It’s almost September 1st again and time to make sure you have covered your annual claim maintenance requirements. Navigating the annual claim maintenance process can be a bit tricky. We have created this handy chart to help, we recommend printing it out for reference. To make things easier, we have also listed the basic claim maintenance process below.
Do I qualify for a claim maintenance fee waiver?
To qualify for a maintenance fee waiver, each claimant must have less than 10 claims. Additionally, the necessary amount of annual assessment work needs to be performed on each claim. To find out what qualifies for annual assessment, visit the BLM website.
If you, or any other claimants have more than 10 active claims, you do not qualify for a maintenance fee waiver. You also do not qualify for the claim maintenance fee waiver if you have not, and do not intent to, performed the necessary amount of annual assessment work on each claim. In some cases it is also easier to pay the maintenance fee instead of filing the waiver and associated paperwork.
What do I need to file?
If you qualify for a claim maintenance fee waiver, you will need to file a small miners waiver with the BLM before September 1st. You will also need to record an affidavit of annual assessment work and a notice of intent to hold with the county recorder and BLM office. You need to file the affidavit of assessment and notice to hold with the BLM before the 30th of December each year.
If you do not qualify for a claim maintenance fee waiver, you will need to pay the BLM maintenance fee before September 1st. You will also need to record a notice of intent to hold with the county recorder in the county where your claim is located.
Don’t forget..
The claim calendar runs from September 1st to September 1st of each year. If you forget to pay your maintenance fees or file your waiver and associated paperwork, you WILL lose your claims.
Associated placer claims are now charged per 20 acre portion.
For more information about the claim maintenance process, visit BLM.gov.