the United States (Act of June 17, 1948, 62 Stat. 476; 43 U.S.C. 15). The patents shall be recorded in the Bureau of Land Management in books kept for that purpose.

(b) Where a conveyance of land is made to the United States in connection with an application for amendment of a patented entry or entries, for an exchange of lands or for any other purpose except exchange transactions involving lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, and the application in connection with which the conveyance was made is thereafter withdrawn or rejected, the Director, Bureau of Land Management is authorized and directed by section 6 of the Act of April 28, 1930 (46 Stat. 257; 43 U.S.C. 872), if the deed of conveyance has been recorded, to execute a quit-claim deed of the conveyed land to the party or parties entitled thereto.

(a) Patents for lands entered or located under general laws can be issued only in the name of the party making the entry or location, or, in case of his death before making proof, to the statutory successor making the proof, provided by law.

(b) The recitals and description of land in patents will in all cases follow the manager's certificate of entry or location, as prescribed by law.

(c) The Bureau of Land Management will cause a new patent to be issued whenever it appears that a patent was regularly issued and the patent record on file in the Bureau of Land Management is imperfect in that it does not contain the name, or the initials, of the signing and the countersigning officers.

§ 1862.2 Delivery.

(a) Issued on or after August 1, 1950. When a patent issued on or after August 1, 1950, is ready for delivery it will be transmitted to the patentee or his or her recognized agent or successor in interest.

§ 1862.3 Issuance of supplemental noncoal patents.

(a) The Act of Congress approved April 14, 1914 (38 Stat. 335; 30 U.S.C.

82), authorized and directed the Secretary of the Interior:

In cases where patents for public lands have been issued to entrymen under the provisions of the acts of Congress approved March third, nineteen hundred and nine, and June twenty-second, nineteen hundred and ten, reserving to the United States all coal deposits therein, and lands so patented are subsequently classified as noncoal in character, to issue new or supplemental patents without such reservation.

(b) The Act is construed to affect all filings, locations, selections, or entries upon which patent or its equivalent had issued, or might thereafter issue, containing a reservation of the coal in the land to the United States under the Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 844; 30 U.S.C. 81), or the Act of June 22, 1910 (36 Stat. 583; 30 U.S.C. 83-85), such land having subsequently been finally classified as non-coal character.

§ 1862.4 Patent to be withheld pending report from Forest Service.

In no claim, mineral or non-mineral, shall patent issue for land within a national forest until the Bureau of Land Management is notified by, or ascertains from, the Forest Service, that the claim will not be contested. A claim may be contested by the Forest Service at any time prior to the issuance of patent.

§ 1862.5 Suits to vacate and annul patents.

(a) Suits to vacate and annul patents shall only be brought within 6 years after the date of the issue of such patents (26 Stat. 1093; 43 U.S.C. 1166).

In cases of fraud, the statute has been construed not to commence to run "until discovery of the fraud." Exploration Co., Limited, et al. v. United States (247 U.S. 435, 62 L. ed. 1200).

§ 1862.6 Patent to issue after 2 years from date of manager's final receipt.

(a) The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Thomas J. Stockley et al., appellants, v. the United States, decided January 2, 1923 (260 U.S. 532, 67 L. ed. 390) holds that after the lapse of 2 years from the date of the issuance of the "receiver's

receipt"1 upon the final entry of any tract of land under the homestead, or desert-land laws, such entry, entitled to patent under the proviso to section 7 of the Act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1098; 43 U.S.C. 1165), regardless of whether or not the manager's final certificate has issued.

(b) The Supreme Court of the United States in Payne v. U.S. ex rel. Newton (255 U.S. 438, 65 L. ed. 720), decided that Newton was entitled to a patent on his homestead entry under the proviso to section 7 of the Act of March 3, 1891, 2 years having elapsed from the date of the issuance of the receiver's final receipt upon final entry, and there being no contest or protest pending against the validity of the entry, but stated that the purpose of the statute was:

To require that the right to a patent which for 2 years has been evidenced by a receiver's receipt, and at the end of that period stands unchallenged, shall be recognized and given effect by the issue of the patent without further waiting or delay, and thus to transfer from the land officers to the regular judicial tribunals the authority to deal with any subsequent controversy over the validity of the entry, as would be the case if the patent were issued in the absence of the statute.

CROSS REFERENCES: For mineral reservations, see Subpart 2093 of this chapter; for rights-of-way for roadways, see Part 2800 of this chapter.

Subpart 1863-Other Title
Conveyances

§ 1863.5 Title transfer to the Government.

