Washington Dormant Mineral Act

How the rule works

Dormant mineral interest statute, 20 years unused, surface owner notice and claim of abandonment. Chapter 78.22 RCW lets the surface owner extinguish a mineral interest held by another person if the interest has been unused for 20 years. After the 20 years have run (and not before June 7, 1986), the surface owner gives 60 days notice of intent to file a claim of abandonment and extinguishment, then files the claim with the notice and an affidavit, and the interest is conclusively presumed extinguished unless the owner filed a statement of claim within the 60 days. Use is defined broadly and includes payment of taxes, rents or royalties, pooled or unitized use, and recorded transfers or leases. Interests retained or owned by any public entity, or resulting from land exchanges between public and private owners, are exempt.

What has to happen

The surface owner serves the current mineral owner with 60 days notice of intention to file a claim of abandonment and extinguishment, by personal service or registered mail to the last known address; the county treasurer must supply the owner's name and address from the property tax records free of charge. If the owner is unknown to the treasurer and cannot be found with due diligence, notice is published once each week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county (RCW 78.22.050(1)). The notice must identify the record holder, the instrument that created the interest and where it is recorded, the land, the person giving notice, the first publication date, and state that a claim of abandonment will be filed 60 days after the last publication or completed service unless the owner files a statement of claim (78.22.050(2)). A copy of the notice and an affidavit of publication or service go to the county auditor within 15 days after the last publication or service (78.22.050(3), (4)). When the surface owner then files the claim of abandonment and extinguishment with the notice and affidavit and pays the fees, the interest is 'conclusively presumed to be extinguished' (78.22.060). No court action is required by the chapter.

What counts as use or preserves the interest

Preservation filing

Statement of claim filed by the current owner in the county auditor's office of the county where the land lies, before the end of the 20 year period (or by June 7, 1986 if later), stating the name and address of the current owner and the name of the original holder substantially as shown on the instrument that created the interest, with the recording fee under RCW 36.18.010 (RCW 78.22.040). The auditor records it in the dormant mineral interest index and, where possible, notes it in the margin of the creating instrument (78.22.070). A statement filed within the 60 day notice period also preserves the interest (78.22.060).

Scope

Interests covered

'The interest which is created by an instrument transferring, either by grant, assignment, or reservation, or otherwise an interest, of any kind, in any subsurface mineral' (RCW 78.22.020). The chapter does not separate mineral fee, royalty or leasehold interests.

Minerals covered

Any subsurface mineral (RCW 78.22.020). The chapter does not define mineral; its list of uses covers oil and gas type operations (injection, storage, pooling) and coal or other solid minerals (78.22.030).

Exceptions

Mineral interests retained or owned by any public entity (RCW 78.22.080)

Mineral interests resulting from land exchanges between public and private owners (RCW 78.22.080)

The chapter may not be waived before the 20 year period expires (RCW 78.22.090)

Enactment and amendments

Enacted by Laws 1984, ch. 252, sections 1 to 9; every section still carries only the 1984 history note. The statute uses June 7, 1984 as its reference date and gives a two year grace period: statements of claim and recorded transfers count if made by June 7, 1986, and no surface owner notice could start before then.

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.

Last use plus 20 years, but not earlier than June 7, 1986, is the earliest date on which the surface owner could serve the 60 day notice. Extinction happens only when the claim of abandonment is filed after the notice period with no statement of claim, so the actual date depends on the surface owner. Because tax payments on the interest count as use, a calculator must treat the most recent tax payment as the last use.

Deceased or unlocated owner

Partly checked What the law of Washington 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. Whether registered mail to a deceased owner’s address is valid notice, and whether publication reaches an identified owner who cannot be found, is open; the case search was incomplete.

Washington's chapter 78.22 RCW lets the surface owner extinguish a mineral interest unused for 20 years by giving the "current mineral interest owner" 60 days notice and then filing a claim of abandonment. Notice goes by personal service or registered mail to the owner's last known address, using the name and address the county treasurer supplies from tax records; publication for three consecutive weeks is allowed only if the owner is unknown to the treasurer and cannot be determined after due diligence. The chapter does not mention death, heirs or devisees, and does not say whether mailing to a deceased owner's last known address is enough.

Owner of record has died

Not addressed in the provisions read. Notice goes to the "current mineral interest owner" at the last known address, and the chapter does not mention heirs, devisees or a deceased owner.

Current owner unknown

If the current owner is unknown to the county treasurer and cannot be determined after due diligence, notice may be published once a week for three consecutive weeks (78.22.050(1)).

Owner known but cannot be found

Registered mail goes to the "last known address" (78.22.050(1)); the affidavit must describe due diligence efforts to find the address if notice was not mailed (78.22.050(4)(b)). Publication is tied to the owner being unknown, and the text does not separately address an identified owner who cannot be found.

How the nonuse rule treats these owners Statute

Extinguishment by the surface owner after 20 years of nonuse, notice and a filed claim; the chapter does not refer to the owner's death.

