A land patent is a certificate showing absolute title to land and is granted by the U.S. government. Designed to prevent ownership disputes, land patents allow individuals to track absolute title back to the very first owner of a plot of land. Today, many individuals want to secure their land patent in order to avoid foreclosure on their property due to taxes or debts. To obtain a land patent, there are certain steps an individual must follow.
Obtain Ownership of Land
In order to obtain a land patent for an individual’s property, the individual must have a warranty deed or some kind of evidence that land was given or sold to you from someone that had a right to the property. This can include a quitclaim deed, assignment, or inheritance if there is proper documentation to show that the person giving it to the individual actually had a right to the land. It is preferable if the copy of the individual’s right to the land be certified.
Put the Land Description into Land Patent Format
Although land is usually recorded in terms of meets and bounds (geographical relationships to landmarks), property was not always documented this way. An individual will have to compare the plot description in meets and bounds to the older version of the plots which are based in Section, Township and Range format. This will involve a comparison of the different plots and map systems found in the county recorder’s office.
Obtain the Original Land Patent for the Property
Take the legal description of the land, obtained in step two, to the Bureau of Land Management to search for and obtain a certified copy of the land patent for the property. A small fee will be charged for the certified copy of the land patent.
Tips for Obtaining Land Patents for Genealogical or Historical Reasons
If you want the land patent for genealogical or historical reasons, this is the last step that an individual must take. However, if the individual wants a land patent that shows their own absolute interest in the property, they must take extra steps.
Send original land patent and the property deed to a land patent company. There are several companies who will provide them with a land patent for the property if the individual has the original land patent and your property deed. For example, some companies will assist with the land patent and all the intermediary deeds until they certify that the individual has absolute title to the property.
They will then provide individuals with a complete paper trail linking every deed in between the original land patent and their own property deed. Provided that the chain of title is clear, the individual will have a direct connection to the land patent and they will be able to record this in the county recorder’s office as proof of the absolute title.
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