Sell Mineral Rights in Illinois
Sell mineral rights in Illinois by asking buyers for written offers before you sign anything. Illinois produced about 7 million barrels of crude oil in 2025 and about 3 billion cubic feet of marketed natural gas in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Most activity centers on the Illinois Basin oil fields, and we take your interest to buyers at no cost to you.
Request offers Free to ask, with no upfront fee and no obligation to sell.
What shapes an offer for Illinois minerals
Buyers price each tract on its own wells and the wells around it, so the newer wells and the many small stripper wells of the Illinois Basin are priced differently.
Well and production records are kept by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Oil and Gas Resource Management, and your deed is recorded with the county where the land sits.
Illinois rules to know before you sell
Illinois has no dormant mineral or nonuse lapse statute. The Severed Mineral Interest Act (765 ILCS 515, P.A. 83-571) applies only to severed mineral interests whose owners are unknown or missing. Abandoned Mineral Rights in Illinois (opens in a new tab) gives the statute and its conditions.
Illinois has a forced pooling statute.
Illinois has no general oil and gas severance tax that AMR could find; the Hydraulic Fracturing Tax Act taxes oil and gas from wells permitted under the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act at 3 percent of value for the first 24 months, then 3 to 6 percent for oil by daily output and 6 percent for gas. Royalty owners count as producers under that act, and the first purchaser withholds their share.
Illinois taxes royalty income through its personal income tax. Oil and Gas Severance Tax by State (opens in a new tab) compares every state.
One request. Buyers compete in writing. You call the shots.
Keep a recent check stub or the lease handy if you have one; it helps buyers price an offer, but you can ask without either. Nothing goes to a buyer until we have talked with you. If a buyer has already written to you, tell us; that letter becomes the number every other offer has to beat.
Free for families. You never pay us a dime.
Asking for an offer costs you nothing, and there is no fee when you sell. Usually we buy the interest ourselves, and the offer says so. We may resell it, and that is how we are paid; it never changes the price you agreed.
Your money moves through a licensed title company, escrow agent or closing attorney, never through our hands. Every written offer names its buyer.
Common questions
How do I sell mineral rights in Illinois?
Give us the county and your interest with any lease or check stub on hand. We ask buyers for written offers for you to compare, then you close through a licensed closing or title company.
Can Illinois take my minerals if they sit unused?
Illinois has no dormant mineral or nonuse lapse statute. Read the rule and its sources (opens in a new tab).
Where is oil and gas activity concentrated in Illinois?
Oil and gas activity in the state centers on the Illinois Basin in the south.
What is a non-participating royalty interest (NPRI)?
A non-participating royalty interest pays a share of production but carries no leasing right and no bonus. It sells like a producing royalty, priced on the income it returns.
Do I sign a division order before selling?
Signing a division order confirms your share for payment purposes. It is not a sale, it does not transfer ownership, and you can sign it and still sell later.
Is getting Illinois mineral offers free?
Yes. Asking for offers is free, with no upfront fee and no obligation to sell.
What taxes apply when I sell Illinois minerals?
A sale is generally treated as the sale of a capital asset, so federal capital gains rules usually apply, while royalty checks are ordinary income. Illinois taxes royalty income from Illinois property as part of its income tax; how a gain on a sale is taxed depends on where you live and on Illinois’s rules for nonresidents. State production taxes, where they apply, usually come off the royalty check, and some producing minerals are also taxed locally.
Inherited minerals usually receive a stepped up basis as of the date of death, which can reduce the gain on a later sale. AMR’s state tax reference (opens in a new tab) has the rules and sources; confirm your own situation with a tax professional.
Does Illinois tax oil and gas royalty income?
Yes. Illinois’s income tax reaches royalty income from Illinois property, including for owners who live in another state. If you live elsewhere, your home state may tax the same income.
Federal tax applies on top.
What is the severance tax on oil and gas in Illinois?
Illinois levies no general oil and gas severance tax that AMR could find; the Hydraulic Fracturing Tax Act taxes oil and gas from wells permitted under the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act at 3 percent of value for the first 24 months, then 3 to 6 percent for oil by daily output and 6 percent for gas. Royalty owners count as producers under that act, and the first purchaser withholds their share. Rates, exemptions and sources (opens in a new tab).
How do I find out what minerals I own in Illinois?
Check the county recorder where the land sits for the deed, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Oil and Gas Resource Management for well and production records, and the state unclaimed property program for any unclaimed royalty money. Our unclaimed royalties finder builds the checklist.
One short form, free, no obligation
Find out what your Illinois soil would bring, before the next letter lands in your mailbox.
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