A proceeding to obtain a patent is commenced by filing with the Commissioner an application for: A warrant to survey any vacant land; or A warrant to resurvey any land owned in fee simple by the applicant, which warrant may include any vacant land adjoining land owned in fee simple by the applicant.

The application shall be in writing and contain: The name and address of the applicant; The name and address of each person, other than the applicant, who would obtain a direct or indirect title interest in the land for which the patent is sought if the patent were issued to the applicant; Each county and election district in which any portion of the land for which the patent is sought is located; As to the land for which the patent is sought, a description of any vacant land, which description need not be referenced by metes and bounds, and a separate description of any land owned by the applicant, each of which descriptions: Shall include the estimated area covered by it; and Shall be made by specific reference to the names and addresses of the owners of each adjoining tract or parcel of land; If a warrant to resurvey is requested, an officially certified copy of the instrument by which the applicant acquired fee-simple title and, if the instrument does not contain a metes-and-bounds description of the land, an officially certified copy of the last instrument in the chain of title of the applicant which contains that description; As to the land described in the application, the name and address of: Each person or governmental body that, to the best of the knowledge, information, and belief of all persons signing the application, possesses any portion of the land under claim of title; Each person who, to the best of the knowledge, information, and belief of all persons signing the application, possesses any portion of the land under claim of ownership in a manner that, either directly or by tacking, is actual, open, notorious, exclusive, and continuous and uninterrupted for the 20 years immediately preceding the date of filing the application; and The State or any agency of the State that, to the best of the knowledge, information, and belief of all persons signing the application, uses any portion of the land for public purposes or claims that any portion of the land is required for public purposes; A statement that, except for those named under item (6) of this subsection, to the best of the knowledge, information, and belief of all persons signing the application: No person or governmental body possesses any portion of the land under claim of title; No person possesses any portion of the land under claim of ownership in a manner that, either directly or by tacking, is actual, open, notorious, exclusive, and continuous and uninterrupted for the 20 years immediately preceding the date of filing the application; and Neither the State nor any agency of the State uses any portion of the land for public purposes or claims that any portion of the land is required for public purposes; The name and address of the surveyor to whom the warrant is to be directed, together with a description of any family, business, or financial relationship between the surveyor and all persons signing the application; Any name to be given the land to be surveyed; Any other information the Commissioner requires under a rule or regulation adopted under § 13-203 of this title; and A request for the issuance of a warrant to survey or a warrant to resurvey and the subsequent issuance of a patent for the land described in the application. The application shall be signed and verified by the applicant and by each person required to be named under subsection (a)(2) of this section.

At any stage of a proceeding under this title, if an applicant dies or assigns his rights in the application, warrant, certificate of survey, or land described in the application, the assignee, personal representative, heir, or legatee of the applicant may request that he be substituted for the applicant. On filing a request for substitution in the proper form, the person making the request shall be substituted as the applicant for all purposes in the proceeding. A request for substitution shall be in writing and contain: The name and address of the person requesting substitution; The name and address of each person, other than the person requesting substitution and those persons named in the original application, who would obtain a direct or indirect title interest in the land for which the patent is sought if the patent were issued to the person requesting substitution; A statement of the manner by which the person requesting substitution succeeded to the rights of the original applicant; The original or an officially certified copy of each document by which the succession of interest was effected; A description of all changes in and required corrections of any of the statements and facts contained in the original application; A statement that, except as described under item (5) of this subsection, the statements and facts contained in the original application are accurate and complete to the best of the knowledge, information, and belief of all persons signing the request; and Any other information the Commissioner requires under a rule or regulation adopted under § 13-203 of this title. The request for substitution shall be signed and verified by the person requesting substitution and by each person required to be named under subsection (b)(2) of this section.

Except as provided in §§ 13-302(b), 13-303(c), and 13-412(d) of this title, any papers filed in a proceeding by an applicant may be filed by an attorney for the applicant. Notice to an applicant may be given to the attorney who appears on behalf of the applicant.

