Title 30 — Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-73
§28f Fee
Title 30 › Chapter CHAPTER 2— - MINERAL LANDS AND REGULATIONS IN GENERAL › § 28f
Summary
You must pay $100 per unpatented lode mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site to the Department of the Interior by September 1 each year, if Congress has provided the money. For unpatented placer claims, you must pay $100 for each 20 acres or part of 20 acres by the same date. These annual fees replace the old assessment-work and related filing rules under the Mining Law of 1872 and the related filings in title 43. If you record a new location, you must pay the maintenance fee for that year when you file the location notice with the Bureau of Land Management. A separate location fee under section 28g must be paid within 90 days of location. Oil shale claims covered by section 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 are excluded. A waiver is possible if you certify in writing that you and related parties held no more than 10 claims/sites and did the required assessment work for the year ending at noon on September 1. “Related parties” means your spouse, dependent children, and people who control or are controlled by you. If a waiver form is defective, you have 60 days after written notice to fix it or pay the $100.
Full Legal Text
Title 30, §28f
Mineral Lands and Mining — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)(1)The holder of each unpatented lode mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site, located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States before, on, or after August 10, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before September 1 of each year, to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim or site, respectively. Such claim maintenance fee shall be in lieu of the assessment work requirement contained in the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28–28e) 11 See References in Text note below. and the related filing requirements contained in section 1744(a) and (c) of title 43.
(2)The holder of each unpatented placer mining claim located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States before, on, or after August 10, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before September 1 of each year, the claim maintenance fee described in subsection (a)(1), for each 20 acres of the placer claim or portion thereof. Such claim maintenance fee shall be in lieu of the assessment work requirement contained in the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 to 28e) 1 and the related filing requirements contained in section 1744(a) and (c) of title 43.
(b)The claim main tenance 22 So in original. Probably should be “maintenance”. fee under subsection (a) shall be paid for the year in which the location is made, at the time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management. The location fee imposed under section 28g of this title shall be payable not later than 90 days after the date of location.
(c)This section shall not apply to any oil shale claims for which a fee is required to be paid under section 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–486; 106 Stat. 3111; 30 U.S.C. 242).
(d)(1)The claim maintenance fee required under this section may be waived for a claimant who certifies in writing to the Secretary that on the date the payment was due, the claimant and all related parties—
(A)held not more than 10 mining claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites, or any combination thereof, on public lands; and
(B)have performed assessment work required under the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28–28e) 1 to maintain the mining claims held by the claimant and such related parties for the assessment year ending on noon of September 1 of the calendar year in which payment of the claim maintenance fee was due.
(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), with respect to any claimant, the term “related party” means—
(A)the spouse and dependent children (as defined in section 152 of title 26), of the claimant; and
(B)a person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the claimant.
(3)If a small miner waiver application is determined to be defective for any reason, the claimant shall have a period of 60 days after receipt of written notification of the defect or defects by the Bureau of Land Management to: (A) cure such defect or defects, or (B) pay the $100 claim maintenance fee due for such period.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28–28e), referred to in subsecs. (a) and (d)(1)(B), probably means act May 10, 1872, ch. 152, 17 Stat. 91. That act was incorporated into the Revised Statutes as R.S. §§ 2319 to 2328, 2331, 2333 to 2337, and 2344, which are classified to sections 22 to 24, 26 to 28, 29, 30, 33 to 35, 37, 39 to 42, and 47 of this title. For complete classification of R.S. §§ 2319 to 2328, 2331, 2333 to 2337, and 2344 to the Code, see Tables. Codification Pub. L. 111–88, which directed the amendment of section 28f of title 30, United States Code, was executed by making the amendment to section 10101 of Pub. L. 103–66, which is classified to this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See 2009 Amendment note below. Pub. L. 110–161, which directed the amendment of section 28 of title 30, United States Code, “in section 28f(a),” was executed by making the amendment to section 10101 of Pub. L. 103–66, which is classified to this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See 2007 Amendment note below. Pub. L. 108–108, which directed the amendment of section 28 of title 30, United States Code, “in section 28f(a),” was executed by making the amendment to section 10101 of Pub. L. 103–66, which is classified to this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See 2003 Amendment note below. Pub. L. 107–63, which directed the amendment of section 28f of title 30, United States Code, was executed by making the amendment to section 10101 of Pub. L. 103–66, which is classified to this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See 2001 Amendment note below. Pub. L. 105–277, which directed the amendment of section 28f of title 30, United States Code, was executed by making the amendment to section 10101 of Pub. L. 103–66, which is classified to this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See 1998 Amendment notes below. Pub. L. 105–240, which directed the amendment of section 28f of title 30, United States Code, was executed by making the amendment to section 10101 of Pub. L. 103–66, which is classified to this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See 1998 Amendment note below.
