State law reference
Do Mineral Rights Expire in Rhode Island?
Do mineral rights expire in Rhode Island? A person with an unbroken record chain of title to an interest in land for 40 years holds marketable record title free of every interest that depends on an act, transaction, event or omission before the effective date of the root of title, unless that interest is carried in the muniments by specific reference, preserved by a recorded notice of claim, or excepted.
Core rule cited Researched and checked by American Mineral Registry against the official text; review completed October 1, 2026. Reference research, not legal advice.
- Rule type
- Marketable title act
- Period
- 40 years
- Ends without a surface owner step
- Yes
- Preservation filing
- See rule
- Forced pooling statute
- No statute found
- Surface damages statute
- No statute found
- Deceased or unlocated owner
- Partly checked
How the rule works
Marketable Record Title Act, 40 years, no mineral exception (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 34-13.1). A person with an unbroken record chain of title to an interest in land for 40 years holds marketable record title free of every interest that depends on an act, transaction, event or omission before the effective date of the root of title, unless that interest is carried in the muniments by specific reference, preserved by a recorded notice of claim, or excepted. The exceptions (lessor reversions, easements evidenced by physical facilities, and interests of the United States, the State, its subdivisions and public utilities) do not mention mineral interests, so a severed mineral interest outside the surface owner's 40 year chain can be extinguished. Nonuse plays no part; the test is the record.
What has to happen
No proceeding is required: prior interests not preserved are declared null and void (§ 34-13.1-4). Disputes are resolved when marketability is determined, for example in a quiet title action under chapter 34-16.
What counts as use or preserves the interest
Notice of claim, verified by oath, recorded during the 40 year period after the root of title (§ 34-13.1-5(a))
Continuous possession of a possessory interest by the same record owner for 40 years, which counts as a recorded notice (§ 34-13.1-5(b))
Specific identification, in the muniments of the chain of title, of the recorded title transaction that created the interest (§ 34-13.1-3(1))
A title transaction affecting the interest recorded after the root of title (§ 34-13.1-3(4))
Preservation filing
Notice of claim verified by oath stating the nature of the claim, with an accurate and full description of all land affected in particular terms (or the description in the recorded instrument the claim is founded on) and the current owners of record; recorded in the land records of the town where the land lies and indexed in the grantor index under the record owners and the grantee index under the claimant (§§ 34-13.1-5, 34-13.1-6).
Scope
- Interests covered
- Any interest in land not excepted, which on the statute's words includes severed mineral interests and royalties.
- Minerals covered
- All minerals; the chapter has no mineral specific language.
- Exceptions
Lessor or successor as reversioner of the right to possession on expiration of a lease
Easements and similar interests evidenced by a pipe, valve, road, wire, cable, conduit, duct, sewer, track, hole, tower or other physical facility
Interests of the United States, the State, its political subdivisions and public utility companies (§ 34-13.1-7)
Conservation and preservation restrictions (§ 34-13.1-3(6))
- Enactment and amendments
- Enacted by P.L. 1995, ch. 241, § 1 and P.L. 1995, ch. 299, § 1 (effective date not confirmed); § 34-13.1-3 amended by P.L. 1998, ch. 330, § 1 and § 34-13.1-1 by P.L. 2011, ch. 363, § 14. Section 34-13.1-11 gave two years after the effective date to record notices where the 40 year period had expired or would expire sooner.
Dates and what they mean
A date cannot be computed for Rhode Island from a last use date alone; the note below explains what the rule turns on. The rule finder shows the same explanation.
The bar depends on the date of the surface owner's root of title and on what is recorded in the chain, not on a last use date, so no date can be computed from use.
Deceased or unlocated owner
Partly checked What the law of Rhode Island 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. Still open: court, receivership or trust for missing owners.
Rhode Island has no mineral nonuse statute; its Marketable Record Title Act bars any interest, a severed mineral interest included, that depends on events before a forty year root of title unless it is carried in the chain or preserved by a recorded notice of claim. The bar applies whether the holder is under a disability, outside the state or unaware, and the chapter requires no search for or notice to the holder. A notice of claim may be recorded by another person for a claimant of uncertain identity, and title by will or descent is a title transaction. Deceased owners are not otherwise addressed in the provisions read.
- Owner of record has died
- The chapter does not address a deceased owner of a mineral interest as such. A title transaction includes title by will or descent (P5), and disability or lack of knowledge does not suspend the forty year period (P2). Whether death has any other effect is not addressed in the provisions read.
- Current owner unknown
- A notice of claim may be recorded by another person on behalf of a claimant who is one of a class whose identity cannot be established or is uncertain (P4). The bar applies regardless of disability (P1).
- Owner known but cannot be found
- Interests are void whether the claimant is within or outside the state (P1), and lack of knowledge does not suspend the period (P2). The chapter gives no notice to the barred holder, so it has no rule for an owner who cannot be found.
How the nonuse rule treats these owners Statute
Rhode Island has no nonuse statute. Under the Marketable Record Title Act a forty year unbroken record chain makes title free of interests depending on events before the root of title, and a severed mineral interest outside that chain can be barred unless preserved. The bar applies whatever the claimant's disability, location or knowledge.