After receipt of an application in the proper form and payment of all costs required by law, the Commissioner shall enter the application on the patent docket. Each application shall be docketed in the order received by the Commissioner. After an application is docketed, a warrant to survey or warrant to resurvey any of the land described in the application may not be issued on a subsequent application, unless: The first application is withdrawn; or The proceeding on the first application is terminated or abandoned as provided in this title.

After the application is docketed, the Commissioner promptly shall issue his warrant and mail it to the surveyor named in the application. On return through the post office of the return receipt, the Commissioner shall notify the applicant of the date the surveyor received the warrant. In lieu of a survey conducted under a warrant issued by the Commissioner, the applicant may submit with an application a previously performed survey. The Commissioner may accept the previously performed survey upon finding that the surveyor was a qualified professional land surveyor or property line surveyor, that the survey was conducted in accordance with standards prescribed by the Commissioner, and that adjoining landowners of record were given written notice of the survey. In determining whether to accept a previously performed survey, the Commissioner may conduct a hearing. Acceptance of a previously performed survey does not preclude an objector from raising any objection that might otherwise have been raised had the survey been performed pursuant to a warrant issued by the Commissioner. With respect to an application for a certificate of reservation for public use of abandoned land, instead of a survey conducted under a warrant issued by the Commissioner, the applicant may submit a legal description of the land, provided that the legal description of the land is shown on a plat on file in the county land records.

The warrant shall recite: The name and address of the applicant; The date when the application was docketed; The nature of the request made in the application; and A description of the land to be surveyed, as described in the application. The warrant shall direct the surveyor to: Within 30 days of receipt of the warrant, acknowledge its receipt in writing to the Commissioner; Specify in the acknowledgement a date, time, and place for making the survey, which date may be no earlier than 10 days and no later than six months after the last publication of notice required by § 13-308 of this subtitle; Lay out and survey the land as specified in the acknowledgement; Prepare an accurate plat and metes-and-bounds description of the land to be surveyed; In a resurvey that discloses an error in any previous survey, correct the error; Compute the area of any land included within the description and plat; and Within six months from the date the notice of warrant was last published, return his certificate of survey on these matters, together with all duplicates required by § 13-310(a)(1) of this subtitle, to the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall sign the warrant and affix the seal for land patent proceedings to it.

On receipt of the surveyor’s acknowledgement of the warrant, the Commissioner shall mail a notice of the issuance of the warrant to: The applicant; Each adjoining landowner named in the application under § 13-302(a)(4) of this subtitle; Each person, governmental body, or agency named in the application under § 13-302(a)(6) of this subtitle as having a claim to any portion of the land described in the application; The Division of State Documents; and The Board of Public Works. The notice shall include: The information required by § 13-302(a)(4) of this subtitle; and The date, time, and place for making the survey, as specified by the surveyor under § 13-307(b)(2) of this subtitle. Immediately on receipt of the notice, the Administrator of the Division of State Documents shall publish the notice in the next available two consecutive issues of the Maryland Register. The Commissioner shall place in the file of the applicant copies of the notice published in the Maryland Register and the dates of publication. Immediately on receipt of the notice, the applicant shall: Have the notice published at least once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which any portion of the land described in the warrant is located; and Request the sheriff of each county in which any portion of the land described in the warrant is located to post the information contained in the notice conspicuously on the land. The sheriff of each county promptly shall comply with a request made under this subsection. The applicant promptly shall file with the Commissioner a certificate of publication and a certificate of the sheriff evidencing the date of posting.

