State law reference
Do Mineral Rights Expire in Pennsylvania?
Do mineral rights expire in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania's Dormant Oil and Gas Act (Act 115 of 2006) does not end or transfer any interest for nonuse, and it states that its purpose is not to vest severed oil and gas in the surface owner.
Official text cited Researched and checked by American Mineral Registry against the official text; review completed October 1, 2026. Reference research, not legal advice.
- Rule type
- Missing owner procedure
- Period
- See rule
- Ends without a surface owner step
- Not applicable
- Preservation filing
- Not applicable
- Forced pooling statute
- Statute found
Official text cited - Surface damages statute
- No statute found
- Deceased or unlocated owner
- Partly checked
How the rule works
Court appointed trustee for unknown or unlocatable oil and gas owners; no lapse. Pennsylvania's Dormant Oil and Gas Act (Act 115 of 2006) does not end or transfer any interest for nonuse, and it states that its purpose is not to vest severed oil and gas in the surface owner. Any person who owns an interest in the oil and gas under a tract, in fee, by lease, by royalty or by correlative rights, may petition the county court of common pleas to declare a trust for owners whose identity or address cannot be found by diligent efforts; the court appoints a financial institution as trustee to sign leases. Bonuses, rentals and royalties owed to the missing owners are paid to the trustee, the trust lasts until those owners are identified and paid, and the funds are subject to the Fiscal Code article on unclaimed property.
What has to happen
Petition to the court of common pleas of the county where the tract or part of it lies. The petitioner must show a diligent effort to locate the owner, that despite it one or more owners cannot be identified or located, and that appointing a trustee is in the best interest of all owners. The court then appoints a financial institution authorized to do business in Pennsylvania as trustee and authorizes it to execute oil or gas leases or other instruments on court approved terms. The trust is administered under 20 Pa.C.S. (decedents, estates and fiduciaries), and a payor who pays the trustee is released from further claims by the unknown owners for that income.
What counts as use or preserves the interest
Not a use test. The act reaches only owners whose identity, present residence or present address is unknown and cannot be determined by diligent efforts (section 4(a)); an owner who can be found is outside it
An owner later identified receives the funds held in trust; the trust remains until the unknown owners are identified and paid (sections 5(b) and 5(c))
Scope
- Interests covered
- Interests in oil and gas owned by unknown or unlocatable owners; "owner" includes any person with a legal or equitable interest and any person who owns a royalty interest. The petitioner's own interest may be in fee, by lease, a royalty, or by ownership of correlative rights in the reservoir (section 4(a)).
- Minerals covered
- Oil and gas only. "Gas" excludes methane contained in or produced from coal beds or mined out coal areas; "oil" excludes liquid hydrocarbons that were originally in a gaseous phase (section 3).
- Exceptions
Coalbed methane is excluded from "gas" (section 3)
The act does not vest the surface owner with title to severed oil and gas (section 2)
Funds held in the trust remain subject to Article XIII.1 of The Fiscal Code on unclaimed and abandoned property (section 5(d))
- Enactment and amendments
- Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115, effective immediately (section 8). The official page, as archived on August 20, 2026, shows no amendment notes. Pennsylvania House archive records show HB 70 (2015 to 2016) and HB 91 (2017 to 2018), each proposing to amend the act's purpose, definitions and trust section; neither appears in the official text.
Dates and what they mean
There is no statutory nonuse period to calculate for this jurisdiction under the rules AMR reviewed.
Title never passes to anyone under this act, so there is no lapse date to compute. Nonuse has no legal effect under it; the only trigger is that an owner cannot be found, and the court decides that.
Deceased or unlocated owner
Partly checked What the law of Pennsylvania says when the owner of record has died, is unknown, or cannot be found. It sets out the questions; it does not decide who owns an interest, whether a notice was valid, or whether an interest ended.
Why only partly checked. Act 115 was read only as enacted in 2006; later amendments, its codification and the 2014 Superior Court ruling were not read.
Pennsylvania has no statute that ends a mineral interest for nonuse. Its Dormant Oil and Gas Act (Act 115 of 2006) lets any oil and gas interest owner ask the county court of common pleas to declare a trust for owners who are unknown or cannot be found by diligent efforts, with a financial institution trustee that signs leases and receives the money. The trust lasts until the owners are identified and paid, and the funds are subject to the Fiscal Code unclaimed property article. The Act does not mention heirs or death, and it sets no notice or publication rule for the petition.
