The 2024 legislative session brought changes to the laws governing the management of tax-forfeited properties in Minnesota, including both the surface and mineral estates. Technical and legal staff from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are collaborating with the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC), Hennepin County, Saint Louis County and the Department of Revenue to establish a clear process outlining the DNR's responsibility in managing properties that are retained from sale, mineral payments, and claims for mineral valuation and additional payments.
On August 9, 2024, a letter was sent to all 87 counties and AMC explaining the changes to the laws governing the management of tax-forfeited properties in Minnesota, per the Minnesota Session Laws – 2024, Regular Session.
On May 14, 2025, a letter was sent to all 87 counties and AMC explaining the mineral claims process on tax forfeited parcels, per the Minnesota Session Laws – 2024, Regular Session.
We're updating this website regularly to address questions about severed minerals, special circumstances, and the new tax forfeiture legislation. Here’s what you need to know:
State statute requires county notification of the DNR for a few parcel types prior to a possible forfeiture sale by the county. For tax-forfeited parcels that went into foreclosure on or after Jan. 1, 2024, please only send for review parcels that meet the following criteria:
- State Park – parcels within the boundary of a state park are withdrawn from sale per Minn. Stat., sec. 85.012, subd. 1.
- State Recreational Area – parcels within the boundary of a state recreation area as defined by session laws are withdrawn from sale per Minn. Stat., sec. 85.013, subd. 1.
- Mineral Lease or Mining Unit – Lands or stockpiled materials subject to state mineral lease or designated as a mining unit by the DNR commissioner may be withheld from sale per Minn. Stat., sec. 282.01, subd. 8.
- Waterfront – Parcels bordering on or adjacent to meandered lakes and other public waters and watercourses. The DNR commissioner must approve sale of parcel with waterfront of 150 feet or less. Parcels with waterfront of more than 150 feet are withdrawn from sale; however, a county is permitted to sell such a property upon written authorization from the DNR commissioner per Minn. Stat., sec. 282.018, subd. 1.
An additional law change in 2024 addresses mineral rights on tax forfeited parcels. We advise you to consult with your county attorney to assure compliance with the new law M.S. 282.005. If a claim is made to the county alleging the value of iron-bearing stockpiles, minerals and mineral rights exceeds the minimum bid, the DNR must determine the value of those rights. The minimum bid is defined as the sum of delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest and costs. If the value of the minerals exceeds the minimum bid, the claimant is entitled to payment from the DNR equal to the excess amount.
Tax forfeit mineral claims letter to counties
More Information:
Tax forfeit general information contact: Lands and Minerals Division Regional Operations
Tax forfeit minerals claims contact: Minerals Assistant Director
Tax-forfeited land
Tax-forfeited land sale information is not available from the DNR. If you are interested in purchasing tax-forfeited land, please contact the county auditor or county land department in the county in which the land is located. (Find your county offices using the State of Minnesota county search.)
As public lands, tax-forfeited lands can provide multiple public benefits, including natural resources uses. However, some lands would best be managed for private benefits and should be returned to private ownership.
Former owners and lienholders of tax forfeited property may be able to collect money from a class action settlement. To learn more or make a claim, call 1-833-709-0093.
Tax-forfeited land review
The DNR is directed by state law to review, authorize and approve the sale of certain tax-forfeited lands (i.e. lands that have forfeited for non-payment of general real estate tax). The county where the parcel is located makes a determination of whether or not the parcel will require DNR review by referring to the summary of statutory review granted to DNR for the review of proposed land sales. Please note that the 2024 Minnesota Legislature made some changes to tax-forfeited land sale law. Those changes have been incorporated into the DNR’s tax-forfeited land reviews materials on the pages linked below. If you have specific questions about the 2024 legislative changes, please contact the Regional Manager or Coordinator in your region of the state.
Tax-forfeited mineral claims
The mineral estate is reserved upon forfeiture under the new tax forfeiture legislation, Minn. Stat. § 282.005. According to Minn. Stat. § 282.005, subd. 8 "upon forfeiture, any iron-bearing stockpiles, minerals and mineral interests shall be sold (reserved) to the state for $50. The county auditor must notify interested parties within 60 days of the sale of the surface estate by sending a notice and a claim form."
The claim form is not for the $50; it is for claims for the value of mineral interests in excess of the minimum bid.
The interested party, or claimant, has six months from the date of the first notice to return the claim form and any supporting documentation to the county. If claims are made within 6 months, the county would then send the claim form and supporting documentation submitted by the claimant to the DNR Lands and Minerals Division which would begin an investigation to determine if the minerals have value above the minimum bid. The minimum bid is defined in Minn. Stat. § 282.005, subd. 2 as "the sum of delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interests, and costs assigned to the parcel."
The $50 payments are for the mineral interests sold to the state after the buy-back period is complete and shall be made regardless of whether a minerals claim is received.
- DNR is not involved in the forfeiture process until a mineral valuation claim is made. So, the DNR presumes that:
- The counties will make the $50 payments to interested parties.
- Counties may want to wait until the right to repurchase expires before sending the $50 payment.
- If there is more than one interested party, the $50 may be divided by the county amongst the interested parties.
