Designation of Excess Land

FORM 7-21XS
2021 Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DESIGNATION OF EXCESS LAND
(For Landholders Subject to Certification and Reporting
Requirements of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982)

Bureau of Reclamation
Do not use this form after December 31, 2021

OMB Control No.: 1006-0005

Paperwork Reduction Act
This information is being collected to establish landholder compliance with Federal reclamation law. Response to this request is mandatory in
accordance with Public Law 97-293 and 43 CFR 426.18. Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 30 minutes per response,
including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. An agency may not conduct
or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimated or any other aspect of these forms to Manager, Reclamation
Law Administration Division, Code 84-55000, Bureau of Reclamation, PO Box 25007, Denver CO 80225.

GENERAL INFORMATION
“General Information About RRA Forms” (Form 7-21INFO)
provides basic instructions on using Reclamation Reform Act
of 1982 (RRA) forms. Ask your district office for this form
each year to keep current. Refer to the definitions at the end of
Form 7-21INFO whenever the meaning of a term is not clear
to you. Please note, some terms such as “irrigable land,”
“irrigation land,” and “irrigation water” have special
definitions when used in these forms which differ from their
common meaning. Other terms and corresponding definitions
that are specific to the RRA forms are:
•

“Land” or “acres” means irrigable or irrigation land.

•

“You” or “your” means all types of landholders -individuals, entities, religious or charitable organizations,
trusts, estates, etc.

•

•

A landholder (individual or entity) who exceeds your
ownership entitlement.

•

A landholder who has excess land even if that landholder
does not currently exceed his/her/its ownership
entitlement.

•

An entity who agrees to designate some land as excess
when a part owner is over their ownership entitlement.

•

A landholder who purchases land that was designated as
excess by the seller without our sales price approval.
Note: This applies even if you do not exceed your
ownership entitlement.

•

A landholder who involuntarily acquires excess land.

•

A landholder who involuntarily acquires nonexcess land
and then designates that land as excess. Such a landholder
must complete Form 7-21XS even if the landholder still
has ownership entitlement available.

•

Any party attributed with the land held (directly or
indirectly owned or leased) by the trust or estate who
exceeds his/her/its own entitlement. In this instance, the
trust or estate must designate excess land even though
trusts and estates do not have a set limitation on the
amount of land they can own.

“We,” “us,” “our,” or “Reclamation” means the Bureau
of Reclamation.

As used in the RRA forms, the term “actual acres” refers to all
irrigable and irrigation acres with no adjustment applied for
Class 1 equivalency. The term “Class 1 equivalent acres”
refers to the resulting number of acres when an adjustment is
made to actual acres for Class 1 equivalency.
Visit www.usbr.gov/rra for more information.

WHERE TO SUBMIT FORMS
WHO MUST SUBMIT THIS FORM
You must submit a “Designation of Excess Land”
(Form 7-21XS) if you are:

If you must complete a Form 7-21XS, then you must submit a
Form 7-21XS along with your standard form to each district
in which you own land subject to the acreage limitation
provisions. You must submit the original form to one district

designate 100 acres as excess land in order for the part
owner to have 50 excess acres attributed to him; or

and you may submit copies to the others if you hold land in
more than one district.
WHAT LAND TO INCLUDE

•

Whether you want to irrigate the land or not, all land you
own that exceeds your ownership entitlement must be
designated as excess. All land you hold will be determined to
be ineligible to receive Reclamation irrigation water if you
exceed your westwide ownership entitlement and you do not
submit Form 7-21XS to designate your excess acres. Your
land will remain ineligible until the appropriate excess
designation is made.

The second option does not apply to owned land if the land is
not alienable and separable nor to leased land under any
circumstances.

Once you file a designation, it remains in full force and effect
until you submit a written request for redesignation to your
district office and it is approved by us. You must submit a
request for redesignation whenever there is a change in land
designation as excess. Your request for redesignation must be
accompanied by a new standard form and a new Form 7-21XS,
and we must approve it in writing prior to being filed with the
district office. Merely submitting a Form 7-21XS with a
redesignation of excess land will not change your prior
designation.

