Owner guide
Best Tools for U.S. Mineral and Royalty Owners: 9 Compared for 2026
The best tools for mineral and royalty owners each answer one question: what you own, what it pays, whether a state is holding money for you, and what a buyer would offer. No single tool does all four. These nine cover them, with what each costs and where it stops.
Where to look first
Owners need two kinds of tool: ones that tell you what you own and what it pays, and one that tells you what it is worth to a buyer. The free references sit on our research side: mineral rights law by state (opens in a new tab), free mineral rights search by state (opens in a new tab) and the royalty calculator (opens in a new tab).
| Your question | Where to look |
|---|---|
| What do I own, and where is it recorded? | TexasFile (6) in Texas, OKCountyRecords (7) in Oklahoma, the county clerk anywhere else |
| Where are my check stubs? | EnergyLink (2), or MineralAnswers (3) if your operator hosts statements there |
| Is anything being drilled near me? | MineralAnswers (3) |
| Is a state holding royalties for me? | MissingMoney (8) |
| Do the acres in this offer add up? | NARO calculators (9) |
| Several interests to keep track of? | MineralWare (4) in the cloud, Pop’s (5) on your own computer |
| What would a buyer pay? | American Mineral Registry (1) |
How we checked
Every tool below was opened on its own site on October 5, 2026, and each price, place and rule is the one its own pages state. We read their pages; we did not sign up, pay or sell through any of them, so nothing here claims a test we did not run.
Where a site could not be opened from our network, its entry says so.
No company paid to be listed, and there are no affiliate links.
How the nine tools compare
| Tool | Use it for | Cost to an owner | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Mineral Registry | Written offers on your interest | Free | National |
| EnergyLink | Operator statements and 1099s | Free tier; paid tiers not priced | Operators that publish to it |
| MineralAnswers | Well and permit map, statements | Map free; exports extra | 18 states |
| MineralWare | Tracking many interests | Not published | National |
| Pop’s Royalty Software | Desktop records | $1,995, then $399 a year | National |
| TexasFile | Texas county records | Search free; $1 a page | Texas |
| OKCountyRecords | Oklahoma county records | Search free; plans from $12 a month | 66 Oklahoma counties |
| MissingMoney | Royalties held by states | Free | Participating states |
| NARO calculators | Net mineral and royalty acres | Free; more for members | National |
1. American Mineral Registry, for owners weighing a sale
This is us, the site you are reading
American Mineral Registry asks buyers for written offers on your mineral or royalty interest, free to you, so you see more than the one number in a letter.
- Use it for
- Seeing written offers before you decide whether to sell
- Limit
- It does not prove title or appraise your interest, and usually we are the buyer named in the offer
Tell us what you own and where, and we ask buyers for written offers. Usually we buy the interest ourselves and the offer says so; we may resell it, and that is how we are paid. You never pay us, and you can turn down every offer.
If you accept, a licensed title company, escrow agent or closing attorney holds the money, records the deed and pays you.
Before you ask, AMR’s free royalty calculator (opens in a new tab) shows what your decimal, your volume and the price add up to each month, which gives you a yardstick for any offer.
Request offers Free to ask, and you are never obliged to sell.
2. EnergyLink, for your check stubs online
EnergyLink is a portal where owners view and download the revenue statements and 1099s their operators publish there.
- Use it for
- Seeing statements from several operators under one login
- Limit
- Only operators that publish to EnergyLink appear, and it needs an account
The free tier lets you view and download statement PDFs; paid tiers add spreadsheet export and maps, and their prices are not published. Enverus, which runs it, says it carries statements from more than 400 operators.
If your operator still mails paper stubs, ask its owner relations team whether it publishes to EnergyLink.
Read on October 5, 2026: enverus.com, EnergyLink
3. MineralAnswers, for nearby wells and permits
MineralAnswers runs a public map of wells and permits that loads without signing in and covers eighteen producing states.
- Use it for
- Seeing drilling and permits near your tract before you talk to anyone
- Limit
- A nearby well is context, not proof your minerals are leased or producing
The company sells a payments platform to operators. If your operator is a client, you can download revenue, payable and tax documents as PDFs for free; spreadsheet exports cost extra.
Use the map to learn the county activity and the operator’s name, then check your own lease and statements for what your interest earns.
Read on October 5, 2026: mineralanswers.com
4. MineralWare, for tracking many interests
MineralWare, from SS&C, is cloud software that tracks mineral, royalty and non operated interests, revenue, leases and documents, with well and permit maps.
- Use it for
- An heir or a family office holding interests across many wells and operators
- Limit
- No published price, a demo request comes first, and it is sold to trusts and banks as much as to families
Its own page says the tools are designed for individuals who inherited or bought oil and gas interests.
Tracked figures are only as good as the statements behind them, so keep the originals with the records.
Read on October 5, 2026: sscmineralware.com, who we serve
5. Pop’s Royalty Software, for records kept on your own computer
Pop’s is desktop software that tracks leases, wells, run statements, division orders and documents, with tax and lease expiry reports.
- Use it for
- Owners who want their royalty records on their own computer, not in the cloud
- Limit
- A $1,995 license per user, and sharing with a co owner or an accountant needs the Enterprise edition
The single user edition is $1,995.00 with a year of phone and email support, and support after that is $399.00 a year. It runs on Windows and Mac.
Plan the backup before you start, because the records live on one machine.
