State law reference
Tennessee Dormant Mineral Act
What does the Tennessee Dormant Mineral Act say? Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108 extinguishes any interest in coal, oil and gas and other minerals that goes unused for 20 years unless the owner has filed a statement of claim, and ownership reverts to the surface owner. 'Use' includes production, injection or storage operations, rentals or royalties being paid, use on a pooled or unitized tract, and payment of taxes on the mineral interest, so an interest on which taxes are paid is not dormant; tax payment counts only if the owner has identified the interest's location to the county assessor (67-5-809(d)).
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
- Dormant mineral statute
- Period
- 20 years
- Ends without a surface owner step
- No
- Preservation filing
- Available
- Forced pooling statute
- Statute found
Core rule cited - Surface damages statute
- Statute found
Core rule cited - Deceased or unlocated owner
- Partly checked
How the rule works
Dormant mineral statute, 20 years with no use and no taxes paid, lapse declared by chancery order. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108 extinguishes any interest in coal, oil and gas and other minerals that goes unused for 20 years unless the owner has filed a statement of claim, and ownership reverts to the surface owner. 'Use' includes production, injection or storage operations, rentals or royalties being paid, use on a pooled or unitized tract, and payment of taxes on the mineral interest, so an interest on which taxes are paid is not dormant; tax payment counts only if the owner has identified the interest's location to the county assessor (67-5-809(d)). Lapse is completed through the chancery court: the surface owner files a verified complaint of claim of abandoned mineral interest, the clerk and master publishes and mails a 60 day notice, and if the mineral owner files no answer the chancellor declares the lapse and vests title in the surface owner. A statement of claim filed after 20 years without use did not save the interest in Currence v. Harrogate Energy (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015).
What has to happen
Subsection (c) says an unused interest 'shall' be extinguished, but the statute's own route to title is judicial. A person who will succeed to the interest 'may commence such lapse' by filing with the clerk and master of the county a verified complaint of claim of abandoned mineral interest in the statutory form, which recites inquiry with the property assessor about taxes and inquiry about use (66-5-108(e)(1), (e)(2)). The clerk and master publishes notice that the interest shall lapse in 60 days, once a week for three consecutive weeks, and sends a copy by certified mail within ten days after publication to the owner named in the complaint (e)(3). If the mineral owner files no answer alleging a claim within 60 days after publication, the clerk certifies that to the chancellor, who enters an order declaring the interest lapsed and vesting title in the surface owner (e)(4). For the judicially determined lapse to be effective as to subsequent interest holders, a certified copy of the final order must be recorded with the register of deeds (e)(7). If the owner answers, the case is litigated on whether a statutory use occurred, as in Cunningham v. Gill and Currence v. Harrogate Energy. No complaint could be filed before July 1, 1990 (e)(9). An action to contest a lapse is barred three years after the date the interest lapsed (66-5-108(j)). These procedural subsections were read only in an unofficial mirror.
What counts as use or preserves the interest
66-5-108(b)(3): any minerals being produced thereunder
66-5-108(b)(3): operations being conducted thereon for injection, withdrawal, storage or disposal of water, gas or other fluid substances
66-5-108(b)(3): rentals or royalties being paid to the owner for the purpose of delaying or enjoying the use or exercise of the rights; an unexercised lease option on the tract did not qualify in Currence (2015)
66-5-108(b)(3): any such use being carried out on any tract with which the mineral interest may be unitized or pooled for production purposes
66-5-108(b)(3): taxes paid on the mineral interest ('by the owner of the land' in the quoted text); counts only if the owner identified the interest's location to the county property assessor under 67-5-804, per 67-5-809(d)
66-5-108(c), (d): a statement of claim filed before the end of the 20 year period, or by July 1, 1990 if later; prima facie evidence of use on its filing date
66-5-108(e)(4): an answer alleging a claim filed with the clerk and master within 60 days after publication stops the default order, but the claim then turns on whether a statutory use occurred
Preservation filing
Statement of claim filed with the register of deeds of the county where the land lies, containing the name and address of the owner or owners of the mineral interest, the tax map and parcel numbers of the surface owner or owners above the mineral estate, and a reference to the instrument under which the interest is claimed (66-5-108(d)(2), (d)(3)), filed before 20 years pass without use. The register records it in the Dormant Mineral Interest Record (66-5-108(f)). Separately, mineral owners must identify their interests with the county property assessor (67-5-804(b), as quoted in Currence); without that identification, paying taxes cannot be claimed as a use (67-5-809(d)).
