Mineral Rights Appraisal | Report Types and Providers

Mineral rights appraisal means different reports for different jobs. NARO separates a quick market opinion for screening an offer from a certified appraisal, which it says is typically required for tax, probate, trust or litigation and documents fair market value as of a specific date (NARO, Oct 2026). For an inherited interest that date is usually the date of death, because federal estate tax values property at fair market value when the owner died (eCFR, 26 CFR 20.2031-1, Oct 2026).

This page sets out which valuation fits a sale, an estate or a tax return, why the valuation date matters, how a reserve report differs from an appraisal, and what six oil and gas valuation firms publish about their services, credentials, fees and other business. Every point is taken from the agency, association or firm that published it; what a firm says about itself is labeled as its own claim.

Key Takeaways

NARO says a certified appraisal is typically required for tax, probate, trust or litigation (NARO, Oct 2026).
NARO calls a date of death appraisal a retrospective appraisal (NARO, Oct 2026).
A purchase offer is not the same thing as an independent appraisal (NARO, Owner FAQ, Oct 2026).
NARO warns that buyer models are built for bidding, not valuation (NARO, Oct 2026).
Estate tax values property at fair market value on the date of death (eCFR, 26 CFR 20.2031-1, Oct 2026).
Under alternate valuation, undistributed property is valued six months after death (IRS, Form 706 instructions, Jul 2026).
An heir's basis is generally the property's fair market value at death (IRS, Publication 559, Oct 2026).
Selling inherited capital assets produces long term gain or loss (IRS, Publication 559, Oct 2026).
Royalties are listed as Form 706 Schedule F miscellaneous property (IRS, Form 706 instructions, Jul 2026).
A reserve report is an input to an appraisal, not the value itself (NARO, Oct 2026).
SEC rules define reserves as quantities producible as of a given date (eCFR, 17 CFR 210.4-10, Oct 2026).
Stout reports valuing oil and gas minerals at the date of death and alternate date (Stout, Oct 2026).
PetroEval says it can include its appraisal in a brokerage fee (Petroleum Evaluations Group, FAQ, Oct 2026).
None of the six valuation firms we read publishes a price for an appraisal (Wright & Company, Oct 2026).

Which kind of mineral valuation does each purpose need?

It depends on what the number is for. A quick opinion screens an offer, an engineering evaluation supports a decision to hold or sell, and a certified appraisal documents value for a tax return, a probate court or a lawsuit.

Mineral rights appraisal: which report fits which purpose, from an informal market opinion for screening an offer to a certified appraisal for estate tax, probate, trust or litigation — Figure 1: Each purpose calls for a different report, and only the certified appraisal is built to document fair market value as of a set date. Source: NARO, The Mineral Owner's Guide, Calculating the Value of Your Mineral Rights, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

What reasons do owners have for a valuation?

NARO lists six, and they call for different reports.

NARO lists screening unsolicited offers, estate and gift tax planning, trust or probate administration, legal proceedings, asset management, and lease, sell or hold decisions as reasons owners seek a valuation (NARO, Oct 2026).
An informal market opinion is used early to screen unsolicited offers, and NARO names buyers, landmen, brokers or appraisers as people who may give one (NARO, Oct 2026).
An engineering based economic evaluation, also called a reserve report or PV-10, estimates future royalty income to support a hold or sell decision (NARO, Oct 2026).
A transaction advisory analysis packages documents and presents valuation ranges to buyers when an owner is running a sale (NARO, Oct 2026).

When is a certified appraisal needed?

When the value has to stand up in front of the IRS, a court or a trustee.

NARO says certified appraisals are typically required for tax, probate, trust, litigation or other formal matters where fair market value must be documented as of a specific date and for a specific purpose (NARO, Oct 2026).
The Form 706 instructions tell executors to attach any appraisals used to value property on the estate tax return (IRS, Form 706 instructions, Jul 2026).
For real estate on Schedule A, the instructions ask the executor to explain how each value was determined (IRS, Form 706 instructions, Jul 2026).
Royalties appear in the instructions' list of miscellaneous property reported on Schedule F (IRS, Form 706 instructions, Jul 2026).
The Appraisal Foundation states that the latest update to USPAP, the U.S. appraisal standards, took effect on January 1, 2024 (The Appraisal Foundation, Oct 2026).

Is an offer from a buyer an appraisal?

No. NARO is explicit that a buyer's number and an appraisal answer different questions.

NARO says a purchase offer is not the same thing as an independent appraisal (NARO, Owner FAQ, Oct 2026).
NARO lists treating a buyer estimate like an appraisal as a pitfall, because buyer models are designed for bidding (NARO, Oct 2026).
NARO calls rules of thumb such as bonus or royalty income multiples triage tools, not appraisals (NARO, Oct 2026).

How to put two offers side by side is covered in compare mineral rights offers.

