Mineral Rights Laws by State

This reference is compiled from state codes and published legal analysis. It tracks four dimensions of severed mineral ownership: whether a dormant mineral statute can cause unused interests to lapse, the lapse period, whether the state has a surface damages act, and whether it allows forced or compulsory pooling. Where a statute is identified, the citation links to the official state code so you can read the primary source.

The source status column is the point

Mineral law is technical and it changes. Rather than present every cell as settled fact, each state carries an honest status:

• Sourced: the rule, and where relevant the statute and period, are drawn from the state code or named legal sources. Where a primary source is linked, the statute citation opens the official code.
• No dormant act (surveyed): no dormant mineral act was found for the state. Based on national statutory surveys the default position applies, a severed mineral interest does not lapse through nonuse.
• Listed, confirm code: legal surveys name the state as having a dormant or severed mineral statute, but the exact period and procedure should be confirmed in the current code before reliance. No entry currently relies on this tier; every state is now sourced or surveyed.

Last reviewed

Compiled and maintained by the American Mineral Registry research team, a brand of American Mineral Registry LLC. Last reviewed June 2026, 2026 edition. Next scheduled review June 2027. Statute citations for twenty states link directly to the official state code or legislature site, and every entry is either sourced to a primary statute or confirmed by national statutory survey, so any reader can verify it.

Editorial standards

Each state entry is built from the primary statute and corroborating legal analysis. Where a primary source is available online it is linked. Corrections are logged below and credited. To report an error or a statute change, write to offers@americanmineralregistry.com. The full data, headline figures and a downloadable map sit in the press kit and data page.

Permanence

This page keeps a stable address and a permanent open licence. Each year the edition is refreshed and the prior figures preserved in the changelog, so a citation made today stays verifiable.

Changelog

• June 2026, 2026 edition. Primary statute citations added for California, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Illinois and Florida, each linked to the official code. Oregon corrected to a 30 year period. Kentucky reclassified from lapse to a court supervised trust for unknown owners.
• June 2026. Added a Dormancy Risk Index ranking all 51 jurisdictions, a dedicated page for every state, a press kit with a downloadable map, chart and dataset, and machine readable citations. Primary statute links added for Louisiana, West Virginia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Tennessee confirmed as a 20 year dormant mineral act under Tennessee Code 66-5-108 and moved to sourced.

Known limits

• Dormant mineral statutes vary in which minerals they cover, the savings events that reset the clock, and the notice procedure. The table gives the headline rule, not the full procedure.
• The forced pooling column is indicative. Around 38 states have some form of compulsory pooling; Texas is deliberately restrictive. Confirm the specific statute and threshold for any state.
• This is a reference, not legal advice. Always confirm against the current state code or a licensed attorney before acting.

Primary sources