Scope
- Interests covered
- 'Mineral interest' means the interest created by an instrument transferring, by grant, assignment, reservation or otherwise, an interest of any kind in coal, oil and gas, and other minerals (66-5-108(b)(1)). The text does not distinguish mineral fee, royalty or leasehold interests.
- Minerals covered
- Coal, oil and gas, and other minerals (66-5-108(b)(1), (c)).
- Exceptions
No exemption for public owners: 66-5-108(h) states that the section applies in all ways to property owned by the state
Cannot be waived before the 20 year period expires (66-5-108(g), (i))
No complaint for claim of abandoned mineral interest could be accepted before July 1, 1990 (66-5-108(e)(9))
Separate county specific recording rules for counties of 32,600 to 32,700 population (66-5-108(e)(6), (f)(2))
- Enactment and amendments
- Enacted by Acts 1987, chapter 282, effective July 1, 1987 (Cunningham v. Gill, 2004). Statements of claim for interests already unused for 20 years were due by July 1, 1990, and lapse complaints could not be filed before July 1, 1990. Subsections (j) to (l) (three year contest bar, bad faith attorney fees, parties of interest) appear in the 2021 code text; their enactment dates were not found. Amendments after the 2021 edition were not checked.
Dates and what they mean
The rule works through a court decision. A last use date plus the period shows only when a case could begin to be argued, not an outcome.
Last use plus 20 years, but not earlier than July 1, 1990, is the earliest date on which a surface owner's lapse complaint could succeed. The reversion takes effect through the chancellor's order after the 60 day notice period and must be recorded, so the date is set by the court, and an owner who answers forces a contested hearing. Because payment of taxes on an identified mineral interest is itself a use, an interest that is being taxed and paid does not age at all; a calculator that ignores tax payments overstates dormancy.
Deceased or unlocated owner
Partly checked What the law of Tennessee 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.
Tennessee extinguishes a mineral interest unused for 20 years unless the owner files a statement of claim, and a surface owner completes the lapse through a chancery complaint. The clerk and master publishes notice three times and mails it by certified mail to the owner the plaintiff names; the owner's name and address appear only if known, and the text read says nothing about heirs, devisees, unknown heirs or returned mail. If no answer is filed within 60 days after publication the chancellor declares the lapse, and a contest is barred three years after the interest lapsed. Whether notice to a deceased owner of record or to a last known address satisfies due process in a given case is not settled by the provisions or decisions read.
- Owner of record has died
- Not addressed in the provisions read. Section 66-5-108 speaks only of 'the owner' and 'a person who shall succeed' on lapse (P2, P3). In Cunningham the interest had passed to an identified heir who answered, and the court counted information supplied by the heir or his predecessor toward use (P10, P11). No provision or decision read says whether notice must go to heirs or devisees of a deceased owner of record.
- Current owner unknown
- The complaint form and every notice give the owner's name only 'if known' (P4, P6), and publication occurs in every case (P5). No other rule for an owner whose identity is unknown appears in the text read.
- Owner known but cannot be found
- Certified mail goes to the owner identified by the plaintiff (P5); the form gives the address only 'if known' (P4). The text read does not address an identified owner who cannot be found, a returned mailing or a duty to search for a current address.