(R.S. 2478; 43 U.S.C. 1201)
[35 FR 9533, June 13, 1970]

§ 1863.5-1 Evidence of title.

Evidence of title, when required by the regulations, must be submitted in such form and by such abstracter or company as may be satisfactory to the Bureau of Land Management. A policy of title insurance, or a certificate of title, may be accepted in lieu of an abstract, in proper cases, when issued by a title company. A policy of title insurance when furnished must be free

'The receipts formerly issued by the receivers are now issued by the managers.

(3) Accreted, relicted, or avulsed lands are not lands of the United States.

(b) A disclaimer has the same effect as a quitclaim deed in that it operates to estop the United States from asserting a claim to an interest in or the ownership of lands that are being disclaimed. However, a disclaimer does not grant, convey, transfer, remise, quitclaim, release or renounce any title or interest in lands, nor does it operate to release or discharge any tax, judgement or other lien, or any other mortgage, deed or trust or other security interest in lands that are held by or for the benefit of the United States or any instrumentality of the United States.

(c) The regulations in this subpart do not apply to any disclaimer, release, quitclaim or other similar instrument or declaration, that may be issued pursuant to any provision of law other than section 315 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1745).

As used in this subpart, the term: (a) "Authorized officer" means any employee of the Bureau of Land Management who has been delegated the authority to perform the duties described in this subpart.

(b) "Accreted lands" have the meaning imparted to them by applicable law. In general, they are lands that have been gradually and imperceptibly formed along the banks of a body of water by deposition of water-borne soil.

(c) "Avulsed lands" have the meaning imparted to them by applicable law. In general, they are lands that have been uncovered by a relatively sudden change in alignment of the channel of a river, or by a comparable change in some other body of water,

or that remain as uplands following such a change, or that are located in the bed of the new channel.

(d) "Actual shoreline" means the line which is washed by the water wherever it covers the bed of a body of water at its mean high water level.

(e) "Lands" means lands and interests in lands now or formerly forming a part of the reserved or unreserved public lands of the contiguous 48 States and Alaska and as to any coastal State, includes submerged lands inside of the seaward boundary of the State.

(f) “Meander line" means a survey line established for the purpose of representing the location of the actual shoreline of a permanent natural body of water, without showing all the details of its windings and irregularities. A meander line rarely runs straight for any substantial distance. It is established not as a boundary line but in order to permit calculation of the quantity of lands in the fractional sections remaining after segregation of the water area.

(g) "Relicted lands" have the meaning imparted that term by applicable law. In general, they are lands gradually uncovered when water recedes permanently.

§ 1864.1 Application for issuance of a document of disclaimer.

§ '864.1-1 Filing of application.

(a) Any present owner of record may file an application to have a disclaimer of interest issued if there is reason to believe that a cloud exists on the title to the lands as a result of a claim or potential claim by the United States and that such lands are not subject to any valid claim of the United States.

(b) Prior to the acceptance for filing of an application under this subpart, the authorized officer should discuss the proposal with the proposed applicant to determine if the regulations in this subpart apply.

(c) An application shall be filed in writing with the proper Bureau of Land Management office as listed in § 1821.2-1(d) of this title.

§ 1864.1-2 Form of application.

(a) No specific form of application is required.

(b) A nonrefundable fee of $100 shall accompany the application.

(c) Each application shall include: (1) A legal description of the lands for which a disclaimer is sought. The legal description shall be based on either an official United States public land survey or, in the absence of or inappropriateness (irregularly shaped tracts) of an offical public land survey, a metes and bounds survey (whenever practicable, tied to the nearest corner of an official public land survey), duly certified in accordance with State law, by the licensed civil engineer or surveyor who executed or supervised the execution of the metes and bounds survey. A true copy of the field notes and plat of survey shall be attached to and made a part of the application. If reliance is placed in whole or in part on an official United States public land survey, such survey shall be adequately identified for record retrieval purposes;

(2) The applicant's name, mailing address, and telephone number and the names addresses and telephone numbers of others known or believed to have or claim an interest in the lands;

(3) All documents which show to the satisfaction of the authorized officer the applicant's title to the lands;

(4) As complete a statement as possible concerning:

(i) The nature and extent of the cloud on the title, and

(ii) The reasons the applicant believes:

(A) The record title interest of the United States in the lands included in the application has terminated by operation of law or is otherwise invalid, including a copy or legal citation of relevant provisions of law; or

