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

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior, or an officer he names, can pause a land entry if a clerical mistake is found. The claimant must be told through the local land office. The entry stays suspended until the mistake 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 mortgaged after final entry but before March 1, 1888, must be confirmed and given patents to honest buyers or lenders who paid value when the Land Department sees good proof — unless a government agent proves the buyer committed fraud. Also, if two years pass after a designated officer gave a receipt for final entry and no contest is pending, the person who entered the land must receive a patent; this does not force a two‑year wait from the entry date to issue a patent.