How the nonuse rule treats these owners Statute and court decisions
Twenty years without a statutory use extinguishes the interest unless a statement of claim is filed, and the surface owner may complete the lapse by verified complaint in chancery; the Court of Appeals describes the target as unused, unregistered and generally undiscoverable interests. No provision treats deceased, unknown or unlocated owners differently.
Statute
An interest in coal, oil and gas and other minerals unused for 20 years is extinguished and reverts to the surface owner unless a statement of claim is filed. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(c)
“Any interest in coal, oil and gas, and other minerals shall, if unused for a period of twenty (20) years, be extinguished, unless a statement of claim is filed in accordance with subsection (d), and the ownership of the mineral interest shall revert to the owner of the surface.”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked.
Court decisions
The Court of Appeals described the statute as aimed at unused, unregistered and generally undiscoverable mineral interests that hinder surface development. Currence v. Harrogate Energy, LLC, No. M2014-01263-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 11, 2015), slip op. 5
“The purpose of the enactment was to ensure that owners of real property were not “hindered in fully developing the surface of land” by unused, unregistered, and generally undiscoverable mineral interests in their property.”
Scope: Tennessee Court of Appeals; publication status not confirmed. The owner was a company that answered; the decision says nothing about deceased, unknown or unlocated owners.
Heirs, devisees and successors Statute and court decisions
The statute refers to 'the owner' and to the person who will succeed on lapse, names no heirs, devisees or personal representatives, and limits parties of interest to an owner and the successor surface owner. Cunningham shows an heir defending on the basis of use by himself and his predecessor.
Statute
The statement of claim is to be filed by the owner of the mineral interest; the text names no heir, devisee or representative as a filer. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(d)(1)
“The statement of claim provided in subsection (c) shall be filed by the owner of the mineral interest prior to the end of the twenty-year period set forth in subsection (c) or within three (3) years after July 1, 1987, whichever is later.”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. Does not say who files for a deceased owner or for unidentified heirs.
The only parties of interest under the section are an owner of the mineral interest and the person who will succeed to it on lapse; any third person claiming an interest must make a showing by verified complaint, affidavit or other evidence. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(l)
“The only parties of interest pursuant to this section shall be an owner of the mineral interest and a person who shall succeed to the ownership of the mineral interest upon its lapse. Any third person claiming title or interest in any matter pursuant to this section shall prove by verified complaint, affidavit or other evidence”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. Does not define owner or say whether heirs of a deceased owner of record are owners for this purpose.
Court decisions
In Cunningham the owner answering the lapse complaint had inherited the interest from his father, who reserved it. Cunningham v. Gill, No. M2003-01374-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 20, 2004), slip op. 2
“Defendant inherited the mineral interests from his father, John Gill, Sr., in 1984. The elder Gill had expressly reserved the mineral interests in deeds dated February 16, 1942 and June 12, 1950.”
Scope: Tennessee Court of Appeals, intermediate appellate court; whether the opinion was designated for publication was not confirmed, so its weight as authority beyond the parties requires review. Facts only; the heir here was identified and answered.
The court counted identification information supplied by the heir or his predecessor toward the tax payment use that kept the interest alive. Cunningham v. Gill, slip op. 6
“What is apparent, however, is that Defendant and/or his predecessor directly or indirectly provided the statutorily required information to the Office of the Assessor of Property as required by the statute”
Scope: Same court and caveat as P10. Concerns use by tax payment under 66-5-108(b)(3) and 67-5-804; does not address notice to heirs, unknown heirs or unlocated owners.
Search required to find the owner Statute
The complaint form recites inquiry with the county property assessor and reasonable inquiry about use. No search for heirs or for a current address is prescribed; a filing made without reasonable inquiry, without factual basis and for harassment can draw a fee award, while a complaint is deemed in good faith if no taxes paid or statement of claim referencing the parcel appears of record.
