring"-shaped claims may be declared void without a chance to cure. 43 CFR 3832.12 · George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013)
Contiguity: all land in one placer claim must be contiguous. Tracts that touch only at a corner are not contiguous and cannot be one location (W.G. Singleton, 75 IBLA 168 (1983)), and a claim split by land closed to entry cannot be a single location. W.G. Singleton, 75 IBLA 168 (1983) · BLM: Explanation of Location · 30 U.S.C. 36
Each 10-acre aliquot part must be mineral in character; some nonmineral ground may be included when needed to conform to the survey. On irregular (lotted) surveyed land, the "Rule of Approximation" may allow slight excess acreage. 43 CFR 3832.21 · George Kendall, 184 IBLA 71 (2013) · 43 CFR 3832.91
Fees scale with size: the maintenance fee for a placer is $200 for each 20 acres or portion thereof (e.g., a 21-acre placer owes two fees). 43 CFR 3830.21 · 30 U.S.C. 28f

Mill sites and tunnel sites

Mill site: up to 5 acres of NONMINERAL land, not contiguous to the vein or lode, used for activities reasonably incident to mining, such as mills, processing, tailings, waste dumps, shops and offices. Locate it like a lode or placer claim; each 2.5-acre portion must actually be used or occupied. 30 U.S.C. 42 · 43 CFR 3832.31 · 43 CFR 3832.32 · 43 CFR 3832.33
Dependent mill sites support particular claims; independent (custom) mill sites serve nearby lode mines only (not placers). You may locate more than one mill site per claim if each is used, but only the acreage reasonably necessary. Mill sites cannot be located where the U.S. does not own the surface, and their use needs surface-management authorization. 43 CFR 3832.31 · 43 CFR 3832.32 · 43 CFR 3832.33 · 43 CFR 3832.34
Tunnel site: a subsurface right-of-way to reach lode claims or explore for blind veins. Locate it by erecting a substantial post, board or monument at the tunnel face bearing a notice (claimants' names, actual or proposed course, height and width of the tunnel, and a tie to a natural object or permanent monument), and by staking the boundary lines at intervals required by state law for up to 3,000 feet. 30 U.S.C. 27 · 43 CFR 3832.41 · 43 CFR 3832.42
Tunnel-site rights: you may acquire, by locating lode claims, blind veins cut by the tunnel within its limits (BLM's rule says within 1,500 feet of the tunnel axis), and the lode claim relates back to the tunnel-site location date. Stopping work for more than 6 months abandons the right to undiscovered veins. 30 U.S.C. 27 · 43 CFR 3832.44 · 43 CFR 3832.45
Mill and tunnel sites are recorded like claims and owe the same $49 location fee and $200 maintenance fee per site. Under a small-miner waiver they need an annual notice of intent to hold, not an affidavit of assessment work. 43 CFR 3830.21 · 43 CFR 3835.31