If the surveyor to whom a warrant is directed is unable or unwilling to perform the duties set out in the warrant, the applicant may request the Commissioner in writing for issuance of a substitute warrant to another surveyor chosen by the applicant. The request shall set forth in detail the reasons for requesting the substitute warrant. On receipt of the request, the Commissioner may issue a substitute warrant to the successor surveyor. If notice of the original warrant was published under § 13-308 of this subtitle, further publication is not required. The issuance of a substitute warrant does not extend the time for filing the certificate of survey. However, a request for extension may be filed under subsection (b) of this section. If the surveyor to whom an original or substitute warrant is directed is able and willing to perform the duties set out in the warrant but is unable to return his certificate in the time otherwise required by this subtitle, the applicant or the surveyor may request the Commissioner in writing for an extension of that time. The request shall set forth in detail the reasons for requesting the extension. On receipt of the request, the Commissioner: May extend the time for the return of the certificate; and Shall advise the applicant, the surveyor, and each objector in writing of his decision and the period of any extension granted.

After the surveyor has completed the survey, the surveyor shall: Prepare a certificate of survey and one additional duplicate certificate for each county in which any vacant land embraced within the survey is located; and Return the certificate and all of these duplicates to the Commissioner in the time required by this subtitle. The certificate of survey shall contain, as to all the land embraced within the survey: A plat that meets the requirements of § 3–108(c) of this article and any rules or regulations adopted under this title; A description of any vacant land and a separate description of any land owned by the applicant, each of which descriptions: Shall include the area covered by it; and Shall be referenced to adjoining tracts in the manner generally accepted in the profession of land surveying; A statement of the character and condition of any improvements on the land, or a statement that no improvements exist; and A certification by the surveyor that the surveyor: Actually has run and measured on the land the distance of each boundary; and Has complied with all the requirements of this subsection. The certificate and all duplicates shall be signed and verified by the surveyor. If the surveyor fails to return the certificate and all duplicates in the time required by this subtitle, the Commissioner shall dismiss the application and enter an order of termination in the proceeding.

The Commissioner shall examine the certificate of survey, each duplicate certificate, and the plat returned by the surveyor. If any certificate, duplicate, or plat is found to be incorrect or incomplete, the Commissioner promptly shall return it to the surveyor for immediate completion or appropriate amendment. If the certificate, duplicates, and plat appear to comply with the requirements of § 13-310 of this subtitle, the Commissioner shall: File the certificate and plat in the proceeding; and Promptly mail a notice of the return of the certificate of survey to: Each party to the proceeding; and Each other person, including any potential objector, who has requested the Commissioner in writing for this notice.

All expenses of the surveyor shall be paid directly to the surveyor by the applicant and are not part of the costs or expenses of the proceeding before the Commissioner.

When a certificate of survey embracing any vacant land is filed, the Commissioner shall forward one of the duplicate certificates returned by the surveyor to the supervisor of assessments for each county in which the land is located. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, within 30 days of receipt of the duplicate certificate, the supervisor shall have two assessors: Independently of each other, inspect and assess the actual fair market value of the vacant land and any improvements on it; Endorse the duplicate certificate with their joint determination of the assessed value of the vacant land and improvements; Prepare a statement of the reasons for the valuation; Sign and verify the endorsed duplicate certificate and the statement; and Return the endorsed duplicate certificate and the statement to the Commissioner. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the purchase price for the vacant land shall be the assessed value of the land in the county or, if located in more than one county, the sum of the assessed values of the land in each county, as determined by the assessors under subsection (b) of this section, less all expenses of the surveyor, reasonable attorney’s fees, and costs charged by the Commissioner. In a hearing before the Commissioner or in any proceeding for declaratory relief under this title, the applicant may present evidence that the assessed value of the vacant land is less than that established under paragraph (1) of this subsection. In this case, the final judgment of the Commissioner or the circuit court, as the case may be, shall set the purchase price for the vacant land at any amount, not exceeding that established under paragraph (1) of this subsection, which the Commissioner or the court, based on the endorsed duplicate certificate and statement of the assessors and any other satisfactory evidence presented in the matter, determines to be the proper assessed value of the land. The determination of the Commissioner or the court is subject to appeal only as provided in § 13-410(b) of this title. In the case of an application by a governmental body for a certificate of reservation, the supervisor of assessments is not required to assess the value of the land.