If you are an indirect landholder, you may apply Class 1
equivalency to your designation of nonexcess land if the direct
landholder has already utilized Class 1 equivalency on
his/her/its Form 7-21XS. You should obtain a copy of the
direct landholder's form, and indicate the same acreage as
excess as the direct landholder. If after taking that action you
still exceed your ownership entitlement, then apply one of the
following:

•

You must provide an accurate legal description or an
assessor’s parcel number for each land parcel you list. Be sure
you break down land parcels as far as necessary to ensure
accurate identification. Group the parcels by district if you are
listing parcels located in more than one district.

•

WHEN THIS FORM IS REQUIRED
You must submit Form 7-21XS each and every year you
exceed your ownership entitlement or when you agree to
designate land as excess due to a part owner who exceeds
his/her/its ownership entitlement. You do not need to submit
Form 7-21XS for this water year if there is no change to your
most recently submitted Form 7-21XS and you are eligible to
submit a “Verification of Landholdings” (Form 7-21VERIFY).

If you hold land both directly and indirectly, then apply
the Class 1 equivalency to your directly held land.
If you hold no land directly (or you do not want to
designate such land as excess) and the direct landholder
does not exceed the applicable entitlement, then use the
applicable Class 1 factors to determine how much land to
request the direct landholder to designate as excess land.
Once the direct landholder has completed Form 7-21XS,
obtain a copy of that form and indicate the same acreage
as excess as the direct landholder.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Type or print in ink all answers. You must initial and date any
crossouts and corrections. You may attach continuation sheets
to list information. District name abbreviation(s) used on this
form must be spelled out on the form where the abbreviation is
used for the first time, or on a separate sheet attached to this
form. Please contact your district office or the appropriate
Reclamation office if you have any questions.

Your entity has two options if it owns land that is alienable and
separable, and a part owner of your entity requests the entity to
designate excess land because the part owner exceeds
his/her/its ownership entitlement:

•

Your entity can amend the deed to the owned land to
provide the part owner “title” to the specific amount of
land needed to be designated as excess land by the part
owner. With this option, only 50 acres would need to be
designated as excess land instead of the 100 acres in the
example provided in option 1.

ITEM BY ITEM INSTRUCTIONS

Your entity may designate enough land to attribute to the
part owner the number of acres equal to what the part
owner needs to designate as excess land. For example, a
part owner owns 50 percent of a legal entity and he needs
to designate 50 acres as excess land. The part owner asks
the legal entity to designate excess land. The entity must

Landholder Information
1.

2

Enter the landholder’s name.

FORM 7-21XS (2021)

2.

Enter the spouse’s name if the landholder is married.

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.

3.

(a) Enter the landholder’s, trustee’s, administrator’s or
executor’s street address or rural route number, city,
state, and ZIP code. An attorney’s address, “c/o”
address, etc., is not acceptable in place of a street
address. Post office box numbers may be used only if
no other address exists.

(b) Provide an accurate legal description or an assessor’s
parcel number. Be sure to break down land parcels as
far as necessary to ensure accurate identification.
Group parcels by district if you are listing parcels
located in more than one district.
(c) Number of actual acres in the land parcel.

(b) Enter the landholder’s mailing address if it is
different from the street address.
4.

For direct landholders with a Class 1 equivalency
factor: The following instructions explain how to
calculate the maximum number of acres you may
designate as nonexcess.

(a) Enter the telephone number where questions can be
directed.
(b) Enter the name of a contact person at that telephone
number.

5.

6.

If all of your land is of one class other than Class 1
and has a Class 1 equivalency factor of less than 1.0,
you can divide your ownership entitlement by that
equivalency factor to determine the number of acres
you may designate as nonexcess. If your equivalency
factor is more than 1.0, you will need to multiply your
ownership entitlement by that equivalency factor.