Statute
Interests depending on events before the root of title are void whether the claimant is under a disability or is within or outside the state. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-4
“whether those interests, claims or charges are asserted by a person sui juris or under a disability, whether that a person is within or without the state, whether that person is natural or corporate is private or governmental, are hereby declared to be null and void.”
Scope: Marketable Record Title Act, R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-13.1, which applies to interests of any kind in land; its exceptions in § 34-13.1-7 do not name mineral interests. A record title statute, not a nonuse statute. Statutory text only; no decision applying it to a mineral interest was located.
No disability or lack of knowledge of anyone suspends the forty year period. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-5(a)
“No disability or lack of knowledge of any kind on the part of anyone suspends the running of the forty (40) year period.”
Scope: Marketable Record Title Act, R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-13.1, which applies to interests of any kind in land; its exceptions in § 34-13.1-7 do not name mineral interests. A record title statute, not a nonuse statute. Statutory text only; no decision applying it to a mineral interest was located.
Heirs, devisees and successors Statute
A title transaction includes title by will or descent. The chapter does not otherwise address heirs or devisees of a mineral owner.
Statute
A title transaction includes title by will or descent. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-1(f)
““Title transaction” means any transaction affecting title to any interest in land, including, but not limited to, title by will or descent”
Scope: Marketable Record Title Act, R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-13.1, which applies to interests of any kind in land; its exceptions in § 34-13.1-7 do not name mineral interests. A record title statute, not a nonuse statute. Statutory text only; no decision applying it to a mineral interest was located. Relevant to whether a recorded transfer by will or descent appears in a chain of title.
Search required to find the owner Not addressed in the provisions read
The chapter operates on the land records and imposes no duty on anyone to search for or identify the holder of the interest being barred. General quiet title, probate and partition procedures were not reviewed and may apply where a court action is brought.
Who gets notice, and how Statute
The only notice in the chapter is the claimant's own recorded notice of claim, indexed under the record owners and the claimant. No notice to the holder of the barred interest is required.
Statute
A notice of claim is indexed under the record owners' names in the grantors' index and under the claimant's name in the grantees' index. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-6(b)
“The notice shall be indexed in the grantors’ index under the name or names of the owners of record as listed in the notice and in the grantees’ index under the name of the claimant appearing in the notice.”
Scope: Marketable Record Title Act, R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-13.1, which applies to interests of any kind in land; its exceptions in § 34-13.1-7 do not name mineral interests. A record title statute, not a nonuse statute. Statutory text only; no decision applying it to a mineral interest was located. This governs the claimant's notice; the chapter contains no notice to the holder of the interest being barred.
Notice by publication Not addressed in the provisions read
The chapter contains no publication step. Publication rules in general court procedure were not reviewed.
How the owner responds or preserves Statute
The holder preserves the interest by recording a verified notice of claim during the forty years after the effective date of the surface owner's root of title; another person may record it for a claimant under a disability, unable to act, or of uncertain identity.
Statute
Any person claiming an interest in land may preserve it by recording a verified notice of claim during the forty years after the effective date of the other person's root of title. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-5(a)
“Any person claiming an interest of any kind in land may preserve and keep effective that interest by recording, during the forty (40) year period immediately following the effective date of the root title of the person whose record title would otherwise be marketable, a notice in writing, duly verified by oath, setting forth the nature of the claim.”
Scope: Marketable Record Title Act, R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-13.1, which applies to interests of any kind in land; its exceptions in § 34-13.1-7 do not name mineral interests. A record title statute, not a nonuse statute. Statutory text only; no decision applying it to a mineral interest was located.
The notice of claim may be recorded by another person for a claimant under a disability, unable to assert the claim, or one of a class whose identity cannot be established or is uncertain. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-5(a)
“any other person acting on behalf of any claimant who is: (1) Under a disability (2) unable to assert a claim on his or her own behalf or (3) one of a class, but whose identity cannot be established or is uncertain at the time of filing such notice of claim record.”
Scope: Marketable Record Title Act, R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-13.1, which applies to interests of any kind in land; its exceptions in § 34-13.1-7 do not name mineral interests. A record title statute, not a nonuse statute. Statutory text only; no decision applying it to a mineral interest was located.
Court, receivership or trust for missing owners Not yet verified
No verified statement yet.
What a title review must establish
- What is the surface owner's root of title, and does the severed mineral interest appear in or depend on events before it?
- Do the muniments of the surface chain specifically identify the recorded instrument creating the mineral interest?
- Was a verified notice of claim recorded for the mineral interest within the forty year period, by the claimant or someone acting for a claimant of uncertain identity?
- Has a transfer of the mineral interest by will or descent been recorded after the root of title?
Dates. Root of title: the most recent recorded title transaction "as of a date forty (40) years prior to the time when marketability is being determined" (34-13.1-1(e)). Notice of claim: recorded "during the forty (40) year period immediately following the effective date of the root title" (34-13.1-5(a)). Transitional: a period expiring before two years after the statute's effective date was "extended two (2) years after the effective date of this statute" (34-13.1-11). Nothing is computed here. The rule finder does not calculate this period.
