In this title the following words have the meanings indicated unless otherwise apparent from context. “Abandoned land” means land that has boundaries that are located within or contiguous to land owned and managed by the Department of Natural Resources: For which no property tax payment has been made within 20 years immediately preceding the date of an application for a certificate of reservation for public use by a unit of State government; and Which has not been actually possessed by a person, under claim of title or otherwise, for a continuous period of 20 years immediately preceding the date of an application for a certificate of reservation for public use by a unit of State government. “Certificate of reservation” means a certificate issued by the Commissioner at the request of a governmental body upon a determination that vacant land or abandoned land exists and the governmental body wishes to reserve the land for public use. “Commission” means the Hall of Records Commission. “Commissioner” means the State Archivist who, while performing the duties and exercising the powers provided in this title, is known as the “Commissioner of Land Patents”. “Expense” includes any charge, cost, deposit, fee, or tax incurred in connection with a land patent proceeding. “Governmental body” includes any unit of State government, any county or municipal corporation, or any agency or instrumentality of any county or municipal corporation. “Land” means any area of land in the State, including any two or more areas of land with a common boundary for at least part of their perimeters. “Land” includes vacant land and abandoned land. “Land” does not include any area covered by navigable water unless it was included in a patent issued before March 3, 1862. “Mail” means to deposit in the United States mails, postage prepaid, endorsed “Restricted Delivery –– Return Receipt Requested”. “Patent” means: Any grant confirmed by Article 5 of the Declaration of Rights of the Maryland Constitution; Any valid grant made under prior law by the State of its interests in any vacant, resurveyed, escheat, or confiscated land; or Any grant made under this title by the State of its interest in any land. “Public use” means use by or for the benefit of the public. “Survey”, whether used as a noun or as a verb in any form or tense, means: The act of surveying any vacant land in order to obtain a patent for the land; or The act of resurveying any land for which a patent previously was issued in order to obtain a new patent for the land. “Surveyor” means any professional land surveyor or property line surveyor licensed under the Maryland Professional Land Surveyors Act. “Vacant land” means land for which a patent never has been issued or for which the applicant believes that a patent never has been issued. “Verify” means to state in writing, under penalties of perjury, that the matters and facts set forth in the document to which the statement relates are true and complete to the best of the knowledge, information, and belief of the person making the statement.

The purposes of land patent proceedings are to: Avoid uncertainties caused by the existence of vacant land, by promptly ruling on the claim of a patent applicant; Give governmental bodies priority in reserving vacant land for public use; and In the absence of public need, benefit the community by expanding the tax base as previously untaxed, vacant land is recognized and made to contribute its rightful share towards financing government. It is the intention of the General Assembly, therefore, that the State’s land patent proceedings provide a simple, convenient, and prompt method for reserving vacant land for the public use of governmental bodies, for promoting private ownership of vacant land and, in certain instances, for clarifying the ownership of land previously patented.

All proceedings for the issuance of a patent shall be conducted in accordance with this title.

In the manner and to the extent provided in this title, any person may: Obtain a patent for vacant land; and Obtain a patent for land that was previously patented and is owned in fee simple by the person, notwithstanding the existence of any mortgage, deed of trust, easement, right-of-way, or similar interest.

Any willful and false verification, oath, or affirmation made in any hearing before the Commissioner or in any application, certification, or other document filed in a patent proceeding is subject to the penalties of perjury.

A governmental body may reserve vacant land or abandoned land by obtaining from the Commissioner a certificate of reservation for public use. Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this title applicable to the granting of land patents are applicable to the granting of certificates of reservation. In order to reserve vacant land or abandoned land for public use, a unit of State government must notify and obtain the approval of the Board of Public Works. If the Board approves the request, the unit shall immediately apply for a certificate of reservation. The application of a governmental body for a certificate of reservation takes precedence over an application of a person for a patent to all or part of the same land. The application of a unit of State government takes precedence over the application of any other governmental body. As a condition of granting a certificate of reservation, the Commissioner may order a governmental body to pay the reasonable expenses of a person whose application for a patent has been superseded. If no objection to an application for a reservation of land is filed and the Commissioner determines that a vacancy exists, the Commissioner may decide the matter without holding a hearing. A certificate of reservation remains in effect: Until the Board of Public Works or, in the case of a governmental body other than a unit of State government, the appropriate local authority determines that the land is no longer needed for public use by the governmental body and notifies the Commissioner of this determination; or With respect to abandoned land, until a unit of State government or a court of competent jurisdiction determines that a person who has claimed legal title to the land has established legal title to the land. Upon application by another governmental body, the Commissioner may transfer the certificate to that body with the approval of the Board of Public Works or the appropriate local authority, as the case may be. In the absence of such a transfer, the Commissioner may issue a patent for the land in accordance with the applicable procedures of this title.

In this section, “claimant” means a person who claims legal title to abandoned land for which a certificate of reservation for public use has been issued. If abandoned land was patented prior to the issuance of a certificate of reservation for public use by a unit of State government, a claimant may file a written claim for legal title to the land with the unit of State government that reserved the land for public use. If the unit of State government that reserved the land for public use determines that the claimant has legal title to the land, the unit of State government shall: Pay the claimant fair market value for the land, as determined by the lower of two independent appraisals of the land; or Notify the Commissioner that the land is no longer needed for public use. Any action taken by a unit of State government under subsection (c) of this section is subject to approval by the Board of Public Works. If a unit of State government that reserved land for public use determines that a claimant does not have legal title to the land, the unit of State government shall issue a written denial of the claimant’s claim. A claimant who is aggrieved by the denial of a claim under this section may file an action in the circuit court of the jurisdiction in which the land is located to quiet title to the land. A claim under this section is barred unless the claimant files the claim within 20 years after the date that the unit of State government obtains a certificate of reservation for public use of the land.