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Title 25 — IndiansRelease 119-73not60

§404 Sale on Petition of Allottee or Heirs

Title 25 › Chapter 12— LEASE, SALE, OR SURRENDER OF ALLOTTED OR UNALLOTTED LANDS › § 404

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Allotted Indian land (except land in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and South Dakota) can be sold if the allottee or their heirs ask for the sale and the Secretary of the Interior sets the terms. If the owner is a minor, the minor’s natural guardian can ask to sell. If the owner is found incompetent or is an orphan without a guardian, a person chosen by the Secretary can ask to sell. If an allottee dies before the trust period ends, the Secretary will find the legal heirs. If the heirs can manage their affairs, they will get full ownership. If not, the land can be sold as described above. Money from any sale during the trust period must be used for the benefit of the selling allottee or heir and will be supervised by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. When a sale is approved, the Secretary will give the buyer full ownership.

Full Legal Text

Title 25, §404

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The lands, or any part thereof, allotted to any Indian, or any inherited interest therein, which can be sold under existing law by authority of the Secretary of the Interior, except the lands in Oklahoma and the States of Minnesota and South Dakota, may be sold on the petition of the allottee, or his heirs, on such terms and conditions and under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and the lands of a minor, or of a person deemed incompetent by the Secretary of the Interior to petition for himself, may be sold in the same manner, on the petition of the natural guardian in the case of infants, and in the case of Indians deemed incompetent as aforesaid, and of orphans without a natural guardian, on petition of a person designated for the purpose by the Secretary of the Interior. When any Indian who has received an allotment of land dies before the expiration of the trust period, the Secretary of the Interior shall ascertain the legal heirs of such Indian, and if satisfied of their ability to manage their own affairs shall cause to be issued in their names a patent in fee simple for said lands; but if he finds them incapable of managing their own affairs, the land may be sold as hereinbefore provided: Provided, That the proceeds derived from all sales hereunder shall be used, during the trust period, for the benefit of the allottee, or heir, so disposing of his interest, under the supervision of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: And provided further, That upon the approval of any sale hereunder by the Secretary of the Interior, he shall cause a patent in fee to issue in the name of the purchaser for the lands so sold: And provided further, That nothing in this section shall apply to the States of Minnesota and South Dakota.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Yakima Indian Reservation, WashingtonSpecial provisions for sale of interests of Indian minors in lands of the Yakima Indian reservation, in the State of Washington, whether by direct allotment or by inheritance, were made by act Mar. 27, 1908, ch. 107, 35 Stat. 49.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

25 U.S.C. § 404

Title 25 — Indians

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60