Land Patents: Everything You Need to Know
Land patents can be confusing concepts, as most people today wouldn’t understand why someone would obtain a land patent.3 min readupdated on January 01, 2024
Land Patent Class, Ron Gibson
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.
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.
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.
America's Constitutional Law Group 