Recording with BLM (90 days) and fees

Within 90 days after the date of location, record the claim BOTH in the local (county, or Alaska recording district) office under state law AND with the proper BLM State Office: file a copy of the notice or certificate of location recorded, or to be recorded, locally. Recording is required even where state law has no recording requirement. 43 U.S.C. 1744 · 43 CFR 3833.1 · 43 CFR 3833.11
The notice or certificate filed with BLM must include: the claim or site name or number; the names and current mailing addresses of the locators; the type of claim or site; the date of location; and the land description required by 43 CFR 3832.12. 43 CFR 3833.11
Land description: give the state, meridian, township, range, section and aliquot part to the quarter section, taken from an official survey plat or other government map. If aliquot parts cannot be used, give a metes-and-bounds description tied to a claim corner, discovery monument or survey monument. Also file a USGS topographic map showing the claim OR a narrative or sketch tied to a natural object or permanent monument, showing boundaries accurately enough to find the claim on the ground. No professional surveyor is required. 43 CFR 3832.12
Fees due WITH the BLM filing, per claim or site: $25 processing fee, $49 one-time location fee and $200 initial maintenance fee (placers: $200 per 20 acres or portion), for a total of $274 for a lode claim. BLM will not record a claim without the full fees. If documents are returned for short payment, you may refile only within the original 90 days. 43 CFR 3830.21 · 43 CFR 3830.25 · 43 CFR 3830.95 · BLM: Mining Claim Fees
Fee dates: the $49 location fee and $200 maintenance fee were set by the CPI adjustment rule at 89 FR 54364 (July 1, 2024); they apply to claims located on or after September 1, 2024 and to maintenance fees from the 2025 assessment year. They must be re-adjusted for CPI at least every 5 years, with notice by July 1. The $25 notice-of-location fee and other processing fees are fixed fees adjusted annually; the current FY 2026 schedule (91 FR 1194) took effect January 12, 2026. 89 FR 54364 (July 1, 2024), Required Fees for Mining Claims or Sites (GovInfo) · 91 FR 1194 (Jan. 12, 2026), Annual Adjustment of Cost Recovery Fees, FY 2026 (GovInfo) · 30 U.S.C. 28j · 43 CFR 3834.21-3834.23
"Bridge" claims: if you locate a claim before September 1 and record it with BLM on or after September 1, you must also pay the maintenance fee for the new assessment year at recording, unless you qualify for and file a small-miner waiver for that year when you record. 43 CFR 3830.95 · 43 CFR 3835.14 · BLM: Mining Claim Fees
Where and how to file: online through MLRS (with Pay.gov), or by mail or in person at the BLM State Office for the state; in Alaska, the Fairbanks office may also accept filings. A mailed document counts as filed if it is postmarked by the due date and received within 15 calendar days after it. BLM Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS) · 43 CFR 3830.5 ("Filed"; "BLM State Office") · 43 CFR 3830.24 · BLM: Recording a Mining Claim or Site
Other BLM filings: an amended location must be filed with BLM within 90 days after local recording ($15 per claim). Transfers of interest (record the deed locally first) must be filed with BLM with the claim name or serial number, the new owner's name and address, and a copy of the deed ($15 per claim per transferee). Until a transfer is filed, BLM deals only with the owner of record. Address changes and relinquishments are free. 43 CFR 3833.22 · 43 CFR 3833.32 · 43 CFR 3833.92 · BLM: Recording a Mining Claim or Site · 91 FR 1194 (Jan. 12, 2026), Annual Adjustment of Cost Recovery Fees, FY 2026 (GovInfo)
Amendments may correct defects, the legal description, the claim name or the monument positions, reposition lode side lines parallel to the vein, or reduce the claim. They may not add owners, transfer an interest, enlarge the claim, change its type, or revive a forfeited or void claim. An amendment relates back to the original location date. 43 CFR 3833.21 · 43 CFR 3833.22
Knowingly filing false, erroneous or fictitious information can bring criminal penalties (up to 5 years and/or $250,000). BLM is not the recording office for leases, liens, wills, option agreements or grubstake contracts; record those locally. 43 CFR 3830.9 · 18 U.S.C. 1001 · 43 CFR 3830.2

