Mining claim staking and filing checklist (free)
- Land status check
- Claim type and size
- Location notice and corner markers
- County recording (state deadline)
- BLM recording within 90 days
- Fees: processing, $49 location, $200 maintenance
Prospectors staking claims on BLM and Forest Service land
Where do you want to stake a claim?
Free checklist to stake and record a lode or placer mining claim: county and BLM filing within 90 days, fees and the small miner waiver.
- Free to read
- No sign-up until the draft
- Hands off to the right door
ePlan fills in
- Federal land status
- Existing claims
- Protected areas
- Aerial imagery
- County recorder
How it works
Mining claim staking and filing checklist, from one answer
- Pick the spot and choose lode or placer.
- ePlan checks land status and nearby claims and lists your county and BLM deadlines and fees.
- Use the checklist free. Need a plan of operations? Start a NEPA environmental assessment (EA) draft.
What you get
Mining claim staking and filing checklist and 2 more documents
The check is free. The paperwork after it is drafted at the NEPA environmental assessment door.
Notice or plan of operations
- Claim and access
- Disturbance under or over 5 acres
- Equipment and schedule
- Reclamation and bond
NEPA environmental assessment (EA)
- Purpose and need
- Proposed action and alternatives
- Affected environment
- Environmental effects
- Agencies and people consulted
From public data
What ePlan fills in, and from where
- Existing mining claims and land recordsBLM Mineral and Land Records System (MLRS)
- Federal and protected landUSGS PAD-US
- USGS topo mapUSGS topoView
- Aerial imageryUSDA NAIP
90 days
after you locate a claim is the deadline to record it with the BLM state office and the county; late claims may be treated as abandoned
Source: BLM, Recording a Mining Claim or Site
Ready for the paperwork?
Draft a NEPA environmental assessment and FONSI, or an EIS outline, that follows a reference document. Free to read; every unconfirmed fact is marked.
Questions
Mining Claim Filing Checklist: what people ask
How long do I have to record a new claim?
Record it with the BLM state office within 90 days of the date of location, and with the county under its rules; some states require 30 or 60 days. Failing to record on time may mean the claim is treated as abandoned.
What does it cost to hold a claim?
New claims pay a processing fee, a one-time $49 location fee and a $200 initial maintenance fee. After that, $200 per lode claim, or per 20 acres of a placer claim, is due each year on or before September 1.
When do I need to file a notice with BLM?
Submit a complete notice 15 days before exploration that disturbs 5 acres or less of public land. Larger operations need an approved plan of operations, and you can't split a project into several notices to avoid one.
The rules this door follows
Related doors
Other projects people start from here
Federal projects · NEPA
NEPA environmental assessment
What are you proposing, and where?
Couples and elopement photographers
National Park Wedding Permit
Which park or forest, and where?
Landowners, farms and water districts adding small hydro
Micro Hydro Permit Check
Where would the turbine take its water?
Developers and towns applying for NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) funds
EV charging site environmental screen
Where will the charging station go?
Homeowners told by a lender to buy flood insurance
Letter of Map Amendment
Which property is in the flood zone?
Forest Service · categorical exclusions
Forest Service CE finder
Which Forest Service CE fits your project?
Mining Claim Filing Checklist: check it free
Answer it and ePlan opens the NEPA environmental assessment door, which drafts the paperwork.