Statute

1. A mineral interest unused for 20 years may be extinguished by the surface owner. RCW 78.22.010 Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-009.

   “Any mineral interest, if unused for a period of twenty years, may be extinguished by the surface owner as set forth in RCW 78.22.050 and 78.22.060.”

   Scope: All mineral interests except those retained or owned by a public entity or resulting from public and private land exchanges (78.22.080). The chapter does not mention death of the owner.

Heirs, devisees and successors Statute

The chapter acts through the "current owner" and the original holder; it does not mention heirs, devisees or how a successor proves current ownership.

Statute

1. The statement of claim is filed by the current owner and names the original holder. RCW 78.22.040 Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-010.

   “The statement of claim referred to in RCW 78.22.030(9) shall be filed by the current owner of the mineral interest prior to the end of the twenty-year period set forth in RCW 78.22.010 or within two years after June 7, 1984, whichever is later.”

   Scope: All owners. "Current owner" is not defined, and the chapter does not mention heirs or devisees.

Search required to find the owner Statute

County treasurer tax records supply the name and address; due diligence is required before publication, and the affidavit describes the efforts when notice was not mailed.

Statute

1. The county treasurer supplies the current owner's name and address from the tax records. RCW 78.22.050(1) Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-011.

   “The county treasurer shall supply the name and address of the current mineral interest owner as they appear on the county property tax records to the surface owner without charge.”

   Scope: All extinguishments under the chapter.

2. If notice was not mailed, the affidavit must describe in detail, with dates, the due diligence efforts to find the current owner's address. RCW 78.22.050(4)(b) Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-012.

   “If a copy of the notice was not mailed, a detailed description, including dates, of the efforts made to determine with due diligence the address of the current owner of the mineral interest.”

   Scope: Notices served by publication.

Who gets notice, and how Statute

Personal service or registered mail to the current owner's last known address, 60 days before the claim is filed.

Statute

1. Notice is served on the current owner by personal service or by registered mail to the last known address. RCW 78.22.050(1) Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-011.

   “Notice shall be served by personal service or by mailing the notice by registered mail to the last known address of the current mineral interest owner.”

   Scope: The text does not address a current owner who has died, or whether mail to a deceased owner's last known address is sufficient.

Notice by publication Statute

Publication for three consecutive weeks only when the current owner is unknown to the county treasurer and cannot be determined after due diligence.

Statute

1. Publication is allowed only if the current owner is unknown to the county treasurer and cannot be determined after due diligence. RCW 78.22.050(1) Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-011.

   “If the current mineral interest owner is unknown to the county treasurer, and the current mineral interest owner cannot be determined after due diligence, the surface owner may serve the notice upon the current mineral interest owner by publishing the notice at least once each week for three consecutive weeks”

   Scope: The condition is that the owner's identity cannot be determined. The text does not separately address an owner who is identified but whose address cannot be found.

How the owner responds or preserves Statute

The current owner files a statement of claim within 60 days after last publication or perfected service.

Statute

1. The interest is conclusively presumed extinguished on filing, unless the current owner files a statement of claim within the 60 day period. RCW 78.22.060 Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-013.

   “If a statement of claim of mineral interest is filed by the current mineral interest owner within the sixty-day period provided in RCW 78.22.050, together with payment of fees provided in RCW 36.18.010, the county auditor shall record, index, and make special notation in the index of the filing.”

   Scope: All owners. The 60 days run from the last publication or perfected service (78.22.050(2)(f)).

2. The notice must warn that a claim of abandonment will be filed 60 days after last publication or perfected service unless a statement of claim is filed. RCW 78.22.050(2)(f) Washington State Legislature. Read October 6, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-014.

   “A statement that a claim of abandonment and extinguishment of the mineral interest will be filed upon the expiration of a period of sixty days after the date of the last publication or the date service was perfected by personal service or registered mail on the current mineral interest owner”

   Scope: Notice content.

Court, receivership or trust for missing owners Not addressed in the provisions read

No mechanism for unknown or unlocated mineral owners found in chapters 78.22, 78.52, 78.44 or 78.08 RCW. This does not exclude general probate, quiet title or unclaimed property procedures, which were not reviewed.

What a title review must establish

1. Was there any use listed in 78.22.030, including tax payment, royalties, pooled use or a recorded transfer, within 20 years?
2. Is the owner shown on the county tax records alive, and if not, who is the current owner?
3. Was the owner unknown to the county treasurer and undeterminable after due diligence before publication was used, and does the affidavit describe the efforts with dates?
4. Was a statement of claim filed within 60 days after last publication or perfected service?

