Severed Minerals

Mineral Right Reservations

According to Colorado Statute §39-1-104.5, a complete patent to present title search must be completed for the Assessor's Office to place the severed mineral interest on the tax roll. In order to place severed mineral interests on the tax roll, you must complete a Certificate of Proof of Mineral Right Ownership. Statute §39-1-104.5 references compliance with providing the necessary paperwork/certificate for proof of mineral right ownership:

§39-1-104.5 Severed Mineral Interest - Placement on Tax Roll

"Any owner of the surface estate from which a mineral interest has been severed, on behalf of himself and any other owners of such interest in the surface, may require the assessor of the county wherein such real estate is situate to place such severed mineral interest, without regard to value, on the tax roll of the county if the owner of the surface estate provides proof of ownership of the severed mineral interest and a record of the creation of the severed mineral interest as shown by the records of the county clerk and recorder. Proof of ownership and the record of creation of the severed mineral interest shall be provided in the form of a certificate prepared by an attorney, a title insurance company, or a title insurance agent authorized to do business in this state."

Requirements

  • A complete Chain of Title Form patent to present has been completed for this Mineral Right. You must include reception number and Book/Page for each link in the chain
  • The fully executed certificate must include a perjury statement and a notarized signature
    • Example: I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of Colorado that all statements contained in this Certificate and any accompanying documents is true and correct
  • Owner's name and address
  • Legal description
  • Severed mineral interest fraction or percentage
  • Net mineral acreage contained in the severed mineral interest

The Certificate must be prepared by an agent authorized to do business in the State of Colorado:

  • An attorney
  • A title insurance company
  • A title insurance agent

Notice

The Assessor's Office cannot recommend title companies, attorneys offices and/or firms to complete your Chain of Title Certificate.

Documents

Severed Mineral Search

Elbert County Assessor's Office allows several ways to research severed minerals. Please use the tools listed in this section to determine ownership and/or if the mineral interests have been severed:

  1. On our website Property Search Tool you may search for the legal description using the resources you have available. Then, search by Section, Township, Range to determine if there are severed minerals in that Section. The parcel numbers for severed mineral accounts for Elbert County begin with the number "4." You will then have to review each severed mineral account individually to match the legal description you are searching for. Minerals are a "tricky" search. Please use all resources available to search for severed minerals
  2. The Clerk and Recorder's Office for all recorded legal Deeds of Record
  3. The Assessor's public area has 4 archived "severed mineral" books for you to review in person. These books are valuable for historical searches, but please keep in mind that we have not continued to update these manually recorded transfers of mineral interests.

We are pleased to help you with any of the tools listed, however, the Assessor's Office "does not" warrant severed minerals. If you require a title policy that warrants and certifies Chain of Title, we suggest contacting a local title company.

Additional Resources

Visit the Colorado State Land Board website for more information.