Mining Claim Maintenance Fee
The annual fee paid to BLM to hold an unpatented mining claim or site: $200 per lode claim, mill site, or tunnel site, and $200 per 20 acres of placer claim, due by September 1.
Detailed Definition
The maintenance fee is the annual payment a claimant makes to the Bureau of Land Management to hold an unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site for the coming assessment year. A claimant who does not qualify for the small miner waiver pays this fee rather than performing annual assessment work.
Current amounts
These amounts are set in 43 CFR 3830.21 and have applied since 9/1/2024.
- Lode claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites: $200 each, every year
- Placer claims: $200 for each 20 acres of the claim or portion thereof. A 160-acre association placer claim owes $1,600.
- Location fee: $49, paid once when a new mining claim or site is recorded
- Processing fees: set by BLM each year and revised every October 1. For fiscal year 2026 BLM lists $25 to record a notice of location and $15 for an annual filing, an amendment, or a transfer.
When the fee is due
The fee "must be paid on or before September 1 each year" for the assessment year that begins that day. An assessment year is the 12 consecutive months beginning September 1 (43 CFR 3830.5). BLM does not prorate the fee for a mining claim held for only part of a year.
What counts as paid on time
A payment does not have to arrive by September 1 if it was mailed by then. Under 43 CFR 3830.24, a payment sent by a bona fide mail delivery service is timely when it is postmarked or clearly identified as sent on or before the due date, and the BLM state office receives it no later than 15 calendar days after the due date.
New mining claims
A newly located mining claim pays the processing fee, the location fee, and an initial maintenance fee together when it is recorded. BLM requires those fees to be paid in full at the time of filing, and the filing is due by the 90th day after the date of location.
The small miner waiver
A claimant may file a waiver instead of paying the fee when the claimant and all related parties hold no more than 10 mining claims and sites nationwide. The waiver certification is due on or before September 1. A claimant under waiver must then perform the annual assessment work and file the annual document by December 30.
What happens when the fee is missed
A claimant who neither pays the fee nor files a qualified waiver by September 1 forfeits the mining claim (43 CFR 3835.92).
How the amount changes
BLM adjusts the location and maintenance fees at least every five years based on the Consumer Price Index, and publishes the adjustment in the Federal Register on or before July 1 so that the new amounts are due that September 1 (43 CFR 3834.21 and 3834.22). The 2024 adjustment raised the maintenance fee from $165 to $200 and the location fee from $40 to $49 (89 FR 54364).
Related Terms
BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
The Bureau of Land Management, the Interior Department agency that manages the federal mineral estate and records and maintains unpatented mining claims and sites.
Unpatented Mining Claim
A mining claim on federal land for which no patent has been issued. The claimant holds a possessory right to the minerals and the United States keeps title to the land.
Assessment Work
The annual labor or improvements, worth at least $100 per mining claim, that a claimant under the small miner waiver performs instead of paying the BLM maintenance fee.
Forfeiture
The loss of an unpatented mining claim or site by operation of law for failing to record, pay the location or maintenance fee, file a waiver or annual document, or for locating on closed land.
Small Miner Exemption
A waiver of the annual BLM maintenance fee for a claimant who, with all related parties, holds 10 or fewer mining claims and sites and performs annual assessment work instead.
Annual Filing
The yearly payment or documents required to hold an unpatented mining claim: the maintenance fee or a waiver by September 1, and in some cases an annual FLPMA document by December 30.