Updates
Rent and surface materials royalties increase
Effective April 1, 2025, public land disposition rent and surface materials royalties will increase as follows:
- Public land rents for industrial, commercial, recreational and miscellaneous dispositions are increasing 15%.
- Royalties for surface materials are increasing 10%.
New work camp rental rates
There will also be a new rental rate for work camps within 75 km of Fort McMurray effective April 1, 2025. This rental rate applies to work camps that are operated or occupied for 12 or more consecutive months where the capacity (beds) is 110 people or greater.
For large-scale industrial work camps that meet these criteria, the new rental rate will be $1,942.50 per acre per year, as well as a $250 per bed per year cost for accommodations operated on mineral surface leases.
Overview
Under the Public Lands Act, under section 9.1, the minister may set fees, rents and other amounts payable for the use of public lands.
Public lands fees
Alberta Forestry and Parks (the ministry) has standardized public lands application fees to provide consistency across all disposition types — industrial, commercial, recreational and agricultural. These application fees do not impact dispositions regulated by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).
Public lands fees table
| Application for a new disposition | |
|---|---|
| Licence of Occupation (DLO) | $900 |
| Recreational Miscellaneous Lease (REC) | $900 |
| Pipeline Agreement (DPL) | $900 |
| Pipeline Installation Lease (DPI) | $900 |
| Right of Way Easement (EZE) | $900 |
| Vegetation Control Easement (VCE) | $900 |
| Commercial/Industrial Miscellaneous Lease (DML) | $1,800 |
| Land Review Request (LRR) | $1,050 |
| Public Land Sale (PLS) | $1,050 |
| Public Land Exchange (PLE) | $1,050 |
| Surface Material Licence (SMC) | $445 |
| Surface Material Exploration (SME) | $525 |
| Surface Material Lease (SML) | $1,100 |
| Tourism and Commercial Recreation Lease (TCL) | $1,800 |
| Application for other activities | |
|---|---|
| Application for new Consultative Notation | $785 |
| Application for an amendment or consolidation for any disposition | $400 |
| Application for a renewal for any disposition | $400 |
| Application for an assignment of any disposition | $3,150 |
| Application for a permit issued pursuant to section 144 (1) (b) to the Public Lands Administration Regulation | $450 |
| The deposit on appraisals for the sale application of public land. The deposit is applied towards the sale price of the land if the transaction is approved. | $2,000 |
| Reinstatement or replacement of any disposition | $400 |
| Register a conditional surrender of lease for a DML, GRL, FDL, or SML | $400 |
| Application for a reclamation certificate | $400 |
| Disposition mapping fee* – New application plan | $125 |
| Disposition mapping fee* – Amendment plan | $50 |
Additional notes:
| |
Surface material royalties
Effective April 1, 2025, surface material royalties are increasing by 10%. Surface material royalties are not indexed to inflation automatically and have not been increased previously since 2015. Royalty increases reflect the current value of this resource, which has increased significantly along with Alberta’s population and administrative costs of the program.
Surface material royalty rates table
| Royalty rate (per cubic yard) | |
|---|---|
| Gravel | $1.32 |
| Combination of Sand and Gravel | $1.32 |
| Manufacturing Clay | $1.10 |
| Sand | $0.77 |
| Silica Sand | $0.77 |
| Topsoil | $0.44 |
| Non-Manufacturing Clay | $0.22 |
| Silt | $0.22 |
| Marl | $0.11 |
| Peat | $0.11 |
Invoicing
The ministry administers the collection of public land rents, fees and some other charges associated with regulatory decisions issued by both the ministry and the AER.
If you have a concern about your invoice, contact the ministry and ensure you have the following information:
- Disposition number (for example, DLO123456, DML123456)
- Disposition holder name
- Date of invoice in question
- Amount of invoice in question
Contact
Connect with Public Lands Disposition Management for charges and invoicing inquiries:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 310-LAND (5263) or 1-833-310-5689
Email: [email protected]
Email for AER charges: [email protected]