State law reference
Michigan Dormant Mineral Act
What does the Michigan Dormant Mineral Act say? A severed interest in oil or gas is deemed abandoned, and vests in the surface owner as of the date of abandonment, if for 20 years it has had no recorded sale, lease, mortgage or transfer, no drilling permit, no production or withdrawal from the land, its lease or pooled or unitized land, and no use in gas storage, unless the owner records a claim of interest. No court action is required.
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
- Dormant mineral statute
- Period
- 20 years
- Ends without a surface owner step
- Yes
- Preservation filing
- Available
- Forced pooling statute
- Statute found
Official text cited - Surface damages statute
- No statute found
- Deceased or unlocated owner
- Partly checked
How the rule works
Dormant oil and gas interest statute, 20 years, self executing, oil and gas only. A severed interest in oil or gas is deemed abandoned, and vests in the surface owner as of the date of abandonment, if for 20 years it has had no recorded sale, lease, mortgage or transfer, no drilling permit, no production or withdrawal from the land, its lease or pooled or unitized land, and no use in gas storage, unless the owner records a claim of interest. No court action is required. The act covers only oil and gas; other minerals are outside it. A separate rule cuts off severed oil or gas interests in a tax foreclosure of the land unless an instrument evidencing them was recorded in the prior 20 years.
What has to happen
None. The interest is deemed abandoned and vests in the surface owner by operation of law (554.291(1), (2)). In a tax foreclosure of the land under MCL 211.78k, a severed oil or gas interest is not preserved unless it was sold, leased, mortgaged, transferred, reserved or claimed by an instrument recorded in the 20 years before the foreclosure petition was filed (554.291(3)).
What counts as use or preserves the interest
Sale, lease, mortgage or transfer of the interest by instrument recorded with the county register of deeds
Issuance of a permit to drill an oil or gas well as to that interest
Actual production or withdrawal of oil or gas from the land, from land covered by a lease to which the interest is subject, or from land pooled, unitized or included in unit operations with it
Use of the interest in underground gas storage operations; a storage operator's recorded good faith affidavit defining the storage field is prima facie evidence of that use (554.293)
Recording a claim of interest under 554.292
Preservation filing
Written notice recorded with the register of deeds of the county where the land lies, verified by oath, describing the land and the nature of the interest, giving the name and address of each claimant, and stating that they desire to preserve the interest and do not intend to abandon it (554.292(1)). It preserves for 20 years after recording and may be renewed (554.292(3), (4)). A gas storage operator may record one notice defining the boundaries and formations of the storage field (554.292(2)).
Scope
- Interests covered
- Any interest in oil or gas in land owned by a person other than the owner of the surface (554.291(1)). The text does not distinguish mineral, royalty or other interests in oil or gas.
- Minerals covered
- Oil and gas only.
- Exceptions
Interests in oil or gas owned by any governmental body or agency (554.292(5))
- Enactment and amendments
- 1963 PA 42, effective September 6, 1963, with a 3 year window after that date for recording claims (554.291(1)). Sections 554.291, 554.292 and 554.294 were amended by 2006 PA 519, immediately effective December 29, 2006. The official history note records that the act is not unconstitutional as applied in Van Slooten v Larsen, 410 Mich 21 (1980).
Dates and what they mean
A last use date plus the statutory period gives only an illustrative anniversary: the first day the nonuse condition could be met if nothing that counts as use happened since. It is not a loss date. Try the dormant mineral rule finder.
Abandonment is automatic 20 years after the latest listed event, so a calculator can illustrate that anniversary. Drilling permits, production on leased, pooled or unitized land and storage use are not visible from a single last recorded date, and the tax foreclosure rule runs from the foreclosure petition date instead.
Deceased or unlocated owner
Partly checked What the law of Michigan 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.
Michigan's Dormant Minerals Act (Act 42 of 1963) treats a severed oil or gas interest as abandoned, and vests it in the surface owner, after 20 years with no recorded transaction, permit, production or storage use and no recorded claim of interest. The act does not mention death, heirs, unknown or missing owners, any search, or any notice, and the Michigan Supreme Court held in Van Slooten v. Larsen (1980) that the lack of notice provisions is constitutional because no hearing precedes vesting. No Michigan procedure specific to unknown or unlocated mineral owners was identified, but the code could not be searched from this network.
- Owner of record has died
- Not addressed in the provisions read. The act preserves an interest only through recorded instruments, permits, production, storage use or a verified notice by "the person or persons claiming the interest" (MCL 554.292(1)); it does not say whether a death, an estate or an heirship record is itself a qualifying event, and Van Slooten did not decide that point.