Statute
The statutory complaint form has the surface owner swear to inquiry with the county property assessor about taxes and to reasonable inquiry about use, and gives the mineral owner's name and address only if known. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(e)(1), complaint form paragraphs 3 and 4
“After inquiring with the county property assessor, I am not aware of any tax being paid for the mineral estate which underlies my surface estate. ... The name of the mineral interest owner (if known) is and the address (if known) is . 4. Upon reasonable inquiry, I am not aware of any use being made of the mineral estate”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. The form says the complaint 'may be in the following or a similar form'. No search for heirs or for a current address is prescribed in the text.
A statement of claim or complaint filed without reasonable inquiry, with no factual basis and for harassment may be found not filed in good faith. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(k)(1)
“A court may find that a statement of claim or the complaint was not filed in good faith if such was filed without reasonable inquiry, with no factual basis, and for purposes of harassment.”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. This is a fee shifting rule, not a search standard for locating owners.
A complaint is deemed filed in good faith if the court finds no record of taxes paid or statement of claim referencing the mineral estate by tax map and parcel number. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(k)(2)
“If the court finds no record of taxes paid or statement of claim filed for the lapsed mineral interests which references the mineral estate by tax map and parcel number, then a complaint for claim of abandoned mineral interest shall be deemed to have been filed in good faith.”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. The safe harbor turns on the record, not on any effort to find the owner or heirs.
Who gets notice, and how Statute
Notice runs to the owner identified by the plaintiff, by certified mail within ten days after publication, and states the owner's name only if known as shown of record. Contrary to the brief's working note, the text read contains no requirement of notice to heirs.
Statute
On filing, the clerk and master publishes notice of lapse in 60 days once a week for three consecutive weeks and sends it by certified mail, within ten days after publication, to the owner identified by the plaintiff in the complaint. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(e)(3)
“shall lapse in sixty (60) days by publishing the same once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks ... and shall send by certified mail within ten (10) days after such publication a copy of such notice to the owner of such mineral interest identified by the plaintiff”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. The mailing goes to the owner the plaintiff identifies; the text does not mention heirs, devisees, personal representatives or returned mail.
Every notice states the owner's name only if known as shown of record, a description of the land and the complainant's name. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(e)(5)
“All notices provided for in this section shall state the name of the owner of the mineral interest, if known, as shown of record, a description of the land and the name of the person filing the complaint of claim of abandoned mineral interest.”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked.
Notice by publication Statute
Publication is mandatory in every case, not conditioned on the owner being unknown: once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
Statute
On filing, the clerk and master publishes notice of lapse in 60 days once a week for three consecutive weeks and sends it by certified mail, within ten days after publication, to the owner identified by the plaintiff in the complaint. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(e)(3)
“shall lapse in sixty (60) days by publishing the same once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks ... and shall send by certified mail within ten (10) days after such publication a copy of such notice to the owner of such mineral interest identified by the plaintiff”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. The mailing goes to the owner the plaintiff identifies; the text does not mention heirs, devisees, personal representatives or returned mail.
How the owner responds or preserves Statute
The owner preserves by a timely statement of claim, or after a complaint by filing an answer alleging a claim within 60 days after publication; otherwise the chancellor declares the lapse. Any contest is barred three years after the interest lapsed.
Statute
The statement of claim is to be filed by the owner of the mineral interest; the text names no heir, devisee or representative as a filer. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(d)(1)
“The statement of claim provided in subsection (c) shall be filed by the owner of the mineral interest prior to the end of the twenty-year period set forth in subsection (c) or within three (3) years after July 1, 1987, whichever is later.”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. Does not say who files for a deceased owner or for unidentified heirs.
If the mineral interest owner files no answer alleging a claim within 60 days after publication, the clerk certifies that to the chancellor, who enters an order declaring the lapse and vesting title. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(e)(4)
“If, within sixty (60) days after publication provided in subdivision (e)(3), the mineral interest owner does not file with the clerk and master an answer alleging a claim to the mineral interest, the clerk and master shall so certify to the chancellor who shall enter the following order declaring the mineral interest has lapsed and vesting title”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked.
