Title 30, Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-110
§28f Fee
Title 30 › CHAPTER 2 — MINERAL LANDS AND REGULATIONS IN GENERAL › § 28f
Summary
If you hold an unpatented lode mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site located under U.S. mining laws before, on, or after August 10, 1993, you must pay the Secretary of the Interior $100 for each claim or site by September 1 every year, but only if Congress has provided the money in advance. For placer claims you pay $100 for each 20 acres or part of 20 acres. Paying this fee replaces the old yearly assessment work and some related filings. If you record a new location, pay the 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 after the location date. Oil shale claims that must pay a fee under section 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 are not covered by these rules. You can get the $100 fee waived if you sign and give a written certificate saying that on the due date you and your related parties held no more than 10 claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites in total, and you and those related parties did the required assessment work for the year ending at noon on September 1 of that year. "Related parties" means your spouse and dependent children, and people who control or are controlled by you or who are under common control; control can be actual or legal and can come through officers, directors, stockholders, voting trusts, holding companies, or other ways. If your waiver application is found defective, the BLM will notify you and you have 60 days to fix the defects or pay the $100 fee.
Full Legal Text
Title 30, §28f
Mineral Lands and Mining, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Claim maintenance fee
(1)Lode mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites
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) and the related filing requirements contained in section 1744(a) and (c) of title 43.
(2)Placer mining claims
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)Time of payment
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. The location fee imposed under section 28g of this title shall be payable not later than 90 days after the date of location.
(c)Oil shale claims subject to claim maintenance fees under Energy Policy Act of 1992
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)Waiver
(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.
For purposes of this section, the term control includes actual control, legal control, and the power to exercise control, through or by common directors, officers, stockholders, a voting trust, or a holding company or investment company, or any other means.
(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
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110