Check the box that best identifies the landholder’s
ownership entitlement. Fill in the number of acres on the
line provided if you check “Other.” Check the box
marked “Trust or Estate” instead of checking an
entitlement if you are completing this form for a trust
or estate.

Example: If you own 1,200 acres and if your
ownership entitlement is 960 acres and all your land
is Class 2 with a Class 1 equivalency factor of 0.8,
you will enter 1,200 nonexcess acres in column 7(c)
(960 ÷ 0.8 = 1,200).

(a) For entities only: Enter the name(s) of the part
owner(s) causing the entity to complete this form.
Your entity may not exceed its ownership entitlement,
but it may complete this form solely because one (or
more) of your entity’s part owners exceeds his/her/its
ownership entitlement and your entity has agreed to
designate all or part of its land as excess.

If you have multiple classes of land and need
assistance completing this item on your form, please
contact your district office or the appropriate
Reclamation office.

(b) For trusts or estates only: Identify the attributed
direct or indirect landowner(s) who exceed his/her/its
ownership entitlement, causing the trust or estate to
complete this form.

Complete this section if the landholder directly owns land
and either a portion or all of that land is to be designated
as nonexcess. Identify which parcels of the directly
owned land will count against the landholder’s ownership
entitlement.

(d) If appropriate, enter the Class 1 equivalency factor
for the district in which the land parcel is located.
You may use this column only if you are subject to
the discretionary provisions and only for land you
own in those districts listed in column 7(a) that have
Class 1 equivalency factors. Leave this column blank
if you are not subject to the discretionary provisions
or if none of the districts listed in column 7(a) have
Class 1 equivalency factors. Again, Class 1
equivalency can only be applied to acres in those
districts that have Class 1 equivalency factors.

If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual
acres” or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the
“GENERAL INFORMATION” section of these
instructions and the definitions provided in
Form 7-21INFO.

(e) If you completed column 7(d), enter the Class 1
equivalent acres by dividing item 7(c) by item 7(d) if
your Class 1 equivalency factor is more than 1.0, or
by multiplying item 7(c) by item 7(d) if your Class 1
equivalency factor is less than 1.0.

Directly Owned Nonexcess Land
7.

3

FORM 7-21XS (2021)

Example: If you have 1,400 actual Class 2
acres with a Class 1 equivalency factor of 0.8, you
will enter 960 acres in column 7(e) because
application of Class 1 equivalency to 1,200 of your
actual 1,400 Class 2 acres results in 960 acres (1,200
x 0.8 = 960). However, you must still designate the
remainder of your actual Class 2 acres (200 acres) as
excess in item 14. To do this, you must re-convert all
class 1 equivalent acres to actual acres. Please refer
to the example provided in item 11.

•

The total acres in column 7(e) cannot exceed your
ownership entitlement.

An indirect landholder who meets the following criteria
must also note in column 8(b) what action was taken
(e.g., I am not over my ownership entitlement because
when the available Class 1 equivalency factor is used by
the direct landholder[s] I no longer exceed my ownership
entitlement) if the indirect landholder:

If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual
acres” or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the
“GENERAL INFORMATION” section of these
instructions and the definitions provided in
Form 7-21INFO.

This column can be used only by landholders subject
to the discretionary provisions and only for those
districts listed in column 7(a) that have Class 1
equivalency factors. Leave this column blank if you
are not subject to the discretionary provisions or if
none of the districts listed in column 7(a) have Class
1 equivalency factors.

•
•
•

All land you directly own must be designated on this
form as either nonexcess or excess. You can verify
this by adding the total of column 7(c) and item 12.
This total should equal the total number of directly
owned acres on your standard form.

Only holds land through entities that are under their
entitlements; and
Finds that when Class 1 equivalency is available in
the district(s) and applied by the direct landholder, it
results in the indirect landholder also being under
entitlement.

(b) Name of the direct landowner (i.e., the entity that
owns land in which you own an interest, or the name
of the trust or estate in which the land is held).