- Owner of record has died
- Not addressed in the provisions read. The Act defines owner to include a legal representative but says nothing about heirs, devisees or death.
- Current owner unknown
- Covered: an owner who is unknown, after diligent efforts, may be placed in a court declared trust (sections 3 and 4).
- Owner known but cannot be found
- Covered by the same definition: an owner whose present residence or address cannot be found by reasonable efforts (section 3). The Act treats unknown and unlocated owners the same.
How the nonuse rule treats these owners Statute
Pennsylvania's Dormant Oil and Gas Act does not end or transfer any interest for nonuse. It is a court trust for unknown or unlocatable oil and gas owners, and it states it is not meant to vest severed oil and gas in the surface owner.
Statute
The Act states that its purpose is to protect unknown or unlocatable oil and gas owners and that it is not meant to vest severed oil and gas in the surface owner. Act 115 of 2006, section 2
“It is not the purpose of this act to vest the surface owner with title to oil and gas interests that have been severed from the surface estate.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked.
Heirs, devisees and successors Statute
The Act defines owner to include a person's legal representative but does not mention heirs, devisees or the effect of death.
Statute
Owner is defined as anyone with a legal or equitable interest, or that person's legal representative, and includes royalty owners. Act 115 of 2006, section 3, "Owner"
“"Owner." Any person having a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this act or the person's legal representative and any person who owns a royalty interest in oil or gas deposits.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked. The Act does not mention heirs, devisees or death.
Search required to find the owner Statute
The petitioner must show a diligent effort to locate the owner; unknown owners are those whose identity or address cannot be found by reasonable efforts. No list of records to search is given.
Statute
Unknown owners are those who are unknown or whose present residence or address cannot be found by reasonable efforts. Act 115 of 2006, section 3, "Unknown owner or owners"
“"Unknown owner or owners." The owner or owners of interests in oil and gas who are unknown or whose present residence or other addresses cannot be found by reasonable efforts to do so.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked. One definition covers both unidentified and unlocated owners.
Before declaring a trust, the court must be satisfied that the petitioner made a diligent effort to locate the owner and still could not identify or locate one or more owners. Act 115 of 2006, section 4(b)(1) and (2)
“(1) Petitioner has made a diligent effort to locate the owner or claimant. (2) Despite this diligent effort, petitioner has been unable to identify or to locate the present residence or other address of one or more owners or claimants of the oil or gas interest or interests in question.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked. The Act does not list what records must be searched.
Who gets notice, and how Statute
The Act sets no notice requirement for the trust petition itself. It mentions only notice of the trust's termination to all interested parties. Court rules on service in such proceedings were not reviewed.
Statute
Bonuses, rentals and royalties due to unknown owners are paid to the trustee until the trust is terminated and notice of termination is given to all interested parties. Act 115 of 2006, section 5(b)
“All bonuses, rental payments, royalties and other income due to the unknown owner or owners shall be paid to the trustee until the trust is terminated and notice of its termination given to all interested parties.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked. This is the only notice the Act mentions; it says nothing about notice of the petition.
Notice by publication Not addressed in the provisions read
The Act does not mention publication. Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure and local court practice were not reviewed.
How the owner responds or preserves Statute
A missing owner's remedy is to be identified to the trustee's satisfaction and paid; the trust lasts until then. No deadline and no transfer to the surface owner appears in the Act.
Statute
The trust stays in force until the unknown owners are identified to the trustee's satisfaction and have received their share. Act 115 of 2006, section 5(c)
“A trust for unknown owners shall remain in force until the unknown owners of the oil and gas interests in question have been identified to the satisfaction of the trustee and received their share of any funds held in trust.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked.
The trust is administered under Title 20 (decedents, estates and fiduciaries) and the trustee distributes funds to those entitled as it or the court determines. Act 115 of 2006, section 5(a) and (b)
“The trust shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of 20 Pa.C.S. (relating to decedents, estates and fiduciaries).”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked. Title 20 was not reviewed.
Court, receivership or trust for missing owners Statute
A county court of common pleas may declare a trust for unknown owners on petition of any oil and gas interest owner and appoint a financial institution trustee to lease; income goes to the trustee and the funds are subject to the Fiscal Code unclaimed property article.