Annual maintenance fee, small miner waiver and assessment work

The assessment year runs from September 1 to September 1. Pay the annual maintenance fee ($200 per lode claim, mill site or tunnel site; $200 per 20 acres or portion for placers) on or before September 1 for the coming year, with a list of the claims by name and BLM serial number. Paying the fee replaces assessment work and the annual FLPMA filing. 30 U.S.C. 28f · 43 CFR 3834.11 · 43 CFR 3830.21 · 43 CFR 3835.31 · BLM: Mining Claim Fees
The initial maintenance fee covers the assessment year in which the claim is located. Fees are never prorated: you owe the full annual fee even if you hold the claim for one day of the year. The initial fee and the location fee can never be waived. 43 CFR 3834.11 · 43 CFR 3834.13 · 43 CFR 3834.14
Small-miner waiver: if you and all related parties (spouse, dependent children, and persons you control or who control you) hold 10 or fewer claims and sites on federal land nationwide on the due date, and all co-claimants qualify, you may file the Maintenance Fee Waiver Certification (Form 3830-2) on or before September 1 instead of paying. Original signatures of all claimants (or an authorized agent) are required. No fee is charged. 30 U.S.C. 28f · 43 CFR 3835.1 · 43 CFR 3835.10 · 43 CFR 3835.11 · BLM: Mining Claim Fees
With a waiver you must perform at least $100 of labor or improvements per claim each assessment year, beginning the year after location. Then file a copy of your affidavit of assessment work ("proof of labor") with BLM by December 30 of the calendar year in which the assessment year ends, with a $15 processing fee per claim, and record the affidavit in the county or recording district. 30 U.S.C. 28 · 43 CFR 3836.11 · 43 CFR 3835.31 · 43 CFR 3835.32 · 43 U.S.C. 1744
In the year a claim is located (no work required), and for mill and tunnel sites, a waiver holder files a notice of intent to hold instead of an affidavit by December 30, with $15 per claim. If you switch from paying fees to a waiver, file a notice of intent to hold for the first waiver year. 43 CFR 3835.14 · 43 CFR 3835.15 · 43 CFR 3835.31 · 43 CFR 3835.33 · BLM: Mining Claim Fees
Qualifying assessment work includes drilling, excavations, shafts and tunnels, sampling, and roads on or for the benefit of the claim. Work may be done on one claim for a contiguous group covering the same deposit, or on nearby land if it benefits the claims. Geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys by qualified experts count if reported in detail and recorded, but for no more than 2 consecutive years or 5 years total, and they must not repeat earlier surveys. 43 CFR 3836.11 · 43 CFR 3836.12 · 43 CFR 3836.14 · 30 U.S.C. 28-1
Defective waivers: BLM gives you 60 days after notice to cure or pay. Listing more than 10 claims, or omitting claims you hold, forfeits the claims you do not pay for. Other waivers (active military service, reclamation, denial of access, patent applications with a final certificate) are available in narrow cases. 30 U.S.C. 28f · 43 CFR 3835.1 · 43 CFR 3835.92 · 43 CFR 3830.94
Deferment of assessment work (up to one year, renewable once) is available when legal obstacles such as denied access block the work. Petition BLM ($145 fee), record a notice of the petition locally, and do the deferred work by the end of the next assessment year. 30 U.S.C. 28b · 43 CFR 3836.21 · 43 CFR 3836.23-3836.27 · 91 FR 1194 (Jan. 12, 2026), Annual Adjustment of Cost Recovery Fees, FY 2026 (GovInfo)
Fee adjustments: when BLM raises the fees, a claimant who timely pays the old amount gets a notice and 30 days to pay the difference. 43 CFR 3834.23

Notice of intent / surface management (43 CFR 3809) before disturbing the surface

Staking and recording a claim does not authorize surface disturbance. On BLM land, operations are classed as casual use, notice-level or plan-level, and you must prevent "unnecessary or undue degradation" and reclaim. Where state law requires a higher standard, it also applies. 43 CFR 3809.1-3809.3 · 43 CFR 3809.10 · 43 CFR Subpart 3809 (Surface Management)
Casual use needs no filing: negligible disturbance such as hand tools, hand panning, non-motorized sluicing, metal detectors and battery-powered drywashers, and sometimes small portable suction dredges. It excludes mechanized earth-moving, truck-mounted drills, chemicals and explosives. You must still reclaim any casual-use disturbance. 43 CFR 3809.5 · 43 CFR 3809.10
Notice: file a complete notice with the local BLM field office at least 15 calendar days before EXPLORATION disturbing 5 acres or less. It must include operator information and claim serial numbers, a description of the activity with a map, equipment and schedule, a reclamation plan, and a reclamation cost estimate. Post a financial guarantee before starting. A notice lasts 2 years and can be extended. Do not split a project into several notices to avoid a plan. 43 CFR 3809.21 · 43 CFR 3809.301 · 43 CFR 3809.312 · 43 CFR 3809.332-.333
Plan of operations: required, with BLM approval and a financial guarantee, for any operation beyond casual use that is not notice-level. This includes all mining and processing, exploration over 5 acres, bulk sampling of 1,000 tons or more, and any disturbance beyond casual use in special areas (ACECs, wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, national monuments and conservation areas, closed OHV areas, T&E species habitat, certain CDCA areas). 43 CFR 3809.11 · 43 CFR 3809.500 · BLM: Surface Management
Living on or storing equipment on a claim (occupancy) needs separate approval under 43 CFR Subpart 3715. Operations on split-estate Stock Raising Homestead lands without the surface owner's written consent need an approved plan. Suction dredging may be covered by a state permit under a BLM-state agreement; otherwise contact BLM first. 43 CFR Subpart 3715 (Use and Occupancy) · 43 CFR 3809.31
Other surface agencies: Subpart 3809 does not apply in National Forests, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, acquired lands or BLM wilderness study areas. On National Forest land, file a notice of intent to operate with the District Ranger for operations that might cause significant surface disturbance; the Ranger has 15 days to say whether a plan of operations is required. Marking and monumenting a claim, hand panning and similar minor activities need no notice. 43 CFR 3809.2 · 36 CFR 228.4 (Forest Service notice of intent / plan of operations)
Criminal penalties: knowing and willful violations of Subpart 3809 carry fines of up to $100,000 and up to 12 months in prison for individuals, and fines of up to $200,000 for organizations. Claimants and operators are liable for obligations that accrue while they hold their interests. 43 CFR 3809.700 · 43 CFR 3809.116

