Form 2540-1 Color-of-Title Application

Form 2540-1

FORM APPROVED
OMB NO. 1004-0029

UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

(February 2005)

Expires: October 31, 2006

Serial Number

COLOR-OF-TITLE APPLICATION
Act of December 22, 1928, as amended July 28, 1953, 43 U.S.C. 1068
1.

Name of applicant (first, middle initial, and last)

3.

Phone (include area code)

4.

INSTRUCTIONS ON PAGE 2

2. Address (include zip code)

Legal description of lands claimed
TOWNSHIP

RANGE

Meridian

SUBDIVISION

SECTION

County

State

Class 2

Class 1

Acres (number)

5.

Type of application:

6.

Are you the record titleholder?

7.

By what written instrument do you assert ownership (deed, will, court order, etc.) ? Attach copy of instrument to application

8.
9.

On what date did you first learn that you did not have clear title?
From what source did you obtain this information?

Yes

10a. Have you had title to the lands searched?

No

Both
( i f " n o , " explain)

No (if yes, please complete the following information about the examiner)

Yes

10d. Address (include zip code)

10b. Name
10c. Phone (include area code)
10e. Date of examination
11a. Total purchase price paid by you for above-described property

$

11b. Estimated value of structural and cultural improvements on date of purchase
11c. Estimated value of existing structural and cultural improvements added since
purchased
11d. Amount received for forest products sold since purchased
12a. Is the land currently under cultivation?
13a. Specify which calendar years cultivated

14. List any improvements to property

(Continued on page 2)

Yes

$

No
13b. Acres cultivated (number)

15. If claim originated before January 1, 1901, are you also applying for the mineral estate?
(Complete only if claim originated before January 1,1901)
16.
a.
b.
c.

Yes

No

Not applicable

Enclose the following:
A filing fee of $10
Form 2540-2 showing all conveyances affecting title to lands
Form 2540-3 showing levy and payment of taxes for each year of claim (Required of Class 2 claimants only)

I CERTIFY That the statements made by me in this application are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and are made in good faith.

(Date)

(Signature of Applicant)

Title 18 U.S.C. Section 1001, makes it a crime for any person knowingly and willfully to make to any department or agency of the United States any false, fictitious,
or fraudulent statements or representations as to any matter within its jurisdiction.

INSTRUCTIONS
Do not submit abstracts of title with this application. Such evidence may be
requested later and, if so, will be returned to you.

Type or print plainly in ink.

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS
(Items not listed are self- explanatory)
Item

Item
4.

5.

Give complete legal description of the land
(a) Surveyed land must be described by legal subdivision, section,
township, range, and meridian;
(b) Unsurveyed land must be described by metes and bounds as accurately
as possible, giving length and direction of each of the boundaries in the
tract; description of each of the several corners; and position of land with
reference to established survey monuments, towns, roads, creeks, rivers,
mountain peaks, or other prominent topographic points, natural objects,
or other points of reference; final action will be suspended until plat of
survey is filed. Acreage applied for must not exceed 160 acres.
Claims for
Class 1 must be held under under claim or color-of-title for at least twenty
(20) years and must have either valuable improvements or cultivation.

(Continued on page 3)

Class 2 must have originated before January 1, 1901, and must show levy
and payment of taxes during entire period of claim (43 CFR 2540.0-5(b)).
6. Explain your interest only if you are not claiming land as record title owner.
Attach additional sheet if needed.
1la. Do not include price paid for other lands that may have been included in
same purchase.
16a. Application will not be considered filed without payment of $10 filing fee
which is nonreturnable. Make check, money order, or bank draft payable
to the Bureau of Land Management.
b. Be sure that all conveyances and claims of title, both record and nonrecord
are itemized.
c. Class 2 claimants only: Be sure every year covered by claim is accounted
for.

(Form 2540-1, page 2)

NOTICES
The Privacy Act of 1974 and the regulation in 43 CFR 2.48(d) provide that you be furnished the following information in
connection with information required by this application.
AUTHORITY: 43 U.S.C. 1068
PRINCIPAL PURPOSE: The information is to be used to process this application and to document the administrative
action relating to the application.
ROUTINE USES: (1) The adjudication of the applicant's rights. (2) Documentation for public information
in support of notations made on land status records for the management, disposal, and use of public lands
and resources. (3) Transfer to appropriate Federal agencies when concurrence is required prior to granting a
right in public lands or resources. (4)(5) Information from the record and/or the record will be transferred to appropriate
Federal, State, local or foreign agencies, when relevant to civil, criminal or regulatory investigations or prosecutions.
EFFECT OF NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION: Disclosure of the information is voluntary. If all the information is
not provided, your application may be rejected.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires us to inform you that:
BLM collects this information to process your request for Federal lands under the provisions of the Color-of-Title
Regulations, found in 43 CFR Section 2540.
Information will be used to illustrate whether the applicant meets the
requirements of the Act under which the application is filed, see 43 CFR Part 2540, Subparts 2541-2547.
Response to this request is mandatory, see 43 CFR Subpart 2541.2.
BLM would like you to know that you do not have to respond to this or any other Federal agency-sponsored information
collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
BURDEN HOURS STATEMENT: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 30 minutes per
response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing
the form. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this form to U. S. Department of the
Interior, Bureau of Land Management (1004-0029), Bureau Information Collection Clearance Officer (WO-630), 1849
C Street, N.W., Mail Stop 401 LS, Washington, D.C. 20240

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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(Form 2540-1, page 3)