How to File a BLM Mining Claim (Step-by-Step)

Picture this: you've been hiking a creek drainage in Nevada, the gravel is showing color, and you're standing on open BLM ground. You know this spot has potential. The question is — what exactly do you do next to protect your right to work it?

The process goes back to 1872. The General Mining Act gives any U.S. citizen or company the right to locate, work, and patent hard rock and placer deposits on federal public domain land — as long as you follow the rules. Here's exactly how to do it.

Step 1: Verify the Land is Open to Mineral Entry

Before you spend a single day in the field, confirm the land is open. Not all federal land qualifies. Wilderness Study Areas, National Monuments, military reservations, and land formally withdrawn from mineral entry cannot be claimed — and staking on closed land voids your claim entirely.

Check the BLM MLRS (Mineral & Land Records System) map to see existing claims in your target area. Cross-reference against PAD-US layers for withdrawals and wilderness designations. If an area shows no existing claims and no withdrawal, it's a strong signal the ground is open — but always confirm with the BLM State Office for the area.

Step 2: Physically Locate and Monument the Claim

This is where it gets tangible. You have to go to the ground. Under federal law and every western state's mining statute, you must physically establish the claim by placing monuments at the corners and discovery point.

For a placer claim, a standard 20-acre location requires four corner posts or monuments at the corners of the rectangular claim. For a lode claim, you mark both end lines (perpendicular to the vein) and the side lines along the vein direction. Requirements vary by state — Nevada requires two corner stakes; California requires four with a discovery post at the point of discovery.

Mark each monument clearly. Many prospectors use 4-inch wooden stakes with a metal tag or cap. Write the claim name, your name, the date of location, and the claim type on each marker.

Step 3: Complete the Notice of Location

The Notice of Location is your legal description of the claim. Think of it as the deed to an apartment — it describes exactly what you've staked and who owns it. Every western state has its own required elements, but a solid Notice includes:

• Claim name (pick something distinctive — you'll use it for years)
• Type of claim (lode or placer)
• Date of location
• Your full legal name and address (the locator)
• Legal description using PLSS (township, range, section, aliquot)
• Acreage
• Description of the discovery point and monuments
• Metes-and-bounds description of the claim boundaries
• County and state

In practice, most states have a standard form available from the BLM State Office or county recorder. AuthoriProspector's Auto-Square feature generates a legally formatted Notice of Location from your GPS pin, pre-populated with the PLSS legal description for the parcel you've targeted.

Step 4: Record with the County Recorder

Within 90 days of your physical location date, you must record the Notice of Location with the county recorder's office in the county where the land is situated. Recording fees are typically $10–$30 per document. Get a certified copy for your records — you'll need it if you ever face a contest.

Some states (Nevada, Oregon) require the recording within the 90-day window as a validity condition. Miss it and your location date resets — or worse, your claim can be challenged as defective.

Step 5: File with the BLM State Office

Federal law also requires you to file with the BLM. Under FLPMA (the Federal Land Policy and Management Act), you must record the notice or certificate of location with the appropriate BLM State Office within 90 days of the location date. The filing fee is $40 per claim for initial location.

You'll mail or deliver a copy of your recorded county document, along with BLM Form 3830-2 (Notice of Location), to the BLM State Office that administers the land. The BLM then enters your claim into the MLRS database — making it visible to other prospectors as an active claim.

Annual Maintenance: The $165 You Must Not Forget

Once your claim is active, keeping it requires an annual maintenance fee of $165 per claim, due by September 1st of each year. This replaced the old annual assessment work requirement in 1993. Miss the deadline and your claim is automatically forfeited to the federal government on September 2nd — no grace period, no exceptions, no refund of previous filings.

For small miners (defined as 10 or fewer claims), you can substitute a $165 annual work affidavit (Certificate of Assessment Work) instead of the cash fee. The work must be performed before September 1st and documented in an affidavit filed with the BLM.

Common Mistakes That Void a Claim

• Staking on withdrawn, wilderness, or monument land — the location is void from day one
• Missing the 90-day recording window with the county or BLM
• Defective monuments — not marking corners in person, using GPS coordinates without physical stakes
• Failing to pay the annual $165 fee by September 1st
• Incomplete Notice of Location — missing the discovery point description or metes-and-bounds
• Staking on land already claimed — even if the polygon looks abandoned, always verify MLRS status