Wyoming mineral rights search: county, state and federal records

Check for state and federal mineral rights first

The Office of State Lands and Investments' Land and Lease Map Viewer is the first stop in a Wyoming mineral rights search. It shows state surface and subsurface ownership and the surface and mineral leases on state land, along with surface and subsurface plat books. Its plat book search uses section, township and range; if a search comes back empty, the land may have been resurveyed, so try again without the section.

For federal minerals, the BLM's land records page links General Land Office Records, with the original federal conveyance of your tract, and the Master Title Plats that show current federal land status by township. Federal oil and gas leases are tracked in the BLM's Mineral & Land Records System (Bureau of Land Management). When the mineral rights turn out to be federal or state, the government leases them and there's no private chain to trace.

Where private Wyoming mineral rights are recorded

Deeds, mineral deeds and leases are recorded with the county clerk in the county where the land lies. Read each deed you find in the clerk's grantor-grantee index for language reserving or granting oil, gas or other minerals, and keep copies of every lease. This county work is the private half of a Wyoming mineral rights search, and it only matters once the government is ruled out.

In Powder River Basin counties like Campbell, Converse and Johnson, where units often combine private acreage with federal and state tracts, write down the acres your tract contributes to each unit. Your share of a unit's production depends on it.

Is my land being drilled? WOGCC data

Wyoming law lets the Commission enter an order pooling all interests in a drilling unit, and the producer must send each nonconsenting owner notice offering a chance to participate. Since 2020, a pooling order expires if operations don't start within twelve months (W.S. 30-5-109, as amended by 2020 Enrolled Act 14). A notice like that means the operator's title work counts you as a mineral rights owner in the unit.

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission publishes well data and hearing records from its home page.

• WOGCC Data Explorer: a map you can search by address or coordinates, then list wells within a set distance of a point and export the results to CSV.
• Hearing Docket & Info: the matters set for upcoming Commission hearings, linked from the home page under Hearings.
• Orders: the Commission's issued orders, also linked under Hearings.

Unclaimed royalties in Wyoming

The Wyoming State Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Division holds unclaimed property, including mineral proceeds. Search at wyoming.findyourunclaimedproperty.com under every past mineral rights owner. The Treasurer has told holders that, starting with the 2027 reporting period, royalty payments go in the regular annual report instead of ongoing monthly remittances (Wyoming State Treasurer).

Wyoming mineral rights search, step by step

Rule out the government first, then trace the private chain.

1. Get the section, township and range from your deed, lease or royalty statement.
2. Search the OSLI Land and Lease Map Viewer for state ownership and leases.
3. Check BLM land records and your township's Master Title Plat for federal status.
4. For private minerals, search the county clerk's records and pull every deed and lease, plus estate records for owners who died.
5. Find nearby wells in the WOGCC Data Explorer and check hearing dockets and orders for your area.
6. Search Wyoming unclaimed property under every family name.

When to call a landman or attorney

A tract with mixed federal, state and private acreage, or a pooling notice with a short deadline, justifies a landman for the title work and an oil and gas attorney for the election. If an order names you, a Wyoming mineral rights search of the county records confirms what the operator's title work found.

Our page on Wyoming mineral rights covers each basin where buyers are active, and Wyoming mineral rights value explains how severance and ad valorem taxes affect price. Then request offers from up to three buyers working your county.

Wyoming questions