Complete this section if you exceed your ownership
entitlement and you are a part owner, beneficiary, trustee,
or grantor who is attributed with land owned by an entity,
trust, or estate and a portion of such indirectly owned land
is designated as nonexcess by the direct owner of such
land. Only direct landowners can designate nonexcess
land.

(c) Number of actual or Class 1 equivalent acres
designated as nonexcess by the direct landowner
(entity, trust, or estate). You must obtain this number
from item 7(c) if no Class 1 equivalency factor is
used, or from 7(e) if Class 1 equivalency is used, on
the direct landowner’s Form 7-21XS. If the direct
landholder has not completed a Form 7-21XS,
include all land held by that direct landholder.

Determine which of the following situations applies
to you:
•

Exceeds his/her/its ownership entitlements;

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.

Indirectly Owned Nonexcess Land
8.

OR, if the direct landowner has not completed a
Form 7-21XS, then information about all land you
indirectly own through that landowner must be
included here.

If you have asked a direct landowner to complete a
Form 7-21XS and the landowner has done so, the
direct landowner has completed a Form 7-21XS for
other reasons, you must use the direct landowner’s
Form 7-21XS to complete this section. Any
applicable Class 1 equivalency calculations will be
performed on the direct landowner’s Form 7-21XS.

(d) What type of acres were included in item 8(c): actual
acres or Class 1 equivalent acres. You must indicate
“actual acres” if the acreage you are using was
obtained from item 7(c) of the direct landowner’s
Form 7-21XS. You must indicate “Class 1 equivalent
acres” if the acreage you are using was obtained from
item 7(e) of the direct landowner’s Form 7-21XS.
(e) The percentage of interest in the entity, trust, or estate
that is attributed to this landholder.

4

FORM 7-21XS (2021)

(d) If the land is receiving Reclamation irrigation water,
list the reason why (e.g., land under recordable
contract, involuntarily acquired, etc.).

(f) Multiply item 8(c) by item 8(e) in decimal form. This
is the number of indirectly owned nonexcess acres
attributable to this landholder by the entity, trust, or
estate.
9.

You must provide the following information
on an “Attachment Sheet for Form 7-21XS”
(Form 7-21XSINAQ) or on a separate sheet of
paper and attach it to your Form 7-21XS if you
involuntarily acquired eligible land and designated
that land as excess.

For calculation purposes only, please complete the
following steps and enter your total for each step in the
space provided to the right of the written instruction:
(a)

Total column 7(c) for those land
parcels where Class 1 equivalency is
not applicable, or. . . . . . . . . . . . 9(a) ______

(b)

Total column 7(e) for those land
parcels where Class 1 equivalency
is applicable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9(b) ______

(c)

Total column 8(f) . . . . . . . . . . . 9(c) ______

(d)

Add the totals you calculated above.
This is the number of acres westwide
that you designate as nonexcess.
Enter this total in item 9 on the form .. 9(d) ______

Note: If you involuntarily acquire nonexcess land
and designate it as excess, in general, the land will be
eligible to receive Reclamation irrigation water for
5 years from the date of acquisition, or in the case of
inheritance, from the date of the previous
landholder’s death.

Total acres in item 9 cannot exceed your ownership
entitlement.

(1)

Identify which nonexcess land parcel you
involuntarily acquired and designated as excess
in item 11(c) by providing the legal description
of the land parcel or an assessor’s parcel
number.

(2)

The name of the landholder from whom each
parcel was involuntarily acquired;

(3)

The date each parcel was involuntarily
acquired;

(4)

The status of the parcel when it was acquired
(e.g., nonexcess or excess; subject to a deed
covenant requiring our sales price approval for
10 years, etc.);

(5)

If the land was excess when it was involuntarily
acquired, why is the land eligible to receive
Reclamation irrigation water (e.g., placed under
recordable contract, nonexcess land
involuntarily acquired and designated excess by
the previous landholder, etc.);

(6)

The acreage limitation status of the landholder
from whom the land was involuntarily acquired
(i.e., subject to the discretionary provisions or
prior law); and

(7)

The water rate applicable for Reclamation
irrigation water delivered to the previous
landholder (i.e., contract rate, full operation and
maintenance rate, or full-cost rate).