Statute
Any person owning an interest in the oil and gas under a tract, in fee, by lease, by royalty or by correlative rights, may petition the county court of common pleas to declare a trust for unknown owners. Act 115 of 2006, section 4(a)
“Any person who owns an interest in oil and gas underlying a tract of land may petition the appropriate division of the court of common pleas of the county in which the tract or any portion of the tract is located to declare a trust in favor of all unknown owners”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked.
The court appoints a financial institution as trustee and authorizes it to sign oil or gas leases on court approved terms. Act 115 of 2006, section 4(c)
“the court shall appoint a financial institution authorized to do business in this Commonwealth as trustee of a trust for the unknown owner or owners and shall authorize the trustee to execute and deliver one or more oil or gas leases or other instruments on terms and conditions approved by the court.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked.
Funds held in the trust are subject to the Fiscal Code article on unclaimed and abandoned property. Act 115 of 2006, section 5(d)
“Funds held in a trust for unknown owners are subject to the provisions of Article XIII.1 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, relating to disposition of unclaimed and abandoned property.”
Scope: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (Dormant Oil and Gas Act), as enacted. Covers oil and gas only; the definition of gas excludes coalbed methane. Later amendments, if any, were not checked. Article XIII.1 of the Fiscal Code was not reviewed.
What a title review must establish
- Is any oil and gas interest under the tract held by a court declared Act 115 trust, and who is the trustee?
- What diligent efforts did the petitioner show the court before the trust was declared?
- Has a claimed heir or successor been identified to the trustee's satisfaction, or have trust funds passed to the Treasury under the Fiscal Code?
Dates. Section 5(c): the trust remains in force until the unknown owners have been identified to the satisfaction of the trustee and received their share. Section 7: a payor who fails to pay amounts due to unknown owners to the trustee within six months of the date those funds become due is liable for attorney fees, court costs and interest. No period ends an owner's interest. The rule finder does not calculate this period.
What AMR searched. Read in full: Act of July 11, 2006, P.L. 1134, No. 115 (session law text at legis.state.pa.us, archived August 20, 2026). Not read: its codified form in Purdon's Title 58, any later amendment, Fiscal Code Article XIII.1, 20 Pa.C.S., the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, tax sale law for unseated lands, and Pennsylvania case law. One web search found trade press reporting a 2014 Superior Court ruling on a Chesapeake Act 115 trust petition; the opinion itself was not located or read, and the CourtListener search API was blocked by a rate limit. Pennsylvania's consolidated and unconsolidated statutes were not searched for other unknown owner provisions. A point marked not addressed means only that the provisions read do not address it; probate, quiet title and other general procedures may still apply and were not reviewed.
Not settled by this review.
Whether Act 115 has been amended since 2006 and where it is codified; the session law text was read as enacted.
Whether any Pennsylvania appellate decision interprets Act 115 on diligent search, notice or heirs; a 2014 Superior Court ruling on a Chesapeake trust petition was reported in trade press but not read.
What notice of the petition, if any, courts of common pleas require in Act 115 proceedings.
Whether other Pennsylvania statutes, such as the 2012 Oil and Gas Act or the 2013 royalty and lease integration provisions, address unknown owners; not reviewed.
Checked October 6, 2026. Also in the dormant mineral rule finder.
Forced pooling
Official text cited Limited. The Oil and Gas Conservation Law (Act 359 of 1961) requires the commission, on an operator's application, to integrate all tracts and interests in a spacing unit when owners do not agree, but the act does not apply to wells that do not penetrate the Onondaga horizon (or, where the Onondaga is shallower than 3,800 feet, wells not deeper than 3,800 feet), so it generally does not reach Marcellus Shale wells, which are completed above the Onondaga. Provisions added in 2013 and 2019 let an operator develop its own contiguous leases jointly and drill across units it already holds, but they do not pool unleased owners.
- Act 359 of 1961, section 8(a)
- Act 359 of 1961, section 3(b)(1)
- Act 60 of 1979, section 2.2(c)(1) (added 2019, Act 85)
Surface damages
No statute found No Pennsylvania statute was found that requires oil and gas operators to compensate surface owners for surface damage. 58 Pa.C.S. Chapter 32 (Act 13 of 2012) requires the permit applicant to send the well plat to the surface landowner by certified mail, gives the surface owner a 15 day objection window, requires the operator to restore the well site, and requires an operator that pollutes or diminishes a water supply to restore or replace it.