No action to contest a lapse may be brought more than three years after the date the interest lapsed. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(j)
“No action shall be brought by any person to contest the lapse of a mineral interest pursuant to this section after three (3) years from the date such interest lapsed.”
Scope: All severed interests in coal, oil and gas and other minerals under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108. Read in an unofficial 2021 mirror; the official LexisNexis code was not read and amendments after 2021 were not checked. Applies to any person, with no stated exception for heirs, unknown owners or owners who did not receive the mailed notice; whether the date of lapse is the 20 year mark or the court order is not stated.
Court, receivership or trust for missing owners Not yet verified
No verified statement yet.
What a title review must establish
- Was a statement of claim recorded, and by whom, before 20 years passed without a statutory use (mechanism, response)?
- Was the owner of record alive when any complaint was filed, and if not, who was named and mailed (notice, succession)?
- Was the certified mailing sent within ten days after the third publication, and to what address (notice)?
- Was a certified copy of the chancellor's order recorded with the register of deeds, as 66-5-108(e)(7) requires for effect against subsequent holders (response)?
- Have three years passed since the interest lapsed, barring a contest under 66-5-108(j) (response)?
Dates. Twenty years unused, per 66-5-108(c). Statement of claim 'prior to the end of the twenty-year period set forth in subsection (c) or within three (3) years after July 1, 1987, whichever is later' (d)(1). Publication 'once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks'; certified mail 'within ten (10) days after such publication'; answer 'within sixty (60) days after publication' (e)(3), (e)(4). No complaint accepted 'prior to July 1, 1990' (e)(9). Contest barred 'after three (3) years from the date such interest lapsed' (j). No provision says that death of the owner pauses, resets or continues any of these periods. The rule finder does not calculate this period.
What AMR searched. Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108 in full, read in the Justia 2021 mirror via an Internet Archive snapshot of April 1, 2024, because the official LexisNexis Tennessee Code requires accepting terms and Justia's live site served a bot check. Section headings of Title 66 chapter 5 part 1 (2021, snapshot April 22, 2026) and the part headings of Title 60 chapter 1 (2010, snapshot July 24, 2021). CourtListener searches for '66-5-108', 'abandoned mineral interest', 'dormant mineral' and 'mineral interest' with 'unknown heirs' in Tennessee courts returned only Cunningham v. Gill (2004), Begley Lumber v. Trammell (1999, procedural, appeal timing) and Quarles v. Smith (2010, 28-2-110); Currence v. Harrogate Energy (2015) was read from the court's PDF. One web search found no other decision on notice to heirs. General probate, heirship and quiet title law may apply and was not reviewed. 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.
The brief's note says the Tennessee procedure gives notice to heirs. The 2021 text read requires mailing only to 'the owner of such mineral interest identified by the plaintiff'. A specialist should confirm the current official text and whether any rule of civil procedure or decision requires naming or serving heirs or unknown heirs in a 66-5-108 complaint.
Whether a default order entered after mailing to a deceased owner of record or a stale address is open to attack despite the three year bar in 66-5-108(j).
Current official text of 66-5-108 and any amendment after 2021.
Whether Title 60 chapter 1 or the unclaimed property act contains a mechanism for unknown or unlocated mineral owners or their proceeds.
Publication status and precedential weight of Cunningham v. Gill and Currence v. Harrogate Energy.
Checked October 6, 2026. Also in the dormant mineral rule finder.
Forced pooling
Core rule cited Yes, as quoted by the courts. Tenn. Code Ann. 60-1-202(a)(4)(M) gives the oil and gas board authority to make rules, regulations and orders 'to provide for the forced integration of separately owned tracts and other property ownership into drilling and production units' (quoted in Lueking v. Cambridge Resources, 2012, from Freels v. Northrup, Tenn. 1984). The current statutory text and the board's present name were not read.