Directly Owned Excess Land
10. Enter the landholder’s name again. (These forms are
often photocopied, so it is necessary to have the
landholder identified on each page.)
11. Complete this section if you directly own land and all or a
portion of that land is to be designated as excess. You
must identify which parcels of your directly owned land
you want to be considered in excess of your ownership
entitlement.
If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual
acres” or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the
“GENERAL INFORMATION” section of these
instructions and the definitions provided in
Form 7-21INFO.
(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
(b) Provide an accurate legal description of the land
parcel or an assessor’s parcel number.
(c) Indicate if the land is receiving water, and if so, what
type.

5

FORM 7-21XS (2021)

(c) Number of actual acres designated as excess by the
direct landowner (entity, trust, or estate). Since only
direct landowners can designate excess land, you
must obtain this number from the direct landowner’s
Form 7-21XS, item 12.

(e) Number of actual excess acres in the land parcel.
Note: Any Class 1 equivalent acres must be
reconverted to actual acres.
Using the example provided for item 7(e):

(d) The percentage of interest in the entity, trust, or estate
that is attributed to you.

Example: If you have 1,400 actual Class 2 acres
with a Class 1 equivalency factor of 0.8, you entered
960 acres in column 7(e) because 1,200 acres x 0.8 =
960. However, you must designate the remainder of
your land (200 acres) as excess because you applied
Class 1 equivalency to only a 1,200-acre portion of
your 1,400-acre landholding.

(e) Multiply item 13(c) by item 13(d) in decimal form.
This is the number of indirectly owned excess acres
attributable to you by the entity, trust, or estate.
14. Total column 13(e). This is the number of excess acres
you indirectly own westwide.

The actual acres included in items 7 and 11 must
equal the total directly owned land reported on your
standard RRA form. Land reported on your standard
RRA form is based on actual acres, not Class 1
equivalent acres. Therefore, if you use the Class 1
equivalent acres from item 7(e) to calculate the
number of acres that must be designated as excess,
you will arrive at a total number of acres that is less
than the total owned land reported on your standard
RRA form.

15. Total item 12 and item 14. This is the total excess
acreage you own directly and indirectly, westwide.
Signatures
16. Sign the form in ink. Both you and your spouse, if
married, must sign the form. This requirement applies
even if the land is not jointly held. All partners, joint
tenants, or co-tenants must sign the form if the landholder
is a partnership, joint tenancy, or tenancy-in-common.
However, you may use a written signature authorization to
permit one spouse to sign for the couple, or to permit one
natural person to sign for the entity and a copy must be
submitted to each district you submit RRA forms. All
trustees, executors, or administrators must sign this form
unless the trust or a power of attorney authorizes one
individual to sign for the trust or estate. The district office
must keep any signature authorization on file. It is the
direct landowner’s responsibility to notify potential buyers
of excess land of the actions needed to make the land
eligible to receive Reclamation irrigation water.

12. Total column 11(e). This is the number of actual excess
acres you directly own westwide.
Indirectly Owned Excess Land
13. Complete this section if you exceed your ownership
entitlement and you are a part owner, beneficiary, trustee,
or grantor who is attributed with land owned by an entity,
trust, or estate and all or a portion of your indirectly
owned land is designated as excess by the direct owner of
such land. Using information obtained from the direct
landowner’s Form 7-21XS, you must identify which
parcels of your indirectly owned land will be considered
in excess of your ownership entitlement.
If you are unsure of the meaning of the terms “actual
acres” or “Class 1 equivalent acres,” please see the
“GENERAL INFORMATION” section of these
instructions and the definitions provided in
Form 7-21INFO.
(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
(b) Name of the direct landowner (i.e., the entity that
owns land in which you own an interest, or the name
of the trust or estate in which the land is held).

6

FORM 7-21XS (2021)