§2505 Suspension of Entries for Correction of Clerical Errors; Patents

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior, or an officer he chooses, can pause a land entry if a clerical mistake is found. The claimant must be told through the local land office and the entry stays on hold until the error is fixed. Land claims made under the preemption, homestead, desert-land, or timber-culture laws that had final proof, payment, and certificates, had no earlier adverse claims, and were sold or used as security after final entry but before March 1, 1888, can be confirmed and given a patent (official ownership document) when the Land Department sees proof of the sale or lien—unless a government investigator finds the purchaser acted fraudulently. If two years pass after an officer’s receipt on final entry under those laws and no contest is pending, the person who entered the land has the right to a patent and it must be issued; this does not force a two-year wait from the entry date before issuing a patent.