Key Takeaways:

  • Land patents are official government-issued documents that grant land ownership to individuals, often through homesteading, military bounties, or cash sales.
  • Land patents differ from deeds, as patents originate from the government, while deeds transfer ownership between private parties.
  • Land ownership through patents does not necessarily exempt individuals from state regulations or property taxes.
  • A land patent search is crucial to verifying ownership history and ensuring legal claims on land.
  • Land patents are often misunderstood, with myths circulating about their ability to exempt landowners from taxation or regulation.
  • Sovereign citizen claims involving land patents are legally unrecognized and do not exempt individuals from legal obligations.

Land Patents

Land patents can be confusing concepts, as most people today wouldn’t understand why someone would obtain a land patent. We assume that, once someone purchases a property, he or she owns it outright. However, land patents provide information on those who have in fact gotten the title to their property directly from the government, rather than purchasing it from another person. Examples of this could be land obtained through land grants, military bounty land warrants, cash sales, mineral or mining, homesteads, and the like.

It is important to remember that a land patent is the title to the land and not necessarily anything else, i.e., the property that sits on it. But, with that being said, some people may own property but not necessarily the land that it sits on.

When speaking of property ownership, most people who own their homes have a deed or title that is issued to them. In exchange, that person pays property taxes and a monthly mortgage payment. But land ownership takes actual ownership to a new level. Particularly, a land patent means that your land cannot be lawfully seized for failure to pay taxes. Therefore, no mortgage or tax liability can take away your land.

Land Patent vs. Deed: What’s the Difference?

A land patent is a legal document issued by the U.S. government, granting an individual original ownership of a specific parcel of land. A deed, on the other hand, is a legal instrument used to transfer property ownership between private individuals.

Key Differences:

  • Origin: A land patent originates from the federal or state government, while a deed is created in private transactions.
  • Legal Standing: Land patents establish absolute ownership of land, whereas deeds are subject to existing encumbrances, such as mortgages or liens.
  • Transferability: While both can be transferred, land patents are often passed through inheritance, whereas deeds require a recorded transfer process.

Land patents are not a legal loophole to avoid taxes or property regulations. Once land has been transferred from federal ownership, it falls under state and local jurisdiction.

Benefits of Land Patents

  • Land patent holders need not honor liens on their property, including those imposed due to unpaid taxes.
  • Land patent holders cannot have their land taken away from them by seizure or eviction.
  • Land patents can be transferred through inheritance.
  • Land patent holders can use their land as they see fit, i.e., mineral, drilling, etc.

Myths and Misconceptions About Land Patents

Despite their historical significance, land patents have become the subject of misinformation. Some individuals falsely claim that holding a land patent means:

  1. They are exempt from property taxes – In reality, once land is patented, it is subject to state taxation and zoning laws.
  2. They are immune from government regulations – Courts have ruled that private landowners must comply with state and federal laws.
  3. They can reclaim previously sold land – A land patent does not override a valid deed transfer.

The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed that land patents only establish initial ownership and do not grant landowners sovereign immunity from taxation or regulations.

Land Patent Search

You’ll want to run a land patent search to ensure that any land or property you purchase is free from a land patent. The actual land records were formed by the government to help prevent ownership disputes. So if a piece of land was passed down to relatives, you can find such information by running a land patent search. The wills or deeds should show the transfers.

The land patent itself identifies the patent holder’s name, the description of the land, the patent number, the date in which the land became patented, and the office that issued the patent. Federal land patents may provide additional information regarding family members, previous residence, marriage/death certificates, affidavits, and other similar documents. This generally occurs when the land is passed down through the family line over a number of years.

How to Conduct a Land Patent Search

To verify ownership or historical claims, a land patent search can be conducted through:

  1. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) General Land Office (GLO) database – This provides federal land patent records.
  2. State land offices – For properties issued under state land grants.
  3. County record offices – For checking recorded land transfers and deeds.
  4. Historical archives – Some older land records are kept in national or state archives.

A title search can help determine whether the land patent is still in effect or has since been superseded by subsequent transactions.

Jurisdictions for Land Patent Searches

  • State land states include Vermont, Maine, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Hawaii, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, and Georgia. The remaining states are federal land states. In order to review federal land state searches, you can visit the BLM-GLO Land Patent Search database.
  • Land transfers from a state to an individual, or transfers from one individual to another in any state, can be found in that respective state’s land office. These would not be part of the BLM-GLO Land Patent Search.
  • For land transfers in Texas, you’ll want to visit the General Land Office website and run a search to find out the history of that land.
  • For land searches in the State of Pennsylvania, you can run a search on the Pennsylvania State Archive website.

Sovereign Citizen Movement and Land Patents

Land patents have been adopted by sovereign citizen groups attempting to claim ownership of land without adhering to state laws. These claims are not legally recognized and have been rejected in numerous court cases.

Common tactics of these groups include:

  • Filing fraudulent documents to assert property ownership.
  • Misinterpreting historical land laws to challenge government authority.
  • Refusing to pay property taxes under false legal theories.

Courts across the U.S. have consistently ruled that land patents do not exempt individuals from legal and financial obligations, making these claims legally invalid.

Who Shows Up in a Land Patent Search?

When you run a search via the BLM-GLO search database, you’ll find only those individuals who were granted a federal land patent, which includes military bound land, grants, cash sales, and credit-type patents.

Land patent applications are generally abandoned, as the process is time-consuming, expensive, and does not have the highest success rate. Approximately 40 percent of homesteaders who have applied for a land patent have finished their application, while the remaining 60 percent abandoned their applications. Only 25 percent of timberland applications received their patent. If someone began to submit an application, but thereafter abandoned it, they will still show up in the application papers, but not in the land patent search results. If you run into this issue, you might be able to potentially obtain copies of those unfinished applications. But you’ll want to run a lengthy historical search on that land to find out who currently holds legal status to it.

Why Some Land Patent Applications Are Abandoned

Many land patent applications were abandoned due to:

  1. Complex legal requirements – The application process is lengthy and requires extensive documentation.
  2. Financial burdens – Many applicants could not afford the necessary improvements or legal fees.
  3. Homestead failure – Some applicants struggled to meet homestead residency requirements.
  4. Changing land use – Over time, land use regulations changed, making some applications obsolete.

Abandoned applications may still appear in search records, but they do not indicate an active land claim.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. What is the main difference between a land patent and a deed?
    A land patent is an original grant from the government, while a deed transfers ownership between private parties.
  2. Can a land patent exempt me from property taxes?
    No. Once a patent is issued, the land falls under state and local tax laws.
  3. How do I check if my land has a patent?
    You can conduct a search through the BLM-GLO database, state land offices, or county record offices.
  4. Are land patents still issued today?
    No, federal land patents are no longer issued for general land claims, but historical patents still exist.
  5. Can a land patent override a deed?
    No. Once a land patent has been transferred via a deed, the deed holds legal authority over ownership.

If you need help with learning more about land patents or need help identifying if a land patent exists, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel’s marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.