Mining Claim Maintenance Fees 2026: Deadline, Costs, and the Small-Miner Waiver
Every unpatented mining claim on federal land owes BLM its annual maintenance fee by September 1, 2026 — or a small-miner waiver in its place. Miss both and the claim is void by operation of law. No grace period, no cure.
Find your claims
Search 18,000+ active claimants from BLM records — see your claim count and what's due. Names and counts are public BLM data.
Free deadline reminders
Three emails before September 1 — a heads-up, a waiver-eligibility check, and a last call. Nothing else.
What's due, exactly
The annual maintenance fee is $200 per claim for lode claims and mill/tunnel sites (placer claims are assessed per 20 acres), payable to BLM for the 2027 assessment year. Amounts are the 2026 estimate — BLM adjusts fees periodically; confirm the current schedule at blm.gov or your state office before paying.
Payment must be received — not postmarked — by September 1. Pay through BLM's online Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS) or at the state office that administers your claims.
The small-miner waiver (10 claims or fewer)
Claimants who — together with all related parties — hold 10 or fewer claims nationwide can file a maintenance fee waiver instead of paying. The catch: the waiver commits you to performing $100 of assessment work per claim and filing an affidavit of that work with both the county recorder and BLM. Two extra filings, two extra ways to lose the claim. If you hold claims with co-owners, every owner must qualify.
What happens if you miss it
The claim is forfeit by operation of law — the statute says "conclusively deemed abandoned." BLM has no discretion to reinstate it, and the ground reopens to location. Every year, claims that took years to assemble die on September 2 and get re-staked by whoever was watching. (On OreFront's weekly diffs, you can watch it happen.)
Common traps
- Waiver filed, affidavit forgotten — the waiver alone doesn't hold the claim; the assessment-work affidavit has its own deadline.
- Co-ownership disqualification — one co-owner over the 10-claim limit voids waiver eligibility for the whole claim.
- Payment sent to the county — the maintenance fee goes to BLM; county recording fees are separate.
- New claims staked this year — claims located in 2026 owe location + initial maintenance fees at recording, then the annual fee like everyone else.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Verify current fees, forms, and deadlines with BLM — requirements change.