If you or your organization owns mineral rights—whether inherited, gifted, or acquired—there’s a chance you could be missing out on revenue that’s rightfully yours. Over time, oil and gas royalties can become “unclaimed” due to address changes, unclear title, estate issues, or simple clerical errors. In many cases, those funds are turned over to state agencies as unclaimed property.
The good news? You might be able to recover them.
How Royalties Go Missing
There are several reasons why royalty payments may never reach their intended owner:
• Ownership changes due to death, divorce, or gifting without updated records
• Outdated mailing addresses that cause checks to be returned
• Suspense status due to title defects or missing paperwork
• Discrepancies in how names are recorded (e.g., ABC Land Trust vs. A.B.C. Land Trust vs. ABC Trust, Inc.)
When companies are unable to pay you, they’re often required to turn the money over to the state after a certain period—typically 1 to 5 years.
Where to Search
Each state maintains an unclaimed property database, and many allow free public searches. A few recommended places to start:
• State Comptroller or Treasurer websites
Most states operate an online search portal (e.g., MissingMoney.com aggregates many of these databases).
• Oil & Gas Commission Records
Some states allow searches of royalty suspense accounts or provide contact info for operators who may be holding funds.
• Texas Unclaimed Property
If your minerals are in Texas, the Texas Comptroller's unclaimed property search is especially robust and widely used by mineral owners.
• North Dakota, Oklahoma, and New Mexico
These states are also common places for missing royalties due to active drilling and legacy mineral ownership.
Tips for a Thorough Search
• Try all known name variations (e.g., with and without “Inc.” or “Trust”)
• Search in states where you know you own — and in states where you think you might
• Don’t forget old or inherited properties — even if you haven't seen a check in years
If you find a match, the claim process usually involves submitting proof of identity and ownership—such as deeds, probate records, or tax documents.
Still Can’t Find Anything?
If you believe there should be revenue associated with your mineral interest but nothing shows up in unclaimed property databases, it may be due to:
• Funds being held in suspense by the operator (not yet turned over to the state)
• Title issues that need to be resolved before payment can occur
• A lack of production or active leasing
In these cases, hiring a mineral advisor or land professional to investigate further may help uncover what’s missing and how to recover it.
Bottom line: If you’ve ever owned, inherited, or donated mineral interests, it’s worth taking the time to search for unclaimed royalties. In some cases, landowners have recovered thousands—or even tens of thousands—of dollars they didn’t know existed.
Contact Peoples Company to learn more about how we can help you uncover and recover missing mineral revenue.