- DNR will reimburse counties once per year for all $50 payments made to interested parties.
- Counties should keep a record of $50 payments made and invoice DNR for these amounts.
- The DNR will launch a process for submitting invoices for reimbursement of the $50 payment. DNR proposes that invoices from the counties would be due by November 1, 2025, and reimbursements from DNR would be made by December 31, 2025. This process would then be repeated annually thereafter.
- What are mineral rights and severed minerals?
- Mineral rights are an ownership interest in minerals including iron, gas, coal, oil, copper, gold, or other valuable minerals.
Properties can have surface rights and mineral rights together or they can be severed. Severed mineral rights are an ownership interest in minerals that is separate from the ownership of the surface of the property.
- How do I know if I owned the minerals prior to forfeiture?
- If you have a title search verifying mineral ownership or a deed that verifies mineral ownership, please submit that documentation with any claim. If your property was forfeited for nonpayment of taxes in the past, then it is likely that the minerals were severed and reserved by the State at that time.
- How do I know if my forfeited property contains minerals of value?
- Examples of minerals of value in Minnesota may include iron, dimension stone granites and limestone, manganese, cobalt, gold, silver, copper, nickel, platinum and palladium. Peat, sand, gravel and other common construction aggregates are considered with the surface estate and are not part of the mineral estate. While properties with minerals of value are rare or very rare, it may be possible that your property has minerals of value if:
- Mining of minerals is happening nearby
- Exploration for minerals on your property including exploratory drilling, that resulted in the discovery of minerals of interest has taken place
- Someone has approached you with interest in purchasing your mineral rights with the intent to explore or mine minerals of value
- What factors determine if my forfeited property has mineral value?
- For minerals to have value, they must be able to be mined or extracted. Even if your forfeited property does contain minerals, if they cannot be extracted from the ground, then they will not be determined to have value. Some circumstances which could prevent minerals from being extracted include:
- Environmental regulations, prohibitions, or concerns
- Inability to obtain all permits and approvals which would be needed
- Location, including proximity to towns or lakes
- Size of the known mineral resource (e.g., the resource is not large enough to support the cost of developing a mine or the surrounding land cannot be controlled to operate a mine)
- Depth of the deposit making it too difficult or too expensive to extract
- Grade of the minerals being too low for the project to be economically feasible
- What information will the state use to assess the value of the minerals on my forfeited property?
- The state will use any information that is provided by the owner of the forfeited property along with any other available data to determine if minerals of value exist. Examples of data used for this assessment includes exploratory drilling data and laboratory certified sampling that would confirm the presence of minerals on the forfeited property. The existence of minerals of value and the probability that they can be mined in the foreseeable future will be the main determinants of the value of the minerals. Minerals that cannot be mined due to depth, location, economics or environmental concerns will be determined to not have value.
- Would I get the total value of the mineral estate now if there are valuable minerals on my forfeited property?
- Owners of minerals are usually paid an agreed upon fee per ton of ore extracted from the property. This is called a royalty rate. The royalty rate multiplied by the tons of minerals that are expected to be extracted from the forfeited property would determine the value of the minerals to the owner. This future value from when the minerals would be expected to be mined would then be adjusted to a Net Present Value. Net Present Value is a common way to account for the expected timing of mineral extraction. This adjustment to value is made because money now is more valuable than money in the future. The farther into the future the minerals are expected to be mined, the greater depreciation against the current value of the minerals. At a certain point in the future, the minerals would have no real current value.
- How long will it take to evaluate my minerals surplus claim?
- Short answer: it depends on the complexity and data available for the minerals claim. There is no mandated timeline per legislation, however, DNR will process claims as rapidly as possible based on numbers and complexity of claims.
- How will the DNR pay my claim?
- If there is a substantiated mineral surplus claim greater than the minimum bid (taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest and costs owed to the county), the DNR will appropriate funds as provided by the legislature and send a payment to the county for distribution to interested parties.
- Is there a timeline to make my claim?
- Counties will mail a notice and claim form to any "interested parties" as defined in the statute 60 days after the surface sale required by section 282.005 (“Tyler auction”). You must file your claim within six months of the date of mailing of the first notice of Tyler auction and claim form from the county.
- Will I get payment for any mineral value over the minimum bid?
- You will receive payment as funds are appropriated by the legislature for any mineral value in excess of the minimum bid.
Resources
For more information on the mineral claims process, contact: Minerals Assistant Director
For counties
At this time, we are requesting that Tax-Forfeited Land Sale and Mineral Claim review requests be submitted electronically.
Tax-Forfeited Land Sale review packets can be emailed to the Lands and Minerals Regional Manager or Coordinator in your area.
Tax Forfeit Mineral Claim review packets can be emailed to Minerals Assistant Director.
The DNR intends to work in partnership with counties to fairly and efficiently review tax-forfeited parcels. Here are resources to assist counties in this process:
- Does a parcel need DNR review?
- What is the DNR review process?
- How does a county submit to the DNR parcels requiring review?
- How do counties manage $50 mineral payments and claims for the mineral valuation process?
More information
For more information contact the Lands and Minerals Regional Manager or Coordinator