Sell Mineral Rights in Kentucky
Sell mineral rights in Kentucky by asking buyers for written offers before you sign anything. Kentucky produced about 2 million barrels of crude oil in 2025 and about 59 billion cubic feet of marketed natural gas in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Most activity centers on eastern Kentucky gas and the western 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 Kentucky minerals
Buyers price each tract on its own wells and the wells around it, so the Big Sandy gas field in the east and the Illinois Basin oil fields in the west are priced differently.
Well and production records are kept by the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas, and your deed is recorded with the county where the land sits.
Kentucky rules to know before you sell
Kentucky has no statute that ends a severed mineral interest because it went unused. KRS 353.460 to 353.476 let a surface owner, a co-owner, an adjoining owner of the same minerals, or a lessee of either ask the circuit court to declare a trust over a severed mineral interest whose owner cannot be identified or located; a court appointed trustee then leases it. Do Mineral Rights Expire in Kentucky (opens in a new tab) gives the statute and its conditions.
Kentucky has a forced pooling statute.
Kentucky taxes crude oil at 4.5 percent of market value and natural gas at 4.5 percent of gross value. The oil tax falls ratably on everyone who owns an interest in the oil, royalty owners included.
Kentucky 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 Kentucky?
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 Kentucky take my minerals if they sit unused?
Kentucky has no statute that ends a severed mineral interest because it went unused. Read the rule and its sources (opens in a new tab).
Where is oil and gas activity in Kentucky?
Oil and gas activity in the state centers on the Appalachian Basin and the Big Sandy gas field in the east.
What is a non-participating royalty interest (NPRI)?
An NPRI is a share of production revenue with no right to lease the minerals or take a lease bonus. It is fully sellable and valued on the income it pays, much like a producing royalty.
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 Kentucky mineral offers free?
Yes. Asking for offers is free, with no upfront fee and no obligation to sell.
What taxes apply when I sell Kentucky 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. Kentucky taxes royalty income from Kentucky property as part of its income tax; how a gain on a sale is taxed depends on where you live and on Kentucky’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 Kentucky tax oil and gas royalty income?
Yes. Kentucky’s income tax reaches royalty income from Kentucky 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 Kentucky?
Kentucky levies crude oil at 4.5 percent of market value and natural gas at 4.5 percent of gross value. The oil tax falls ratably on everyone who owns an interest in the oil, royalty owners included. Rates, exemptions and sources (opens in a new tab).
How do I find out what minerals I own in Kentucky?
Check the county recorder where the land sits for the deed, the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas for well and production records, and the state unclaimed property program for any unclaimed royalty money. Our unclaimed royalties finder builds the checklist.
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Find out what your Kentucky soil would bring, before the next letter lands in your mailbox.
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