Searched: 58 Pa.C.S. Chapter 32 section list and sections 3211, 3212, 3216 and 3218 (official text, Internet Archive copy of October 13, 2024); Act 359 of 1961; Act 60 of 1979 as amended. No surface damage compensation section found. Amendments to Chapter 32 after October 2024 were not checked.
Taxes
Broad personal income tax: yes. Nonresidents owe Pennsylvania tax on net income from rents and royalties from property located in Pennsylvania, with royalties from the extraction of minerals allocable to Pennsylvania when the property is located there and the income is not derived from operating a business, residents are taxed on all classes of income regardless of source, and a lessee paying lease payments for Pennsylvania real estate to a nonresident lessor in the course of a trade or business, where lease payments include royalties, must withhold at the 3.07% rate, with withholding optional below $5,000 a year. Official text cited Source and notes.
Severance or production tax. No severance tax; producers pay an annual impact fee per unconventional gas well. Core rule cited Full record: rates, exemptions, royalty owner share and sources.
Not tax advice. Rates change and the cited source controls.
Sources for the dormant mineral rule
Each source was read on the date shown. Where an official site was not available, the official page was read through a dated Internet Archive copy and that is stated.
- Act 115 of 2006, section 2
“It is not the purpose of this act to vest the surface owner with title to oil and gas interests that have been severed from the surface estate.”
- Act 115 of 2006, section 4(a)
“Any person who owns an interest in oil and gas underlying a tract of land may petition the appropriate division of the court of common pleas of the county in which the tract or any portion of the tract is located to declare a trust in favor of all unknown owners”
- Act 115 of 2006, section 4(c)
“the court shall appoint a financial institution authorized to do business in this Commonwealth as trustee of a trust for the unknown owner or owners and shall authorize the trustee to execute and deliver one or more oil or gas leases or other instruments on terms and conditions approved by the court.”
- Act 115 of 2006, section 5(c) and (d)
“A trust for unknown owners shall remain in force until the unknown owners of the oil and gas interests in question have been identified to the satisfaction of the trustee and received their share of any funds held in trust.”
Open questions for a specialist
This review did not settle these points. They are where a Pennsylvania title attorney or landman should look first.
legis.state.pa.us and palegis.us were not available when AMR checked; the text is the Internet Archive copy of the official page dated August 20, 2026. Changes after that date were not checked.
The Purdon's citation 58 P.S. 701.1 et seq. used by AMR was not confirmed on an official source; the official page cites the act as P.L. 1134, No. 115.
Court decisions applying the act's diligent effort and best interest tests were not reviewed.
When trust funds become reportable as unclaimed property under Fiscal Code Article XIII.1 was not researched.
Common questions
Can mineral rights lapse in Pennsylvania?
Not through nonuse. Pennsylvania has no dormant mineral statute; its law provides a procedure for unknown or missing owners instead, described under How the rule works.
Does Pennsylvania allow forced pooling?
Yes. Pennsylvania has a forced pooling statute, summarized with its citation under Forced pooling above.
Does Pennsylvania require payment for surface damage?
A search of Pennsylvania’s official code found no surface damages statute of that kind. Leases, deeds and general law can still give the surface owner a claim.
What changed
The June 2026 edition listed Pennsylvania as Special mechanism, lapse period see note. Release 2026.10 replaced that entry with the reviewed rule above, and retired the June risk score and ranking for every state. Release 2026.10.1 added the deceased or unlocated owner section. See all changes.
Cite this page
American Mineral Registry. "Do Mineral Rights Expire in Pennsylvania?" U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1, October 6, 2026. https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ do-mineral-rights-expire-in-pennsylvania
[Do Mineral Rights Expire in Pennsylvania?](https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ do-mineral-rights-expire-in-pennsylvania), U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (2026-10-06).
<a href="https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ do-mineral-rights-expire-in-pennsylvania">Do Mineral Rights Expire in Pennsylvania?</ a>, U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (2026-10-06).
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title = {Do Mineral Rights Expire in Pennsylvania?},
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date = {2026-10-06},
url = {https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/do-mineral-rights-expire-in-pennsylvania}
} TY - ELEC AU - American Mineral Registry TI - Do Mineral Rights Expire in Pennsylvania? T2 - U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas ET - 2026.10.1 DA - 2026/10/ 06 UR - https:/ / americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ do-mineral-rights-expire-in-pennsylvania ER -
General information about statutes, not legal advice and not a title opinion. Facts about a specific interest decide the outcome. Published by American Mineral Registry, which also runs a commercial service for owners; see how the two relate.