- Lueking v. Cambridge Resources, Inc. (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2012), slip op. 6 to 7, quoting Tenn. Code Ann. 60-1-202(a)(4)(M)
- Tennessee member state summary 2019, section VII Pooling
Surface damages
Core rule cited A surface owner compensation statute exists, but its text was not read. The Court of Appeals states that Tenn. Code Ann. 60-1-601 et seq. vests the oil and gas board with power to compensate landowners for damages caused by oil and gas operators (Lueking v. Cambridge Resources, 2012). Whether it requires notice before entry, how damages are set, and how claims are filed are unverified.
Taxes
Broad personal income tax: no. Tennessee's Hall income tax, which applied only to interest from bonds and notes and dividends from stock, was repealed for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2021, so an individual's royalty income is not taxed by the state. Official text 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 Tennessee 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.
- Currence v. Harrogate Energy, LLC, No. M2014-01263-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 11, 2015), slip op. 5 to 6, quoting Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(c) (the quotation runs across a page break; footnote 5 sits between "revert to" and "the owner of the surface" in the slip opinion)
“Any interest in coal, oil and gas, and other minerals shall, if unused for a period of twenty (20) years, be extinguished, unless a statement of claim is filed in accordance with subsection (d), and the ownership of the mineral interest shall revert to the owner of the surface.”
- Currence, slip op. 6, quoting Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(b)(3)
“or when any such use is being carried out on any tract with which such mineral interest may be unitized or pooled for production purposes, or when taxes are paid on such mineral interest by the owner of the land.”
- Currence, slip op. 6, quoting Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-809(d)
“[A]ny mineral interest owner failing to identify the location of the mineral interest according to § 67-5-804 shall not claim payment of taxes as a use of mineral interest as provided in title 66, chapter 5.”
- Cunningham v. Gill, No. M2003-01374-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 20, 2004), slip op. 5
“Based upon the foregoing, it is evident the language in the statute means that unused mineral interests will expire unless a statement of claim is filed within twenty years of the last “use,” as that term is defined by the statute, or three years from the effective date of the statute, whichever is later.”
- Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(e)(4)
“If, within sixty (60) days after publication provided in subdivision (e)(3), the mineral interest owner does not file with the clerk and master an answer alleging a claim to the mineral interest, the clerk and master shall so certify to the chancellor who shall enter the following order declaring the mineral interest has lapsed”
- Tenn. Code Ann. 66-5-108(e)(7) and (j)
“In order for the judicially determined lapse to be effective as to the subsequent interest holders, a certified copy of the final order evidencing the same must be recorded in the register of deeds office in the county where the property is located.”
- Quarles v. Smith, No. W2009-00514-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 24, 2010), quoting Tenn. Code Ann. 28-2-110(c)
“Nothing in this section shall bar a person from bringing an action to contest the lapse of a mineral interest within the period provided by § 66-5-108(f).”
- Begley Lumber Co. v. Trammell, No. 03A01-9902-CH-00047 (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 25, 1999), slip op. 1
“insisting that the Trial Judge erred by not applying the affirmative defense of the statute of limitations set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated §66-5-108(j).”
- Lueking v. Cambridge Resources, Inc., No. E2011-02393-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2012), quoting Tenn. Code Ann. 66-7-103(a)(1)
“Any lease of oil or natural gas rights or any other conveyance of any kind separating such rights from the freehold estate of land shall expire at the end of ten (10) years from the date executed, unless, at the end of such ten (10) years, natural gas or oil is being produced from such land for commercial purposes.”
- CTAS-1480, Mineral Interests (footnote marker 2 omitted)
“failure to identify the location of a mineral interest will render the owner unable to claim payment of taxes as use of a mineral interest against a surface owner's claim of abandonment under T.C.A. § 66-5-108.”
Open questions for a specialist
This review did not settle these points. They are where a Tennessee title attorney or landman should look first.
