BLM Bumps Up Mineral Fees to Match Inflation Again
Published Date: 1/12/2026
Notice
Summary
Starting January 12, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management is raising fees for processing mineral-related permits and documents to keep up with inflation. This affects companies and individuals working with onshore mineral resources, who’ll see slightly higher costs when filing paperwork. These changes happen every year to make sure fees match the real cost of services.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 4 costs, 0 mixed.
Permit to Drill processing fee
If you apply for an Application for Permit to Drill (APD), the processing fee is $12,850 as of January 12, 2026. This is a one-time processing cost you must pay when filing an APD under onshore oil and gas operations rules.
Competitive lease application fee
If you submit a competitive lease application for oil and gas, the processing fee is $3,175 starting January 12, 2026. This fee applies to competitive leasing actions listed under the onshore oil & gas parts cited by the BLM.
Mineral patent adjudication fees
If you seek mineral patent adjudication, the processing fee is $4,010 for more than 10 claims and $2,005 for 10 or fewer claims, effective January 12, 2026. These are one-time processing fees tied to adjudicating mineral patents.
Annual inflation-based fee increase
The Bureau of Land Management is adjusting fixed processing fees for onshore mineral program documents based on inflation, effective January 12, 2026. The adjustments follow formulas established in the BLM's 2005 cost recovery rule and occur annually.
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