Title 43 — Public LandsRelease 119-73not60
§56 Conditions of Delivery to States
Title 43 › Chapter 3— SURVEYS › § 56
Summary
Do not hand over the federal field notes, maps, records, or other papers named in section 53 to state officials until the state passes a law that agrees to accept and keep them as public records. The state law must promise to protect those records and let United States officials look at them for free.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §56
Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The field notes, maps, records, and other papers mentioned in section 53 of this title, shall in no case be turned over to the authorities of any State, until such State has provided by law for the reception and safe-keeping of the same as public records, and for the allowance of free access to the same by the authorities of the United States.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification R.S. § 2221 derived from acts Jan. 22, 1853, ch. 24, § 3, 10 Stat. 152; June 6, 1874, ch. 223, § 3, 18 Stat. 62.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 56
Title 43 — Public Lands
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60