The official Tennessee Code (LexisNexis) and the General Assembly site were not reachable; the full text, including the lapse procedure in 66-5-108(e) and the three year contest bar, was read only in the Justia 2021 mirror. The current official text and any amendment after 2021 are not confirmed.
Subsection numbering conflict: Quarles (2010) quotes 28-2-110(c) as referring to 66-5-108(f), Begley Lumber v. Trammell (1999) cites 66-5-108(j) as the limitations period, and the 2021 mirror puts the three year contest bar at (j). Confirm the current cross reference.
66-5-108(b)(3) counts taxes paid 'by the owner of the land' as a use; Cunningham treated the mineral owner's payments as use. Confirm the official wording and whom it covers.
Whether a surface owner can establish a lapse without the (e) complaint procedure, for example as a defense in a quiet title suit, given that (c) reads as automatic and (j) runs from 'the date such interest lapsed'.
What 'applies in all ways to property owned by the state' in 66-5-108(h) means for state owned mineral interests and state owned surface.
Tenn. Code Ann. 66-7-103(a)(1), quoted in Lueking (2012), makes leases and 'any other conveyance of any kind' separating oil or gas rights from the land expire after ten years unless there is commercial production, with reversion after six months without production. Its scope, effective date, application to severed oil and gas fee interests and any constitutional limits (Layne v. Baggenstoss, 640 S.W.2d 1 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1982), not read) need specialist review before AMR describes Tennessee oil and gas severances.
Tenn. Code Ann. 28-2-110 bars recovery of land on which no taxes were assessed and paid for more than 20 years; how it interacts with untaxed severed mineral interests outside the 66-5-108 procedure was not researched.
Common questions
Can mineral rights lapse in Tennessee?
Yes, but not by itself (Dormant mineral statute, 20 years with no use and no taxes paid, lapse declared by chancery order). In Tennessee an interest ends only after the surface owner or another party takes the steps the statute requires, such as a notice or a court action, and each step, with its citation, is under How the rule works.
How long before unused mineral rights lapse in Tennessee?
20 years. Twenty years in which none of the uses defined in 66-5-108(b)(3) occurred (66-5-108(c)). The statement of claim must be filed 'prior to the end of the twenty-year period set forth in subsection (c) or within three (3) years after July 1, 1987, whichever is later' (66-5-108(d)(1)). A timely statement of claim is prima facie evidence that the interest was being used on its filing date (d)(4), so it starts a new 20 years. The Court of Appeals reads the statute to mean an interest expires unless a statement of claim is filed within 20 years of the last use or by July 1, 1990, whichever is later (Cunningham v. Gill, 2004), and measured the window backward from the date the owner's statement of claim was filed (Currence, 2015).
How can an owner keep a Tennessee 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 Tennessee allow forced pooling?
Yes. Tennessee has a forced pooling statute, summarized with its citation under Forced pooling above.
Does Tennessee require payment for surface damage?
Yes. Tennessee has a statute requiring operators to compensate surface owners, summarized with its citation under Surface damages above.
What changed
The June 2026 edition listed Tennessee 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. "Tennessee Dormant Mineral Act." U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1, October 6, 2026. https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ tennessee-dormant-mineral-act
[Tennessee Dormant Mineral Act](https:// americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ tennessee-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/ tennessee-dormant-mineral-act">Tennessee Dormant Mineral Act</ a>, U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, American Mineral Registry, release 2026.10.1 (2026-10-06).
@misc{amr_atlas_tn_2026101,
author = {{American Mineral Registry}},
title = {Tennessee Dormant Mineral Act},
howpublished = {U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1},
date = {2026-10-06},
url = {https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/tennessee-dormant-mineral-act}
} TY - ELEC AU - American Mineral Registry TI - Tennessee Dormant Mineral Act T2 - U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas ET - 2026.10.1 DA - 2026/10/ 06 UR - https:/ / americanmineralregistry.com/ research/ states/ tennessee-dormant-mineral-act 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.