---
title: "Work out when a federal mining-claim maintenance fee falls due"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/work-out-when-tenement-rent-falls-due-and-what-follows-if-it-is-late/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A13-PU20261022-11-US"
practice_area: "Energy, Resources & Mining"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Work out when a federal mining-claim maintenance fee falls due

> From the claim list, set out each lode claim, placer claim, mill site, and tunnel site, the assessment year, and whether the papers show a fee or a waiver already filed for that year.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/work-out-when-tenement-rent-falls-due-and-what-follows-if-it-is-late/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Energy, Resources & Mining](https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the claim list, set out each lode claim, placer claim, mill site, and tunnel site, the assessment year, and whether the papers show a fee or a waiver already filed for that year. Do not decide that a claim is forfeited. |
| What the lawyer must review | An annual maintenance fee must be paid on or before 1 September to hold the claim or site for the upcoming assessment year (43 C.F.R. § 3834.11(b)). The table at 43 C.F.R. § 3830.21, as amended through 90 Fed. Reg. 42336 (2 September 2025), states $200 for a lode claim, mill site, or tunnel site, and $200 for each 20 acres of a placer claim or portion of it, paid on or before 1 September. A waiver is dealt with in part 3835. The Bureau page says that failing to pay the fee, or to file the waiver, on time in the proper State office subjects the claims or sites to forfeiture. The older sentence in 30 U.S.C. § 28f still states a fee of $100. Use the table, and confirm the figure the Bureau is collecting. You decide the consequence of a late year. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Work out when tenement rent falls due and what follows if it is late](https://ailawframework.com/practice/energy-resources-and-mining/work-out-when-tenement-rent-falls-due-and-what-follows-if-it-is-late.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the claim list, set out each lode claim, placer claim, mill site, and tunnel site, the assessment year, and whether the papers show a fee or a waiver already filed for that year. Do not decide that a claim is forfeited.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Paying the maintenance fee is in lieu of assessment work unless a small-miner waiver applies.
- The initial maintenance fee for the year of location is a separate row in the same table.

## Sources

- [43 C.F.R. § 3834.11, Which fees must I pay, and when?](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3834.11) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [43 C.F.R. § 3830.21, What are the different types of fees?](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/3830.21) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Bureau of Land Management, Annual maintenance and assessment](https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/mining-and-minerals/locatable-materials/annual-maintenance) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*