North Dakota dormant mineral law: the 20-year rule explained

The short version

NDCC chapter 38-18.1 is North Dakota's termination of mineral interest law. It says a mineral interest that goes unused for 20 years immediately before the first publication of a required notice is deemed abandoned, unless a statement of claim has been recorded. Title to the abandoned interest then vests in whoever owns the surface estate.^[1] The chapter covers interests in “oil, gas, coal, clay, gravel, uranium, and all other minerals” that someone other than the surface owner owns.^[1]

It doesn't apply to minerals owned by a governmental body or agency, and the statute says it applies both prospectively and retrospectively. Nobody can waive it before the 20 years run out.^[1] The deadlines are in the statute, and this page isn't legal advice. If you think your minerals may be affected, see a North Dakota attorney soon.

What counts as use

Section 38-18.1-03 says a mineral interest is deemed used when any of these happens:^[1]

• Minerals are produced under the interest.
• Operations are underway on it for injection, withdrawal, storage or disposal of water, gas or other fluid substances.
• For solid minerals, the owners produce from a common vein or seam.
• The interest is subject to a lease, mortgage, assignment or conveyance recorded with the recorder in the county where it sits.
• The interest is subject to an order or agreement to pool or unitize, recorded with that county recorder.
• A proper statement of claim is recorded.

One more rule matters for owners who can't be found. Royalties, bonus or other payments put into an interest-bearing, trust, escrow or similar account for a person who can't be located don't count as use. An account that has existed for three years is treated as abandoned property under chapter 47-30.2.^[1]

How an owner keeps an interest: the statement of claim

Section 38-18.1-04 sets the requirements. The statement of claim has to be recorded by the owner or the owner's representative before the end of the 20-year period. It has to give the owner's name and address, a legal description of the land and the type of mineral interest. And it has to be recorded with the recorder in the county where the interest is located. A joint tenant, but not a tenant in common, may record a claim for themselves and the other joint tenants. If the recording is made in time, the interest is deemed in use on the date of recording.^[1] The county pages for Williams, McKenzie, Dunn, Mountrail and Divide County point to the recorders.

If you aren't the record owner, for example an heir whose name isn't on the record, the statute says a claim filed after July 31, 2009 doesn't preserve the interest unless it references the name of the record owner you claim under.^[1] The Department of Mineral Resources publishes a form. It has lines for the owner's name and address, the legal description, the record owner if that's someone else, and the claimant's relationship to that owner, and it includes a notary acknowledgment.^[2]

What the surface owner has to do

A surface owner who wants to succeed to a lapsed interest has to give notice under section 38-18.1-06.^[1] Notice is published once a week for three weeks in the official county newspaper. If the mineral owner's address is of record, or can be found by reasonable inquiry, a copy also has to be mailed within ten days after the last publication. The notice names the record owner, describes the land and names the surface owners giving notice. A copy and an affidavit of service are recorded, and together they're prima facie evidence that notice was given.

The statute defines reasonable inquiry. The surface owner or an authorized agent has to search the county recorder's records for any use, the clerk of court's records for judgments, liens or probate records that identify the owner, the Social Security death index for the last-known residence of a deceased owner, and one or more public internet databases for the owner or any known heirs. Private fee databases aren't required.^[1] The surface owner may then record a statement of succession in interest.

The 60-day window after notice

Failing to record a claim in time doesn't end the interest if the owner of record acts within 60 days after the first publication. The owner can file a statement of claim, or file documentation that at least one of the listed uses happened during the 20 years before the first publication. Someone other than the record owner can file a sworn affidavit or declaration within the same 60 days. It has to explain the factual and legal basis for the claim and come with supporting documents, or say why they aren't available.^[1] That's section 38-18.1-05.

Does a court have to be involved?

Section 38-18.1-06.1 says that once the notice procedure is finished, the surface owner may bring a quiet title action in district court. The surface owner has to show the court that every required step was properly completed and that a reasonable inquiry was made. If the court finds that, it enters judgment perfecting title in the surface owner. A judgment obtained this way is conclusive except for fraud, misrepresentation or other misconduct, and a mineral lessee that leases from the surface owner after a judgment is treated as a bona fide purchaser.^[1]

A 1995 Attorney General letter opinion read the chapter as self-executing, meaning title passes to the surface owner without a court judgment once the statute's terms are met.^[3] The Legislature has amended the chapter since. In 2009 it defined reasonable inquiry and added the quiet title section, according to the Legislative Council's background memo.^[4] Whether and when a particular surface owner should go to court is a question for an attorney.

If you own old minerals

Start at the recorder's office for the county where the land sits. Look for any recorded lease, mortgage, assignment, conveyance or pooling order on your interest, because those count as use under section 38-18.1-03. If the last one is old, ask an attorney whether to record a statement of claim, and how soon.

Check unclaimed property too. Under NDCC 47-30.2-04, mineral proceeds that stay unclaimed for more than three years after they became payable are deemed abandoned.^[5] The Department of Trust Lands site links to the state's unclaimed property search.^[6] And keep your address current with the operator and the recorder, so notices and checks can reach you.

If you own the surface

The chapter puts the work on you. You publish the notice, mail it when an address can be found, search the records, and show a court in a quiet title action that every step was done properly. Because mistakes there can cost you the judgment, use a North Dakota attorney.

Related pages

The FAQ covers common mineral owner questions, and the royalty estimator helps you size up royalty on minerals you do own. The division order guide explains the paperwork operators send once a well is producing.

A note on our interest

Fort Union buys minerals and royalty interests, so we have a commercial interest in this subject. Nothing in this guide depends on selling to us, and each statement comes from a public source listed below. Our editorial standards explain how we source and review our pages. If you ever want to know what we'd pay for your interest, the offer page is the way to reach us.

Sources

These are the sources behind this guide, in the order we first cite them. We read each one in full on October 25, 2026.

1. N.D.C.C. chapter 38-18.1, Termination of Mineral Interest — North Dakota Legislative Branch, Century Code, read October 25, 2026.
2. Statement of Claim of Mineral Interest (form) — North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, form read October 25, 2026.
3. Letter opinion 95-L-44 — North Dakota Attorney General, February 13, 1995.
4. Severed and abandoned mineral interests, background memorandum 19073 — North Dakota Legislative Council, November 2009.
5. N.D.C.C. chapter 47-30.2, Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (section 47-30.2-04) — North Dakota Legislative Branch, Century Code, read October 25, 2026.
6. Department of Trust Lands home page, with its link to the state Unclaimed Property search — North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, viewed October 25, 2026.