What AMR searched. Read: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-13.1-1 to 34-13.1-11 in full, from Internet Archive copies of the official section pages (snapshots April 1, 2025 to April 3, 2025); the official host timed out and no § 34-13.1-12 capture exists. CourtListener search, Rhode Island Supreme Court filter, for marketable record title or 34-13.1 listed eight decisions (including Fisher v. Applebaum, 2008; Bitting v. Gray, 2006; Hazard v. East Hills, 2012); none was opened or relied on and none is known to concern a mineral interest. Not reviewed: general quiet title, probate, partition, and a whole code search for unknown owner, receiver or escrow terms near mineral, oil or gas. 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.
Read the listed Rhode Island Supreme Court decisions citing chapter 34-13.1 to see whether any construes the notice of claim or the persons barred.
Section 34-13.1-3(5) refers to interests of natural gas companies among the exceptions, while § 34-13.1-7 names public utility companies; confirm whether a gas company's mineral interest is excepted.
Run a whole code search of the General Laws for unknown or missing owner, receiver and escrow provisions tied to minerals once the official host is reachable.
Checked October 6, 2026. Also in the dormant mineral rule finder.
Forced pooling
No statute found No Rhode Island statute on compulsory pooling or unitization of oil and gas interests was found, and no oil and gas conservation chapter appears in the titles surveyed.
Searched: Chapter indexes of Title 34 (Property), Title 42 (State Affairs and Government) and Title 46 (Waters and Navigation), archived December 2025, searched for mine, mining, mineral, oil, gas, petroleum and geology; only oil pollution, oil spill and petroleum allocation chapters matched. Other titles and full text were not searched.
Surface damages
No statute found No statute requiring oil and gas operators to notify or compensate surface owners was found.
Searched: Same chapter index survey as for pooling.
Taxes
Broad personal income tax: yes. Nonresidents include in Rhode Island income the rents and royalties from real property situated in Rhode Island, whether or not used in a business, and income from real property is fully included if the property is in Rhode Island and fully excluded if it is outside. Core rule cited Source and notes.
Severance or production tax. Not part of AMR’s October 2026 tax review, which covered 25 producing states; that is not a finding that Rhode Island levies none. Use the state revenue agency’s own pages.
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.
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-4
“such marketable record title shall be held by its owner and such shall be taken by any person dealing with the land free and clear of all interests, claims or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root title.”
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-5(a)
“Any person claiming an interest of any kind in land may preserve and keep effective that interest by recording, during the forty (40) year period immediately following the effective date of the root title of the person whose record title would otherwise be marketable, a notice in writing, duly verified by oath, setting forth the nature of the claim.”
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13.1-7
“This chapter shall not be applied to bar any lessor or is or her successor as a reversioner of his or her right to possession on the expiration of any lease or to bar or extinguish any easement or interest in the nature of an easement”
Open questions for a specialist
This review did not settle these points. They are where a Rhode Island title attorney or landman should look first.
No Rhode Island decision applying chapter 34-13.1 to a severed mineral interest was located, and how the act treats a mineral owner who holds his own 40 year record chain is untested in the sources read.
Effective date of P.L. 1995, ch. 241 and ch. 299 not confirmed; § 34-13.1-9 was not retrieved; amendments after the April 2025 snapshots were not checked.
Common questions
Can mineral rights lapse in Rhode Island?
Possibly, through Rhode Island’s Marketable Record Title Act rather than a dormant mineral statute. An interest not preserved in the record can be cut off 40 years after the root of title; the details are under How the rule works.
How long before unused mineral rights lapse in Rhode Island?
40 years. Forty years from the effective date (recording) of the root of title, the most recent title transaction recorded as of a date 40 years before marketability is determined (§§ 34-13.1-1(e), 34-13.1-2). A notice of claim must be recorded during the 40 years after the root of title; any period expiring within two years after the act took effect was extended to two years after that date (§ 34-13.1-11).
How can an owner keep a Rhode Island mineral interest from lapsing?
By recording the filing the statute provides before the period runs. What it must contain and where it is recorded are under Preservation filing above.
Does Rhode Island allow forced pooling?
A search of Rhode Island’s official code found no forced pooling statute. The scope of that search is under Forced pooling above.
Does Rhode Island require payment for surface damage?
A search of Rhode Island’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 Rhode Island as Does not lapse, lapse period none. 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 Rhode Island?" U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1, October 6, 2026. https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ do-mineral-rights-expire-in-rhode-island
[Do Mineral Rights Expire in Rhode Island?](https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ do-mineral-rights-expire-in-rhode-island), 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-rhode-island">Do Mineral Rights Expire in Rhode Island?</ 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 Rhode Island?},
howpublished = {U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1},
date = {2026-10-06},
url = {https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/do-mineral-rights-expire-in-rhode-island}
} TY - ELEC AU - American Mineral Registry TI - Do Mineral Rights Expire in Rhode Island? 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-rhode-island 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.