- Current owner unknown
- Not addressed in the statute text. Van Slooten (P6) describes the act's purpose as reducing the problem of unknown or unlocatable owners, and the act applies to them exactly as to any other owner.
- Owner known but cannot be found
- Not addressed in the statute text. No search or notice is required before abandonment and vesting (P2, P7).
How the nonuse rule treats these owners Statute and court decisions
Self executing abandonment after 20 years of nonuse for severed oil or gas interests, vesting in the surface owner as of the abandonment date, with no court action stated; a separate rule cuts off unrecorded interests in a tax foreclosure. The text treats every owner alike, and the Michigan Supreme Court describes unknown or unlocatable owners as the problem the act addresses.
Statute
A severed oil or gas interest with no recorded sale, lease, mortgage or transfer, drilling permit, production or storage use for 20 years is deemed abandoned unless the owner records a claim of interest. MCL 554.291(1)
“during such period of 20 years, be deemed abandoned, unless the owner thereof shall, within 3 years after September 6, 1963 or within 20 years after the last sale, lease, mortgage, or transfer of record of that interest in oil or gas”
Scope: Severed interests in oil or gas only (not other minerals); interests owned by a governmental body are excluded by 554.292(5). The text speaks only of "the owner thereof" and does not mention deceased, unknown or unlocated owners.
An abandoned interest vests in the surface owner as of the date of abandonment, with no court step stated. MCL 554.291(2)
“Any interest in oil or gas deemed abandoned as provided in subsection (1) shall vest as of the date of such abandonment in the owner or owners of the surface in keeping with the character of the surface ownership.”
Scope: All severed oil or gas interests within the act. Does not distinguish owners who are dead, unknown or cannot be found.
In a tax foreclosure of the land, a severed oil or gas interest is cut off unless an instrument or claim about it was recorded in the prior 20 years. MCL 554.291(3)
“an oil or gas interest in the property owned by a person other than the owner of the surface shall not be preserved from foreclosure under section 78k of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.78k, unless that interest is sold, leased, mortgaged, transferred, reserved, or subject to a claim of interest under section 2”
Scope: Applies only where a tax foreclosure judgment is entered under MCL 211.78k. The foreclosure notice rules of the General Property Tax Act were not read.
Court decisions
The Michigan Supreme Court read the act as aimed at unknown or unlocatable owners and fractionalized ownership. 410 Mich. 21 (1980), opinion of Coleman, C.J.
“Therefore, the dormant mineral act was passed to reduce the likelihood that the presence of unknown or unlocatable owners or fractionalized ownership of severed interests would unnecessarily hinder or prevent the development of these resources by requiring an owner to do certain specified acts indicating ownership or record a claim of interest every 20 years.”
Scope: Michigan Supreme Court, majority opinion of Coleman, C.J., joined by three justices (4 to 3), so it controls statewide on the federal and state due process questions decided. It addressed heirs of a record owner as defendants but did not decide how death affects the 20 year period or whether heirs must be located.
Heirs, devisees and successors Not addressed in the provisions read
MCL 554.291 to 554.294 refer only to "the owner thereof" and to "the person or persons claiming the interest"; "person" is defined as an individual or legal entity (554.294). Heirs, devisees, personal representatives and the effect of death are not mentioned.
Search required to find the owner Not addressed in the provisions read
The act requires no search for the owner before abandonment or vesting. The dissent in Van Slooten criticized that absence, but the dissent does not control.
Who gets notice, and how Court decision
The act provides no notice to the mineral owner. Van Slooten held that the absence of notice provisions is not unconstitutional because the act provides for no hearing before vesting.
Court decisions
The absence of any notice provision in the act does not make it unconstitutional, because the act provides for no hearing before vesting. 410 Mich. 21 (1980), opinion of Coleman, C.J.
“The constitutional right to notice of a hearing is implicit in and dependent upon a right to an opportunity for a hearing. No such hearing is provided for or required by the statute; therefore it is not unconstitutional on the basis that it does not have adequate provisions for notice of such a hearing.”
Scope: Michigan Supreme Court, majority opinion of Coleman, C.J., joined by three justices (4 to 3), so it controls statewide on the federal and state due process questions decided. It addressed heirs of a record owner as defendants but did not decide how death affects the 20 year period or whether heirs must be located.
Notice by publication Not addressed in the provisions read
No publication provision appears in MCL 554.291 to 554.294.
How the owner responds or preserves Statute and court decisions
The interest is preserved by recording a verified notice naming the claimant within the 20 year period, renewable for each later 20 year period; after vesting, the owner may contest at a later hearing whether the statutory conditions were met.
