Form 488 (Rtc) - Realty Transfer Certificate (Page 2 of 5) in pdf

WATER RIGHT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION

The Water Right Disclosure is required by Montana Law. Legislators decided it is important for both

the buyer and seller of property to know what the water right situation is — whether any water rights

exist, and whether they are being transferred with or withheld from the property.

A water right is a legally protected right to beneﬁ cially use water in priority that was obtained in

accordance with Montana law. Buyers should be careful to investigate whether water being used on

a piece of property amounts to a valid water right, or is merely an unauthorized and unprotectable

use of water. In Montana all irrigation water rights must have a valid DNRC water right number to

be of record. However, existing rights for livestock and individual domestic, as opposed to municipal

uses, based on an instream ﬂ ow or groundwater source before July 1, 1973, do not need a DNRC

water right number. If a water right does not have a DNRC number, and does not fall within the above

narrow exception, then there is no water right.

Once the water rights appurtenant to a piece of property have been identiﬁ ed, the investigation

of water right should not stop there. Although a water right may have a valid DNRC water right

number, it may still be subject to ﬁ nal adjudication in Montana’s general stream adjudication. The

Montana Water Court is currently adjudicating all Statements of Claim for pre-July 1, 1973, water

rights. How good a water right is depends on how it comes out of the adjudication, and how its

priority compares to other water rights on a source of supply. You may need to consult an attorney or

water rights consultant for an opinion as to the status of that water right. The Montana Water Court

can answer questions about the current status of Statements of Claim being adjudicated by calling

1-800-624-3270 (in state) or 406-586-4364.

If there are water rights which have been historically used on the property being transferred, but are

not going to be transferred in the sale of land, the deed must speciﬁ cally exempt (reserve) those

water rights from the land sale. Otherwise, if the deed is silent, the water rights automatically pass

with the land by operation of law.

The following descriptions may be of some help in determining which box to mark in Part 7, Water

Rights Disclosure. If further assistance is needed, you may want to seek legal advice.

CHECK ONLY ONE BOX (on Part 7, Water Rights Disclosure on page 3)

To correctly complete this water right disclosure the seller needs to know if there are water rights

in the seller’s or previous land owner’s name that are on record with the Department of Natural

Resources & Conservation (DNRC).

A. Property is served by a public water supply, i.e., city or water district provides water.

Check this box if the water you use on the land described in this document is provided by a city,

town, water users association, or other entity. The seller does not need to ﬁ le a Water Right

Ownership Update form.

B. Seller has no water rights on record with DNRC to transfer. Check this box if you do not have

any water rights on record with the Department of Natural Resources & Conservation. The seller

does not need to ﬁ le a Water Right Ownership Update form.

C. Seller is transferring ALL water rights on record with DNRC to the Buyer. If all of the water

rights you (seller) have on record with the DNRC will be transferring to the buyer, check this box.

The seller does not need to ﬁ le a Water Right Ownership Update form. All of the water rights

associated with the land described in part 3 will have the owner name automatically updated. The

fee for the ownership update must be submitted to the DNRC with the following information: the

buyer’s name and address, the seller’s name and address, the geocode, the water right numbers

being transferred, and the amount of the fee. The fee and the ﬁ ling fee log sheet can be found

at the following website, Submit the fee and ﬁ ling fee log

sheet to OWNERSHIP UPDATE, DNRC, PO BOX 201601, HELENA MT 59620-1601. DNRC will

send an acknowledgement of the ownership update to the new owner.

D. Seller is dividing or exempting (reserving) water rights. Seller must ﬁ le Water Right Update

form. If you (seller) have divided the property and water rights or have exempted (reserved) the

water rights (not transferred with the land sale), check this box and complete the Certiﬁ cation on

page 5. The seller must submit an Ownership Update–Exempt (Reserved) Water Right Form No.

642 and ﬁ ling fee identifying which water right has been kept by the seller. If a water right has

been divided, the seller must ﬁ le an Ownership Update-Divided Interest Form No. 641 and ﬁ ling

fee explaining how and with whom the water right was divided.

Contact the DNRC for information if water is used on the property other than described above.

Page 2

Form 488 (Rtc) - Realty Transfer Certificate Page 2

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