Why does the valuation date matter for an inherited interest?

Because prices move, and the tax rules fix the value at the date of death. An interest valued in April 2020 and the same interest valued in June 2022 would carry very different oil prices.

Monthly WTI price at three dates, $16.55 in April 2020, $114.84 in June 2022 and $97.31 in September 2026 — Figure 2: The monthly WTI price was $16.55 a barrel in April 2020 and $114.84 in June 2022, so the date chosen for a valuation changes the result. Source: EIA, Cushing, OK WTI Spot Price FOB, monthly, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

What date does estate tax use?

The date of death, unless the executor elects the alternate date.

Property in a gross estate is valued at its fair market value at the time of death, unless the executor elects the alternate valuation method (eCFR, 26 CFR 20.2031-1, Oct 2026).
Fair market value is the price between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither under compulsion and both reasonably informed (eCFR, 26 CFR 20.2031-1, Oct 2026).
Under alternate valuation, property not distributed, sold or otherwise disposed of within six months is valued as of six months after the date of death (IRS, Form 706 instructions, Jul 2026).
NARO says a date of death appraisal, or any valuation as of a past date, is called a retrospective appraisal (NARO, Oct 2026).

Why does the date of death value matter when an heir sells?

It usually sets the heir's basis, the figure gain or loss is measured from.

Publication 559 gives an heir's basis in inherited property as its fair market value on the date of death (IRS, Publication 559, Oct 2026).
Gain or loss on selling inherited property that is a capital asset is long term, however long the heir held it (IRS, Publication 559, Oct 2026).
Certain executors must report the estate tax value of property to the IRS and to the beneficiary (IRS, Publication 559, Oct 2026).
Petroleum Evaluations Group offers retrospective mineral appraisals to set an inherited basis for capital gains (Petroleum Evaluations Group, Oct 2026).

Questions to take to a tax adviser before selling are listed in tax questions before selling inherited mineral rights.

How does a reserve report differ from an appraisal?

A reserve report estimates how much oil and gas remains and how much it might earn; an appraisal turns that forecast, with risk and market evidence, into a value for a stated purpose and date.

Steps from production data to an appraised value: data, an engineer's reserve forecast as of a date, a valuation professional's pricing and risk, and a fair market value for a stated purpose — Figure 3: The engineer's forecast is one step; the appraised value comes only after prices, risk and market evidence are applied for a stated purpose and date. Source: NARO, The Mineral Owner's Guide, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

What is a reserve report?

An engineer's estimate of remaining production, always as of a date.

SEC rules define reserves as estimated remaining quantities anticipated to be economically producible as of a given date (eCFR, 17 CFR 210.4-10, Oct 2026).
SEC rules define proved reserves as quantities that can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible from a given date forward under existing conditions (eCFR, 17 CFR 210.4-10, Oct 2026).
The Society of Petroleum Engineers' Petroleum Resources Management System, approved in June 2018, is the industry system for classifying and estimating resources (SPE, Oct 2026).

How does the reserve report feed the value?

The engineer forecasts; the valuation professional prices the forecast.

NARO says that in a formal valuation the petroleum engineer supplies the production forecast and a valuation professional turns it into a fair market value (NARO, Oct 2026).
NARO says a reserve report is an input to an appraisal, not the value itself (NARO, Oct 2026).
NARO says producing reserves are generally valued above proved undeveloped reserves because they carry less uncertainty (NARO, Oct 2026).
Opportune says oil and gas interests may need a reserve report for a gift or estate valuation, which its in house engineering group prepares (Opportune, Oct 2026).

Who offers oil and gas mineral appraisals?

Petroleum engineering firms, valuation and advisory firms, and at least one firm that also brokers sales. Six firms were read; all describe oil and gas fair market value work, four name estate or tax valuations, and two state date of death values.

What six oil and gas valuation firms say they offer: fair market value work 6, estate or tax valuations 4, date of death values 2 — Figure 4: All six firms describe oil and gas value work, four name estate or tax valuations, and only two say on the pages read that they value at the date of death. Source: American Mineral Registry reading of each firm's own pages, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

Firm	Says it does	Date of death or retrospective	Also brokers or advises on sales
Petroleum Evaluations Group	Fair market value appraisals of mineral estates	Yes, retrospective appraisals	Yes, brokers mineral rights
Opportune	Gift and estate tax valuations with reserve engineering	Not found on pages read	Not stated
Stout	Trust and estate valuation, including oil and gas minerals	Yes, date of death and alternate date	Not stated
Mercer Capital	Mineral interest valuation and transaction advisory	Not found on pages read	Yes, advises on royalty sales
Cawley, Gillespie & Associates	Reports for sales and estates, fair market value	Not found on pages read	Acquisition and divestiture support
Wright & Company	Fair market value estimates of oil and gas properties	Not found on pages read	Represents clients in acquisitions and divestitures

What do engineering and valuation firms say they do?