Statute
The interest is preserved by recording a verified notice that names the claimant and states the intent to preserve. MCL 554.292(1)
“The notice shall be verified by oath and shall describe the land and the nature of the interest claimed, give the name and address of the person or persons claiming the interest, and state that the person or persons desire to preserve the interest and do not intend to abandon the interest.”
Scope: Any person claiming the interest may record. The section does not say whether an heir, devisee or personal representative of a deceased record owner may record, or what proof of succession is needed.
Preservation can be renewed indefinitely by a notice or a qualifying act within each later 20 year period. MCL 554.292(4)
“may be preserved indefinitely from abandonment under this act by filing written notices as provided in this act or the performance of any of the acts specified in this act evidencing nondormancy of the interest in oil or gas within each succeeding 20-year period.”
Scope: All interests within the act. Silent on who may file after the owner dies.
Court decisions
The owner can still obtain a later hearing on whether the statutory conditions were met and who owns the interest. 410 Mich. 21 (1980), opinion of Coleman, C.J.
“Furthermore, the act does not limit the owner’s opportunity for a hearing to determine whether the statutory requirements have been met and to ascertain the ownership of the property. Although a pre-deprivation hearing is not required, there exists an opportunity for a hearing to be held at a meaningful time.”
Scope: Michigan Supreme Court, majority opinion of Coleman, C.J., joined by three justices (4 to 3), so it controls statewide on the federal and state due process questions decided. It addressed heirs of a record owner as defendants but did not decide how death affects the 20 year period or whether heirs must be located. The opinion does not say which proceeding provides that hearing.
Court, receivership or trust for missing owners Not yet verified
No verified statement yet.
What a title review must establish
- Within each 20 year window, was there a recorded sale, lease, mortgage or transfer, a drilling permit, production from the land or pooled lands, gas storage use, or a recorded claim of interest?
- If the record owner died, was any instrument recorded that the act would count, and who recorded a claim of interest, with what proof of succession?
- Was the land subject to a tax foreclosure judgment under MCL 211.78k, and was an instrument about the oil or gas interest recorded in the 20 years before the petition?
- Has any court determined whether the interest was abandoned, and were the heirs or unknown claimants parties to that case?
Dates. Abandonment if no qualifying event "for a period of 20 years"; the claim must be recorded "within 3 years after September 6, 1963 or within 20 years after the last sale, lease, mortgage, or transfer of record" or the last permit, production or storage use, "whichever is later" (554.291(1)). A recorded notice preserves the interest "for a period of 20 years after recording" (554.292(3)). Tax foreclosure look back: "during the 20-year period immediately preceding the date of filing a petition for foreclosure" (554.291(3)). The provisions read do not say whether death pauses, resets or continues any period. The rule finder does not calculate this period.
What AMR searched. Read MCL 554.291 to 554.294 (Act 42 of 1963) from Internet Archive snapshots of legislature.mi.gov dated March and June 2025, because the official host was not available. Read Van Slooten v. Larsen, 410 Mich. 21 (1980) from the Caselaw Access Project. One web search for a Michigan unknown owner, receiver or lease statute found none. CourtListener search was rate limited, so Michigan Court of Appeals decisions under the act (an earlier CourtListener result list for "554.291" showed about a dozen Court of Appeals opinions, none read) were not read. The code could not be full text searched for "unknown", "missing", "heirs" or "unlocatable" near "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.
Does a recorded probate order, death certificate or heirship affidavit count as a "transfer by instrument recorded" under MCL 554.291(1)?
Read Michigan Court of Appeals decisions applying MCL 554.291, and check whether any addresses heirs or estates.
Search Part 615 (MCL 324.61501 et seq.) and Supervisor of Wells rules for treatment of unknown or unlocated owners in pooling, and the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act for mineral proceeds.
Check for amendments to MCL 554.291 to 554.294 after the 2025 snapshots.
Checked October 6, 2026. Also in the dormant mineral rule finder.
Forced pooling
Official text cited The supervisor of wells may require pooling, if not agreed, wherever a tract's small size or shape would otherwise deprive its owner of a fair share under a uniform spacing plan, proration or drilling unit, on just and reasonable terms (MCL 324.61513(4)); state owned land under a state leasing program is exempt (61513a), and pooling hearings move to the county on written request of a majority of the owners to be pooled (61516(2)). Part 617 (324.61701 to 324.61738) provides compulsory unitization, effective once owners approve by one of the thresholds in 61706, for example 51 percent of costs plus 51 percent of cost free interests, or 65 percent of production.
