Title 43, Public LandsRelease 119-102
§1061 Inclosure of or Assertion of Right to Public Lands Without Title
Title 43 › CHAPTER 25 — UNLAWFUL INCLOSURES OR OCCUPANCY; OBSTRUCTING SETTLEMENT OR TRANSIT › § 1061
Summary
You cannot fence, build on, or control any public land in a State or Territory if you did not have a lawful claim or a good-faith right to that land when you did it. Doing so is illegal. Also, you cannot claim exclusive use or occupancy of public land without that same good-faith claim or right. Inclosure = a fence or enclosure. Claim or color of title = a claimed ownership made in good faith. Asserted right = a claimed right to enter under federal land laws.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §1061
Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
All inclosures of any public lands in any State or Territory of the United States, heretofore or to be hereafter made, erected, or constructed by any person, party, association, or corporation, to any of which land included within the inclosure the person, party, association, or corporation making or controlling the inclosure had no claim or color of title made or acquired in good faith, or an asserted right thereto by or under claim, made in good faith with a view to entry thereof at the proper land office under the general laws of the United States at the time any such inclosure was or shall be made, are declared to be unlawful, and the maintenance, erection, construction, or control of any such inclosure is forbidden and prohibited; and the assertion of a right to the exclusive use and occupancy of any part of the public lands of the United States in any State or any of the Territories of the United States, without claim, color of title, or asserted right as above specified as to inclosure, is likewise declared unlawful, and prohibited.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 1061
Title 43, Public Lands
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102