Amendments
2013—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 113–6, § 1403(1), substituted “before, on, or after
August 10, 1993” for “on or after
August 10, 1993”. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 113–6, § 1403(2), struck out “located” after “United States”, substituted “subsection (a)(1)” for “subsection (a)”, and inserted at end “Such claim maintenance fee shall be in lieu of the assessment work requirement contained in the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 to 28e) and the related filing requirements contained in section 1744(a) and (c) of title 43.” 2011—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 112–74, § 430(1)(A), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and substituted “The holder of each unpatented lode mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site, located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States on or after
August 10, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before September 1 of each year, to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim or site, respectively.” for “The holder of each unpatented mining claim, mill, or tunnel site, located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States, whether located before, on or after
August 10, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before September 1 of each year, to the extent provided in advance in Appropriations Acts, a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim or site”. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 112–74, § 430(1)(B), added par. (2). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 112–74, § 430(2), substituted “The claim main tenance fee under subsection (a) shall be paid for the year in which the location is made, at the time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management.” for “The claim maintenance fee payable pursuant to subsection (a) of this section for any assessment year shall be paid before the commencement of the assessment year, except that for the initial assessment year in which the location is made, the locator shall pay the claim maintenance fee at the time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management.” 2009—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–88 substituted “, to the extent provided in advance in Appropriations Acts,” for “for years 2004 through 2008,”. See Codification note above. Pub. L. 111–8, which directed the removal of the modifications made by Pub. L. 110–161, was executed by inserting “for years 2004 through 2008” after “before September 1 of each year”. See 2007 Amendment note below. 2007—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–161 struck out “for years 2004 through 2008” after “before September 1 of each year”. See Codification note above. 2003—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–108 substituted “for years 2004 through 2008” for “for years 2002 through 2003”. See Codification note above. 2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–63 substituted “The holder of each unpatented mining claim, mill, or tunnel site, located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States, whether located before, on or after
August 10, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before September 1 of each year for years 2002 through 2003, a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim or site” for “The holder of each unpatented mining claim, mill, or tunnel site, located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States, whether located before or after
August 10, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before September 1 of each year for years 1999 through 2001, a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim or site.” See Codification note above. 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–277 added first sentence and struck out former first sentence which read as follows: “The holder of each unpatented mining claim, mill, or tunnel site located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States before
October 1, 1998 shall pay the Secretary of the Interior, on or before
September 1, 1999 a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim site.” See Codification note above. Pub. L. 105–240 substituted “The holder of each unpatented mining claim, mill, or tunnel site located pursuant to the mining laws of the United States before
October 1, 1998 shall pay the Secretary of the Interior, on or before
September 1, 1999 a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim site.” for “The holder of each unpatented mining claim, mill or tunnel site located pursuant to the Mining Laws of the United States, whether located before or after
August 10, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before August 31 of each year, for years 1994 through 1998, a claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim.” See Codification note above. Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 105–277 added par. (3). See Codification note above.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Similar ProvisionsSimilar provisions were contained in Pub. L. 102–381, title I, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1378, 1379.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
30 U.S.C. § 28f
Title 30 — Mineral Lands and Mining
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73