Surface damages
No statute found No statute requiring oil and gas operators to notify and compensate surface owners for damage was found in Parts 615 and 617 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. Section 324.61525 only lists the surface owner among the permit application details the supervisor makes available on request.
Searched: Michigan Legislature section caption lists for NREPA Part 615 (324.61501 to 324.61527) and Part 617 (324.61701 to 324.61738), from Internet Archive snapshots of January 2026, searched for surface, owner and damage, plus full text of 324.61525. Other Michigan statutes and supervisor of wells rules were not searched.
Taxes
Broad personal income tax: yes. Under the Income Tax Act, net rents and royalties from real property located in Michigan are allocable to Michigan, nonresident taxable income is computed subject to these allocation rules, and a resident allocates all taxable income to Michigan except income attributable to another state under sections 111 to 115. Core rule cited Source and notes.
Severance or production tax. Oil 6.6 percent and gas 5 percent of gross cash market value, 4 percent for stripper and marginal oil, plus a fee of 1 percent for 2026. Official text 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.
- MCL 554.291(1)
“Any interest in oil or gas in any land owned by any person other than the owner of the surface, which has not been sold, leased, mortgaged, or transferred by instrument recorded in the register of deeds office for the county where that interest in oil or gas is located for a period of 20 years shall”
- MCL 554.291(1)
“Any interest in oil or gas in any land owned by any person other than the owner of the surface, which has not been sold, leased, mortgaged, or transferred by instrument recorded in the register of deeds office for the county where that interest in oil or gas is located for a period of 20 years shall”
- MCL 554.291(2)
“Any interest in oil or gas deemed abandoned as provided in subsection (1) shall vest as of the date of such abandonment in the owner or owners of the surface in keeping with the character of the surface ownership.”
- MCL 554.291(3)
“an oil or gas interest in the property owned by a person other than the owner of the surface shall not be preserved from foreclosure under section 78k of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.78k, unless that interest is sold, leased, mortgaged, transferred, reserved, or subject to a claim of interest under section 2”
- MCL 554.292(1)
“The notice shall be verified by oath and shall describe the land and the nature of the interest claimed, give the name and address of the person or persons claiming the interest, and state that the person or persons desire to preserve the interest and do not intend to abandon the interest.”
- MCL 554.292(3)
“Recording a written notice under this section shall operate to preserve the oil or gas interest included in the written notice from abandonment under this act for a period of 20 years after recording.”
- MCL 554.292(5)
“This act shall not apply to any interest in oil or gas owned by any governmental body or agency.”
Open questions for a specialist
This review did not settle these points. They are where a Michigan title attorney or landman should look first.
The official site was not available when AMR checked; amendments after the snapshot dates (June 2025 for 554.291, March 2025 for 554.292 to 554.294) were not checked, although a web search found no 2025 or 2026 bill.
Michigan's Marketable Record Title Act (MCL 565.101, amended by 2018 PA 572 and 2024 PA 20) uses a 20 year chain of title for mineral interests of every kind and refers to interests recorded on or before September 29, 2025; its effect on old severed interests, including non oil and gas minerals, was not analyzed.
Van Slooten v Larsen and later cases on what counts as a permit or production 'as to that interest' were not read.
Common questions
Can mineral rights lapse in Michigan?
Yes. Michigan’s statute can end an interest after 20 years without use, and it works by itself, without a court case or a notice from the surface owner. Recording the statement the statute provides keeps the interest alive; the rule and its citation are under How the rule works.
How long before unused mineral rights lapse in Michigan?
20 years. Twenty years without any listed event (MCL 554.291(1)). The claim deadline is the later of 3 years after September 6, 1963 or 20 years after the last recorded sale, lease, mortgage or transfer, drilling permit, production or withdrawal, or storage use. A recorded claim of interest preserves for 20 years after recording and can be renewed in each succeeding 20 year period (554.292(3), (4)).
How can an owner keep a Michigan 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 Michigan allow forced pooling?
Yes. Michigan has a forced pooling statute, summarized with its citation under Forced pooling above.
Does Michigan require payment for surface damage?
A search of Michigan’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 Michigan as Can lapse / revert, lapse period 20 years. 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. "Michigan Dormant Mineral Act." U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1, October 6, 2026. https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ michigan-dormant-mineral-act
[Michigan Dormant Mineral Act](https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ michigan-dormant-mineral-act), U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (2026-10-06).
<a href="https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ michigan-dormant-mineral-act">Michigan Dormant Mineral Act</ a>, U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (2026-10-06).
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author = {{American Mineral Registry}},
title = {Michigan Dormant Mineral Act},
howpublished = {U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1},
date = {2026-10-06},
url = {https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/michigan-dormant-mineral-act}
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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.