Read on October 5, 2026: popsroyalty.com, questions and the shop
6. TexasFile, for Texas county records
TexasFile searches Texas county clerk records, including deeds, leases, probate and mineral ownership data, across all 254 counties.
- Use it for
- Tracing the deeds and leases behind a Texas interest
- Limit
- Texas only, and every document image you open costs money
Searches by name, instrument and property are free. Its pricing page lists previews at $2.00, images at $1.00 a page, a statewide search at $5.00 and a mineral ownership search at $0.25.
Finding a deed is not the same as proving who owns the minerals today, so have the chain of title reviewed when ownership is in doubt.
Read on October 5, 2026: texasfile.com, pricing
7. OKCountyRecords, for Oklahoma county records
OKCountyRecords offers a free search of Oklahoma county land records, including oil and gas leases and mineral deeds.
- Use it for
- Finding the leases and mineral deeds behind an Oklahoma interest
- Limit
- Oklahoma only, not every county, and viewing the images needs a paid plan
Plans run $12, $30, $53 and $140 a month, and printed copies are $1.00 a page with no subscription. The site lists 66 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.
Read on October 5, 2026: okcountyrecords.com, pricing
8. MissingMoney, for royalties a state is holding
MissingMoney searches the unclaimed property databases of participating states at once, which can turn up royalties an operator handed over to a state.
- Use it for
- Heirs, and owners whose checks stopped or went to an old address
- Limit
- It finds only money already handed over, and each claim is filed with that state
It is free and run for NAUPA, the national association of state unclaimed property programs. A matching name is not proof the money is yours, so keep the estate papers that link you to the owner.
missingmoney.com refused our connection from outside the United States on October 5, 2026, so these facts come from NAUPA’s own site and the picture shows Texas’s official search, one of the state programs behind it. Our guide to unclaimed royalties explains how royalties end up there.
Read on October 5, 2026: unclaimed.org, NAUPA
9. NARO mineral owner calculators, for net mineral and royalty acres
The National Association of Royalty Owners publishes free calculators for net mineral acres and basic net royalty acres, with the formula shown.
- Use it for
- Checking the acreage figures in a lease, a deed or an offer
- Limit
- The free version stops at acreage; payment estimates are for members, $75 the first year and $150 after
For the monthly royalty math itself, AMR’s free royalty calculator (opens in a new tab) takes your decimal, volume and price and shows every step.
Read on October 5, 2026: naro-us.org
What no tool does for you
Prove who owns the minerals. The county deed records do that, and a title attorney when the chain is broken. Our ownership flowchart (opens in a new tab) walks through it.
Set your decimal. The operator’s division order does, and its owner relations team will confirm it for you.
Tell you what a buyer will pay. Production shows what a well made. Only written offers show what buyers would pay for your interest.
How to choose
| If you are | Start with |
|---|---|
| An heir who just found old check stubs | MissingMoney (8), then EnergyLink (2) with the operator’s name from the stub |
| An owner with one lease and steady checks | EnergyLink (2) and the royalty calculator, nothing paid |
| A family with interests in several states | MineralWare (4) or Pop’s (5), with the statements kept alongside |
| Researching title in Texas or Oklahoma | TexasFile (6) or OKCountyRecords (7), then a title attorney if it matters |
| Holding an offer letter | NARO calculators (9) to check the acres, then American Mineral Registry (1) to see other offers |
Common questions
How do oil and gas royalties work?
An oil and gas royalty is the owner’s share of what a producing well sells, paid under the lease. Each check depends on your decimal, the volume and the price, so it moves as they move, and wells produce less over time.
What records should a mineral owner keep?
Keep the deeds or probate papers that show ownership, every lease, the division orders and every statement. Note the county and state of each interest, because that is where every search starts.
Can nearby well data tell me what my minerals are worth?
No. It shows activity around you, not the price a buyer would pay or whether your own tract is producing. Use it as context, then compare written offers.
Should I sell my mineral rights or keep the income?
A sale trades future checks for one payment now; keeping them leaves you with the ups and downs of production and price. Our guide to selling or keeping sets out the questions to answer first.
Are royalties taxable in the United States?
Royalty income is reported for federal tax, and most states tax it too. Our research side keeps the state tax rules for royalties (opens in a new tab), and a tax adviser who knows mineral interests can apply it to your return.
Summary
Use the free tools to learn what you own, what it pays and whether money is waiting for you, and keep the paper they point to. When a letter arrives, check its acres, then see what other buyers would offer before you decide. Tell us about your interest
Sources
Every page below was opened on October 5, 2026.
- Enverus, EnergyLink
- MineralAnswers, statement hosting and the public map
- SS&C MineralWare, who we serve
- Pop’s Royalty Software, questions and shop
- TexasFile, pricing and county coverage
- OKCountyRecords, pricing
- NAUPA, MissingMoney
- NARO, mineral owner calculators
Cite this list
American Mineral Registry. "Best Tools for U.S. Mineral and Royalty Owners: 9 Compared for 2026." Release 2026.10.1, October 5, 2026. https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ guides/ best-tools-for-mineral-and-royalty-owners
[Best Tools for U.S. Mineral and Royalty Owners: 9 Compared for 2026](https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ guides/ best-tools-for-mineral-and-royalty-owners), American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (October 5, 2026).
<a href="https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ guides/ best-tools-for-mineral-and-royalty-owners">Best Tools for U.S. Mineral and Royalty Owners: 9 Compared for 2026</ a>, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (October 5, 2026).
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