Unclaimed oil and gas royalties in North Dakota and Montana

How royalties end up unclaimed

Operators pay royalties to the owner and address on their books. When a check comes back, an owner dies and nobody tells the operator, or a deed never gets recorded, the money sits with the operator. Both states treat that money as “mineral proceeds” under their unclaimed property laws. North Dakota's definition covers royalties, overriding royalties, net revenue interests and production payments, plus lease money like bonuses, delay rentals, shut-in royalties and minimum royalties.^[1] Montana's definition is close, and it also names payments under joint operating, unit, pooling and farmout agreements.^[2]

North Dakota: three years, then the state

In North Dakota, mineral proceeds that stay unclaimed for more than three years after they became payable are deemed abandoned, and so is the owner's underlying right to receive them. Anything owing at that point, and anything that accrues after it, is treated as abandoned too.^[1] That last part matters. Once an interest goes dormant, new production from it can keep flowing to the state until someone claims it.

The clock can restart. The law counts the period from the later of the abandonment date or the owner's latest indication of interest, and a letter or email from you to the operator about the property counts, as does a phone call the operator writes down.^[1] So if an operator writes asking you to confirm your address, answer it.

Operators file their unclaimed property reports before November 1 each year, covering the twelve months before July 1.^[1] If they have a good address and the amount is $25 or more, they have to mail you a notice no more than 120 days before they file. The notice has to say the property may go to the state's unclaimed property administrator unless you contact them by a date 30 days after the notice, and explain what you need to do to stop that.^[1] If you get one of these letters, it's usually far easier to sort it out with the operator then than to file a claim later.

Searching and claiming in North Dakota

North Dakota's program is run through the Department of Trust Lands, and the state's search is at North Dakota Unclaimed Property.^[3] Search your own name, your old addresses, and the names of parents or grandparents who owned minerals. Inherited interests are where we see this most.

A claim is filed on the state's form and you verify it. The administrator has 90 days to allow or deny it and has to tell you why if it's denied, along with what extra evidence it needs. You can file an amended claim, or go to district court in Burleigh County within 180 days of filing.^[1] Once a claim is allowed, the state has 60 days to pay.^[1] One thing to know: the state can first apply the money to certain debts owed in North Dakota, such as past-due child support, unpaid state or local taxes, and court fines or judgments.^[1]

If the money came from an inherited interest, you'll usually need to show how it passed to you. Our inherited minerals guide covers the probate side.

Trusts for owners nobody can find

There's a second path money can take in North Dakota. When an owner can't be located after a diligent search, another owner in the tract can ask the district court to set up a trust for the missing owner. The court appoints the county treasurer as trustee, and the treasurer can sign a lease, ratification or division order on the court's terms.^[4]

Royalties and other income then go to the trustee. Fifty percent of the money paid to the trustee is credited to the county's general fund to cover administration, and funds held in the trust are subject to the state's unclaimed property law. An owner can record a notice with the county recorder giving an address and describing the interest, which creates a rebuttable presumption that they own it.^[4] If you think a family interest is tied up in one of these trusts, the county recorder and a North Dakota attorney are the people to start with.

Montana's rules

Montana's unclaimed property program is run by the Department of Revenue.^[2] Its list of abandonment periods doesn't give mineral proceeds a line of their own, so as we read it they fall under the catch-all for other property: five years after the owner could demand the money or the obligation to pay it arose, whichever is first.^[5] Like North Dakota, when an interest is presumed abandoned, other amounts accruing from it are presumed abandoned too, and contacting the holder about the property counts as an indication of interest.^[5]

You can search on the Montana Unclaimed Property Portal. The department says a 2025 law, HB 88, lets it match some unclaimed property to owners using tax records and mail a check of up to $1,000 without a claim, so a letter about that program isn't something to ignore.^[6] Our Richland County page covers the Montana side of the Bakken.

Be careful with finders

Owners with unclaimed royalties often get letters from locator firms offering to recover the money for a cut. Both states limit these deals. In North Dakota, a locator agreement is only enforceable if it's in writing, describes the property and services, is signed by the owner, caps the fee at ten percent of what's recovered, and discloses that the owner could recover the money from the state without charge. An agreement signed between the abandonment date and 24 months after the property is turned over is void, and the statute names mineral proceeds that haven't yet been reported among the property it covers. Agreements with an attorney to pursue a specific claim are treated differently.^[1]

Montana voids similar agreements made in the same 24-month window, requires the agreement to state the value before and after the fee, and voids any fee paid in a share of the minerals themselves or in mineral proceeds that haven't been presumed abandoned. An owner can also go to court to cut an unconscionable fee.^[7]

Searching both state sites is free, so it's worth doing that yourself first.

Keeping it from happening

Most of this comes down to the operator having a good address and the right name. Tell every operator that pays you when you move, and record deeds and probate papers in the county where the minerals are. If you aren't sure which operators pay on your acres, our guide to confirming mineral ownership and operator contacts page can help. Questions? Email Jim Fort at jim@fortunionminerals.com.

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 the parts of each one that this guide relies on, on October 28, 2026.

1. N.D.C.C. chapter 47-30.2, Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (sections 47-30.2-01, -04, -12, -23, -26, -27, -50 to -53, -68 and -69) — North Dakota Legislative Branch, Century Code, parts read October 28, 2026.
2. MCA 70-9-802, Definitions (Uniform Unclaimed Property Act) — Montana Legislature, read October 28, 2026.
3. North Dakota Unclaimed Property, official state site — North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, viewed October 28, 2026.
4. N.D.C.C. chapter 38-13.1, Trusts for Unlocatable Mineral Owners (sections 38-13.1-01 to 38-13.1-04) — North Dakota Legislative Branch, Century Code, read October 28, 2026.
5. MCA 70-9-803, Presumptions of abandonment — Montana Legislature, read October 28, 2026.
6. Montana Unclaimed Property Portal — Montana Department of Revenue, page read October 28, 2026.
7. MCA 70-9-825, Agreement to locate property — Montana Legislature, read October 28, 2026.