Losing a claim (forfeiture, abandonment, void claims)

Forfeited automatically (not curable): failing to record with BLM and locally within 90 days of location; failing to pay the location fee or initial maintenance fee within 90 days; and locating on land closed to mineral entry. Failure to file under FLPMA is "deemed conclusively to constitute an abandonment." 43 CFR 3833.91 · 43 CFR 3830.91 · 43 U.S.C. 1744
Failing to pay the annual maintenance fee by September 1 (without a timely, qualifying waiver) "conclusively constitute[s] a forfeiture" and the claim is "null and void by operation of law." Failing to file a required affidavit of assessment work or notice of intent to hold by December 30 also forfeits the claim. 30 U.S.C. 28i · 43 CFR 3830.91 · 43 CFR 3835.91 · 43 CFR 3835.92
Curable defects: if BLM finds a regulatory (non-statutory) defect in a timely filing, it notifies you by certified mail at your address of record, and you have 30 days to cure (60 days for a defective small-miner waiver). Notice to your address of record counts even if you never receive it, so keep your address current with BLM. 43 CFR 3830.93 · 43 CFR 3830.94 · 43 CFR 3835.93
Assessment work not performed (when required) leaves the claim open to relocation by others "as if no location of the same had ever been made," unless the original locator resumes work before someone relocates. Where the land has since been withdrawn, BLM may declare the claim forfeited. 30 U.S.C. 28 · 43 CFR 3836.15
Lack of discovery: a claim without a valuable mineral discovery is invalid and can be challenged by the United States in a contest. If the land is withdrawn after location, BLM requires a mineral examination before allowing operations. 43 CFR 3832.11 · 43 CFR 3809.100 · BLM: Explanation of Location
Co-owner forfeiture: co-owners who paid the fees or did the work may acquire a delinquent co-owner's interest after written notice (certified mail or personal service) or 90 days of weekly newspaper publication, if the delinquent does not pay within 90 days; then file proof with BLM. Not available against a co-owner on active military duty. 30 U.S.C. 28 · 30 U.S.C. 28h · 43 CFR 3837.11 · 43 CFR 3837.21-3837.24
Voluntary abandonment: send a relinquishment letter with the claim name and BLM serial number to BLM and the local office (no fee). A forfeited or abandoned claim cannot be revived by amendment; you must make a new location with new fees. Even after forfeiture you remain responsible for reclamation of any disturbance. BLM: Recording a Mining Claim or Site · 43 CFR 3833.21 · 43 CFR 3830.91
Refunds: BLM refunds location and maintenance fees only if the land was not open at location or the claim was already void when you paid; processing fees are never refunded except overpayments. BLM decisions may be appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals. 43 CFR 3830.22 · 43 CFR 3830.100

Sources

Reviewed October 15, 2026. This is a general guide, not legal advice. We work to keep it current, but we make no guarantee that it is complete, accurate or up to date, and laws, fees and office practices change. Read the statutes and regulations linked here, check with the county recorder and BLM, and do your own research (or ask a mining-law attorney) before you rely on it.

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