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Public lands fee updates

Changes to grazing disposition rental rates.

Updates

Grazing dispositions

Effective January 5, 2026, the annual rental rates for grazing leases (GRL), grazing licences (FGL), and grazing permits (GRP) were updated.

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).

Table 1. Public lands fees for new dispositions.

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

Table 2. Rates for application for other activities.

Application for other activities
Application for a Crown Land Reservation (CLR)$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:

  • *Disposition mapping fees are applied to AER applications.
  • Except for the disposition mapping fees, all of the fees do not apply to transactions initiated by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, a municipality or an organization as defined by the Rural Utilities Act in Alberta.
  • All fees are non-refundable.
  • Security deposit is required for all dispositions; some exceptions may apply.

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.

Table 3. Surface material royalty rates.

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
Email: [email protected]