North Dakota Dormant Mineral Act: What Mineral Rights Owners Must Know

North Dakota's Dormant Mineral Act (N.D.C.C. § 38-18.1) allows surface landowners to reclaim severed mineral rights that have gone unused for 20 consecutive years. If you own mineral interests — whether inherited, purchased, or retained from a prior land sale — and you do nothing with them for two decades, the surface owner can file a legal action to declare your rights abandoned. Once abandoned, those mineral interests revert to whoever owns the surface.

In the Bakken formation region, where a single mineral acre can generate thousands of dollars in annual royalties, this statute is one of the biggest estate planning risks in the state.

How the 20-Year Clock Works

The abandonment period is 20 years of continuous "non-use." Under the statute, a mineral interest is considered unused if none of the following have occurred during that period:

• Production or active extraction of minerals from the property
• Recording of a lease, assignment, or conveyance involving the mineral interest
• Receipt of royalty payments or bonuses
• Payment of taxes on the mineral interest (separately assessed)
• Recording a Statement of Claim with the county recorder
• Any use by a co-tenant of the same mineral interest (one co-owner's activity preserves the interest for all co-owners)

The clock resets every time one of these qualifying activities occurs. If royalties stopped 18 years ago but you recorded a lease last year, the 20-year period starts over from the date of that lease.

The Statement of Claim: Your Safety Net

The simplest way to prevent abandonment is filing a Statement of Claim (also called a Notice of Mineral Interest) with the county recorder in the county where the minerals are located. This is a one-page document that identifies you as the mineral owner, describes the property, and states your intent to preserve your interest.

Filing a Statement of Claim resets the 20-year clock immediately. There is no fee limit set by the statute — recording fees are set by each county recorder, typically $20 for a standard document.

You do not need a lawyer to prepare or file a Statement of Claim. The document must include your name and address, a legal description of the mineral interest, and your signature. It does not need to be notarized, though notarization is recommended to prevent challenges.

Why This Matters for Estate Planning

The Dormant Mineral Act creates a specific and often overlooked risk when mineral rights pass through inheritance:

Inherited minerals with no active leases. A parent dies holding mineral rights that were last leased 15 years ago. The heirs go through probate and receive title to the minerals. But the 20-year clock did not reset at death — probate transfers the ownership, but the clock keeps running from the last qualifying activity. If the heirs do nothing for another 5 years, the surface owner can move to reclaim those rights.

Out-of-state heirs. Family members who inherit mineral rights but live outside North Dakota often do not realize the rights exist or understand the ongoing maintenance required. Royalty checks that used to arrive at a parent's address stop because the operating company has no current contact information. Years pass. The clock keeps ticking.

Fractionalized interests. When mineral rights split across multiple generations of heirs, each fractional owner may assume someone else is managing the interest. If no individual owner takes a qualifying action, all fractional interests in that mineral tract become vulnerable.

What the Surface Owner Must Do to Claim Abandonment

Abandonment does not happen automatically. The surface owner must take affirmative legal steps:

1. Serve written notice on the last known mineral owner (and all record owners) at their last known address, stating that the mineral interest will be deemed abandoned unless the owner files a Statement of Claim within 60 days.
2. Publish notice in the county newspaper if the mineral owner cannot be located.
3. If no Statement of Claim is filed within the notice period, the surface owner can file a quiet title action in district court to have the mineral interest judicially declared abandoned and merged with the surface estate.

This means you will receive a warning before losing your rights — but only if the surface owner has your current address. Heirs who never updated the county records after inheriting are the most likely to miss the notice.

Protecting Your Mineral Rights

File a Statement of Claim now if your mineral rights have been inactive for more than a few years. This is the cheapest insurance available — a single recording fee buys another 20 years of protection.

Update your contact information with the county recorder's office, the county assessor, and any operating companies associated with leases on or near your mineral tracts.

Include mineral rights explicitly in your estate plan. A will or trust that specifically identifies your mineral interests — by legal description, county, and any known lease or unit information — ensures your heirs know the rights exist and understand the maintenance obligation.

The North Dakota Basic Estate Planning Kit includes a mineral rights inventory section, a Statement of Claim template, and step-by-step instructions for recording a Transfer on Death Deed for mineral interests — which transfers ownership to your beneficiaries outside of probate and ensures they take title immediately at death, avoiding the gaps that let the dormancy clock run.

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