(B) The lands between the meander line shown on the plat of survey approved by the Bureau of Land Management or its predecessors and the actual shoreline of a body of water are not lands of the United States, including as documentation an official plat of survey or a reference to a date of filing or approval and, if the applicant

elects, any non-Federal survey plats related to the issue; or

(C) The lands are accreted, relicted or avulsed and are no longer lands of the United States, including submission for the uplands portion of the body of water affected a copy of an official plat of survey or a reference to it by date of filing or approval and, if the applicant elects, any non-Federal survey plats related to the issue;

(5) Any available documents or title evidence, such as historical and current maps, photographs, and water movement data, that support the application;

(6) The name, mailing address, and telephone number of any known adverse claimant or occupant of the lands included in the application;

(7) Any request the applicant may have that the disclaimer be issued in a particular form suitable for use in the jurisdiction in which it will be recorded; and

(d) Based on prior discussions with the applicant, the authorized officer may waive any or all of the aforementioned items if in his/her opinion they are not needed to properly adjudicate that application.

§ 1864.1-3 Action on application.

(a) An application shall be denied by the authorized officer if:

(1) More than 12 years have elapsed since the owner knew or should have known of the alleged claim attributed to the United States;

(2) The application pertains to a security interest or water rights; or

(3) The application pertains to trust or restricted Indian lands;

(b) The authorized officer shall, if the application meets the requirements for further processing, determine the amount of deposit needed to cover the administrative costs of processing the application and issuing a disclaimer.

(c) The applicant shall submit a deposit in an amount determined by authorized officer.

(d) If the application is concerned with what may be omitted lands, it shall be processed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Part 9180 of this title. If the application is deter

mined by the authorized officer to involve omitted lands, the applicant shall be so notified in writing.

§ 1864.1-4 Consultation with other Federal agencies.

If the lands included in the application are under the administrative jurisdiction of a Federal agency other than the Department of the Interior or if the issuance of a disclaimer for the lands would, to the Bureau of Land Management's knowledge, directly affect another Federal agency, the authorized officer shall refer the application to that Federal agency for comment.

§ 1864.2 Decision on application.

(a) The authorized officer shall notify the applicant and any party adverse to the application, in writing, on the determination of the authorized officer on whether or not to issue a disclaimer. Prior to such notification, the authorized officer shall issue to the applicant a billing that includes a full and complete statement of the cost incurred in reaching such determination, including any sum due the United States or that may be unexpended from the deposit made by the applicant. If the administrative costs exceed the amount of the deposit required of the applicant under this subpart, the applicant shall be informed that a payment is required for the difference between the actual costs and the deposit. The notification shall also require that payment be made within 120 days from the date of mailing of the notice. If the deposit exceeds the administrative costs of issuing the disclaimer, the applicant shall be informed that a credit for or a refund of the excess will be made. Failure to pay the required amount within the allotted time shall constitute grounds for rejection of the application. Before the authorized officer makes a determination to issue a disclaimer, he/she shall publish notice of the application, including the grounds supporting it, in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Publication in the FEDERAL Register shall be made at least 90 days preceding the issuance of a decision on the disclaimer. Notice shall be published in a newspaper located in the vicinity of the lands cov

ered by the application once a week for 3 consecutive weeks during the 90day period set out herein. Neither publication shall be made until the applicant has paid the administrative costs.

§ 1864.3 Issuance of document of disclaimer.

Upon receipt of the payment required by §§ 1864.1-2(b), 1864.1-3(c) and 1864.2 of this title and following, by not less than 90 days, the publication required by § 1864.2 of this title, the authorized officer shall make a decision upon the application, and if the application is allowed, shall issued to the applicant an instrument of disclaimer.

§ 1864.4 Appeals.

An applicant or claimant adversely affected by a written decision of the authorized officer made pursuant to the provisions of this subpart shall have a right of appeal pursuant to 43 CFR Part 4.

Subpart 1865—Correction of Conveyancing Documents

SOURCE: 49 FR 35299, Sept. 6, 1984, unless otherwise noted.

§ 1865.0-1 Purpose.

The purpose of these regulations is to implement section 316 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1746), which affords to the Secretary of the Interior discretionary authority to correct errors in patents and other documents of conveyance pertaining to the disposal of the public lands of the United States under laws administered through the Bureau of Land Management or its predecessors.

§ 1865.0-2 Objective.

The objective of a correction document is to eliminate from the chain of title errors in patents or other documents of conveyance that have been issued by the United States under laws administered by the Bureau of Land Management or its predecessors and that pertain to the disposal of the public lands or of an interest therein.