Dates. Unused "for a period of twenty years" (78.22.010). Extinguishment available after "the later of the expiration of the twenty-year period" or "two years after June 7, 1984" (78.22.050(1)). "sixty days notice" before the claim (78.22.050(1)); claim filed after "a period of sixty days after the date of the last publication or the date service was perfected" (78.22.050(2)(f)). Publication "at least once each week for three consecutive weeks". Copy of notice and affidavit to the auditor "within fifteen days after the date of the last publication or the date service was perfected" (78.22.050(3)). Nothing computed. The rule finder does not calculate this period.

What AMR searched. Revised Code of Washington, official site: chapter 78.22 read in full; chapters 78.52, 78.44 and 78.08 searched for: unknown, unlocat, cannot be found or located, whereabouts, missing, escrow, co-owner, heirs, nonresident; only a mining claim "heirs and assigns" phrase appeared. Case law: a CourtListener search was cut off by rate limits and one web search found no Washington appellate decision applying chapter 78.22; the case law search is incomplete. Not reviewed: probate, general quiet title, chapter 63.30 RCW unclaimed property. 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.

Is registered mail to a deceased owner's last known address valid notice under 78.22.050(1)?

May publication be used for an identified owner whose address cannot be found, given that the text conditions it on the owner being unknown?

Complete a citator search for Washington appellate decisions on chapter 78.22 RCW.

Does chapter 63.30 RCW (unclaimed property) cover oil and gas proceeds? Not reviewed.

Checked October 6, 2026. Also in the dormant mineral rule finder.

Forced pooling

Official text cited Yes. In the absence of voluntary pooling, the department (Department of Natural Resources under chapter 78.52 RCW), on application of any interested person, shall enter an order after notice and hearing pooling all interests, including royalty interests, in a development unit; the applicant must prove reasonable efforts to reach agreement (RCW 78.52.240). Separately, RCW 78.52.560 (2019) prohibits hydraulic fracturing for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas.

1. RCW 78.52.240Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-006.

Surface damages

No statute found No general statute was found that requires oil and gas operators on private split estates to compensate the surface owner. RCW 78.52.120 only requires a drilling permit applicant to give the surface landowner, tenant and other surface users a copy of the application, with 15 days to send objections or comments to the department. Compensation duties exist only for state owned or state reserved minerals under chapter 79.14 RCW (79.14.040 for state oil and gas leases, 79.14.340 and 79.14.500 for state mineral reservations).

Searched: Read chapter 78.52 RCW (Oil and Gas Conservation) in full and searched it for surface owner, landowner and damage provisions; read chapter 79.14 RCW (state mineral leases) surface compensation sections; checked chapters 78.04 and 78.60 RCW for surface owner compensation (none). Did not run a full text search of the whole RCW.

1. RCW 78.52.120Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-007.
2. RCW 79.14.040 (state oil and gas leases only)Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-008.

Taxes

Broad personal income tax: no. Washington has no individual income tax in 2026 and its capital gains excise applies only to sales or exchanges of long-term capital assets, but from January 1, 2028 a 9.9% tax applies to Washington taxable income, which for residents starts from federal adjusted gross income, excludes long-term capital gains, and allows a $1,000,000 standard deduction. 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 Washington 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.

1. RCW 78.22.010Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-001.

   “Any mineral interest, if unused for a period of twenty years, may be extinguished by the surface owner as set forth in RCW 78.22.050 and 78.22.060 .”

2. RCW 78.22.030(3), (6)Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-002.

   “(3) Rents or royalties have been paid for the purpose of delaying or enjoying the use or exercise of the mineral interest; ... (6) Taxes have been paid on such mineral interest;”

3. RCW 78.22.050(1)Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-003.

   “After the later of the expiration of the twenty-year period set forth in RCW 78.22.010 or two years after June 7, 1984, the surface owner may extinguish the mineral interest held by another person and acquire ownership of that interest by providing sixty days notice of intention to file a claim of abandonment and extinguishment”

4. RCW 78.22.060Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-004.

   “if the surface owner files the claim of abandonment and extinguishment, together with a copy of the notice and the affidavit of publication, as required in RCW 78.22.050 , in the county auditor's office for the county where such interest is located then the mineral interest shall be conclusively presumed to be extinguished.”

5. RCW 78.22.080Washington State Legislature. Official statute. Read October 1, 2026. Source ID SRC-WA-005.

   “Mineral interests retained or owned by any public entity or mineral interests resulting from land exchanges between public and private owners shall not be subject to a claim of abandonment and extinguishment.”

Open questions for a specialist

This review did not settle these points. They are where a Washington title attorney or landman should look first.

What changed

The June 2026 edition listed Washington 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.

American Mineral Registry. "Washington Dormant Mineral Act." U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1, October 6, 2026. https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/washington-dormant-mineral-act

[Washington Dormant Mineral Act](https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/washington-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/washington-dormant-mineral-act">Washington 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 = {Washington Dormant Mineral Act},
  howpublished = {U.S. Mineral Rights Law Atlas, release 2026.10.1},
  date = {2026-10-06},
  url = {https://americanmineralregistry.com/research/states/washington-dormant-mineral-act}
}

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