Each describes a different mix of reserve engineering, valuation and advisory work.

Petroleum Evaluations Group offers fair market value appraisals of oil and gas mineral estates, plus maximum, minimum and range of value reports (Petroleum Evaluations Group, Oct 2026).
Stout reports an estate engagement that valued oil and gas mineral interests on more than 8,000 acres (Stout, Oct 2026).
Stout reports valuing those interests at both the date of death and the alternate valuation date (Stout, Oct 2026).
Mercer Capital says it values mineral interests and serves mineral and royalty owners with asset valuation and transaction advisory (Mercer Capital, Oct 2026).
Cawley, Gillespie & Associates lists report preparation for sales and estates and fair market value determinations among its services (Cawley, Gillespie & Associates, Oct 2026).
Wright & Company says it provides fair market value estimates of oil and gas properties for companies, investment groups or individuals (Wright & Company, Oct 2026).

What records do valuation firms ask for?

The same papers a buyer asks for, plus engineering data.

For a royalty valuation, Mercer Capital lists deeds and leases, division orders, well API numbers, maps, operating statements, reserve reports and check stubs as documents it typically requests (Mercer Capital, Oct 2026).
Mercer names basins where it has valued reserves rather than a service area (Mercer Capital, Oct 2026).
Petroleum Evaluations Group links state pages for Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Pennsylvania (Petroleum Evaluations Group, FAQ, Oct 2026).

The full list of papers a sale needs is in mineral rights sale documents.

What should you ask an appraiser before hiring one?

Who else they work for, what credential they hold, and what the report will cost. Of the six firms read, four also broker or advise on sales, one names a professional license, and none publishes a price for an appraisal.

What six valuation firms disclose: 4 also broker or advise on sales, 2 publish any fee terms, 1 names a professional license, 0 publish an appraisal price — Figure 5: Four of six firms also broker or advise on sales, and none publishes what an appraisal costs. Source: American Mineral Registry reading of each firm's own pages, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

Does the appraiser also work for buyers or broker sales?

Ask, because several do, and that matters if the report will be used to judge an offer.

Petroleum Evaluations Group says it can broker an owner's mineral rights and include the appraisal as part of the brokerage fee (Petroleum Evaluations Group, FAQ, Oct 2026).
Petroleum Evaluations Group also sells appraisals to landmen and acquisition companies preparing purchase offers, and states it does not purchase minerals (Petroleum Evaluations Group, Oct 2026).
Mercer Capital lists advising on a potential sale of royalty interests among its engagements (Mercer Capital, Oct 2026).
Wright & Company says it represents clients in acquisitions and divestitures (Wright & Company, Oct 2026).

What credentials and fees do firms publish?

Few of either, so both are questions to put in writing before engaging anyone.

Cawley, Gillespie & Associates names a Texas professional engineering firm registration, F-693, which the Texas engineering board can confirm (Cawley, Gillespie & Associates, Oct 2026).
Petroleum Evaluations Group names its president as chief appraiser and lists degrees and former employers; no license, appraisal designation or USPAP statement was found (Petroleum Evaluations Group, Oct 2026).
Wright & Company bills professional services at an hourly rate (Wright & Company, Oct 2026).
Petroleum Evaluations Group publishes a brokerage fee of 1% to 6% of a completed sale, and no price for a standalone appraisal was found (Petroleum Evaluations Group, Oct 2026).

Which professional handles which part of a sale is covered in professional help for selling mineral rights.

Methodology and Sources

Valuation types and their uses come from NARO's valuation guide and owner FAQ; valuation dates and basis from the federal estate tax regulation, the Form 706 instructions and IRS Publication 559; reserve definitions from the SEC's rules and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Six firms that publicly describe oil and gas mineral or royalty valuation were read on their own sites on October 8, 2026, and each statement about a firm is its own claim, not a verification of competence, independence or licensing. A firm found only through a third party directory was left out. Pages without a date carry the month they were read. The page is rechecked when the sources change.

Glossary

Fair market value: the price between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither forced to act and both reasonably informed.
Retrospective appraisal: a valuation as of a date in the past, such as the date of death.
Alternate valuation date: six months after death, which an executor may elect for estate tax.
Basis: the figure an heir's gain or loss on a later sale is measured from.
Reserve report: an engineer's estimate of the oil and gas a property can still produce and earn.
Proved reserves: quantities estimated with reasonable certainty to be producible under existing conditions.
PV-10: the present value of future net revenue from reserves, discounted at 10% a year.
USPAP: the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, the U.S. appraisal standards.
Schedule F: the part of the federal estate tax return for miscellaneous property, which lists royalties.

Mineral Rights Appraisal: Report Types and Who Offers Them