Wyoming Easements, Landlocked Property and Eminent Domain (2026)

In Wyoming, a prescriptive easement takes at least ten years of continuous and uninterrupted adverse use, and the claimant must also prove adverse use, a claim of right and use that put the owner on notice (Powder River Ranch, Inc. v. Michelena, 2005 WY 1). On the eminent domain side, W.S. 1-26-801(c) defines public purpose, for that section only, to exclude a public entity taking private property to hand it to another private party, except to protect public health and safety, and it leaves the Wyoming Energy Authority's transfer power intact.

This page covers both halves of Wyoming law: easements between private landowners first, then the power to take private property. For other states, see our guide to easement laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Wyoming state law on private easements (express, implied, prescriptive and statutory private roads) and on the condemnation of private property under the Wyoming Constitution, the Wyoming Eminent Domain Act (W.S. 1-26-501 to 1-26-818) and the state relocation assistance act. It does not cover adverse possession of title (see our page on Wyoming squatters' rights and adverse possession), homeowners' association covenants, zoning, regulatory takings, federal condemnation, or county and city ordinances.

Easements in Wyoming: The Basics

An easement is a right to use someone else's land for a specific purpose, such as a road, a ditch or a power line. Wyoming statutes regulate how easements are conveyed and recorded, and they create several special statutory easements and private-road procedures covered below.

Written and recorded easements

An easement is an interest in land, and Wyoming law provides that a conveyance of land "or of any estate or interest therein" may be made by an instrument executed and acknowledged by the party from whom the interest passes (W.S. 34-1-106). Recording matters: an unrecorded conveyance is void as against a later good-faith purchaser for value of the same land whose own conveyance is recorded first (W.S. 34-1-120).

Wyoming also requires a recorded easement to say where it is. Under W.S. 34-1-141(a), easements across land executed and recorded after the effective date of that act "which do not specifically describe the location of the easement are null and void and of no force and effect." The exception in subsection (c) is narrow: an easement or agreement that does not specifically describe the location, or that grants a right to locate the easement later, is valid for one year from execution, and it has no further force or effect if the specific description is not recorded within that year. Options to obtain easements later are not treated as easements under those subsections and may run no more than seven years (W.S. 34-1-141(e)).

To look up the recorded documents on a parcel, see our page on Wyoming property records.

Implied easements from prior use

When one owner divides a parcel, an easement can arise by implication from the way the land was used before the split. The Wyoming Supreme Court, restating the test from its 2003 decision in the same dispute, listed the elements in Hansuld v. Lariat Diesel Corp., 2015 WY 12:

"The elements which must be satisfied in order to establish an implied easement are: (1) common ownership followed by a conveyance separating the unified ownership; (2) before severance, the common owner used part of the property for the benefit of the other part, a use that was apparent, obvious, and continuous; and (3) the claimed easement is necessary and beneficial to the enjoyment of the parcel previously benefitted."

Both the prior use and the necessity are judged as of the time the parcel was divided. Necessity "must be determined based on the circumstances existing at the time of severance, not the judicial proceedings," and an easement may still be implied when the land cannot be used without disproportionate effort and expense (Wheeldon v. Elk Feed Grounds House, LLC, 2021 WY 71). Only activities before severance count toward the prior-use element, a way that is "a mere convenience" is not enough, and in 2025 the court upheld the denial of an implied easement where no defined path was apparent at the time of severance (Tilden v. Jackson, 2025 WY 57).

Landlocked Property and Private Roads in Wyoming

Wyoming's Constitution expressly allows private property to be taken for "private ways of necessity." Article 1, section 32 provides:

"Private property shall not be taken for private use unless by consent of the owner, except for private ways of necessity, and for reservoirs, drains, flumes or ditches on or across the lands of others for agricultural, mining, milling, domestic or sanitary purposes, nor in any case without due compensation."

Wyoming statutes provide several separate procedures for access across another's land; three are covered here (a fourth, W.S. 1-26-818, governs energy collector systems), and they should not be confused with one another.

The private road action for landlocked owners (W.S. 24-9-101)

Under W.S. 24-9-101(a), "Any person whose land has no outlet to, nor connection with a public road, may commence an action in district court in any county in which any part of the land is located for a private road leading from his land to some convenient public road."

The owner must show the land is landlocked, meaning it "has no legally enforceable means of access to a public road." An owner whose land already has public-road access must show a substantial inconvenience, and in 2025 the Wyoming Supreme Court held that a natural barrier on the owner's own parcel does not create the required necessity when the parcel has a legally enforceable connection to a county road (Tilden v. Jackson, 2025 WY 57). The complaint must describe the owner's efforts to buy legally enforceable access and state whether the owner's own actions caused the lack of access, and if the owner has had access that is being denied or restricted, the court may grant temporary access while the case is pending (W.S. 24-9-101(a), (d)).

The court first holds a hearing to decide whether the owner has met the statute's requirements and whether "access is necessary because the plaintiff has no legally enforceable access" (W.S. 24-9-101(h)). If so, the court appoints three disinterested persons as viewers and appraisers. The proposed road may not exceed 30 feet in width and must be located "so as to do the least possible damage to the lands through which the private road is located."

The landlocked owner bears the cost. Besides paying the damages suffered by the defendants, the plaintiff must pay "appropriate costs, which shall include any survey, plat, engineering and construction costs" for locating and building the road (W.S. 24-9-103(d)). The plaintiff also pays the reasonable cost of a defendant's appraisal if that appraisal was adopted in substantial part as a basis for damages and it varied more than 15 percent from the viewers' valuation (W.S. 24-9-103(f)).

Water and timber ways (W.S. 24-9-104)

On a petition signed by at least five freeholders of a neighborhood asking for passage to a watercourse for watering livestock, or for convenient access to timber, the district court may establish a water or timber way (W.S. 24-9-104).

Business ways of necessity by condemnation (W.S. 1-26-815)

A different statute serves businesses rather than landlocked homeowners. Any person, association, company or corporation authorized to do business in Wyoming may condemn a way of necessity across the land of others for listed facilities "required in the course of their business," including reservoirs, ditches, underground water pipelines, canals, electric transmission and distribution lines, railroad trackage, roads and mine truck haul roads (W.S. 1-26-815(a)). Such a way may not exceed 100 feet in width on each side of the outer lines of the facility unless a greater width is necessary for excavation, embankment or deposit of waste from excavation, and in no case may the area taken exceed what is actually necessary for the authorized use (W.S. 1-26-815(c)).

Prescriptive Easements in Wyoming

A prescriptive easement is a right to keep using another's land that arises from long, adverse use rather than from a deed. In Wyoming the elements come from case law. The Wyoming Supreme Court stated them in Powder River Ranch, Inc. v. Michelena, 2005 WY 1, paragraph 9:

"A party claiming an easement by prescription bears the burden of proving each of four elements: 1) proof of adverse use; 2) claim of right under title or claim of right; 3) use which puts the owner of the subservient estate on notice of his claim; and 4) continuous and uninterrupted adverse use for at least ten years."

The court added that "Claimants have a heavy burden to establish adverse use in Wyoming, as prescriptive easements are not favored." The ten-year requirement matches Wyoming's ten-year limit on actions "for the recovery of the title or possession of lands" (W.S. 1-3-103). Our Wyoming statute of limitations page covers that and other filing deadlines.

Public roads by prescription

The state or a county can also establish a public highway right-of-way across private land under the common-law doctrines of adverse possession or prescription. The board of county commissioners publishes notice, and mails it to owners of affected land, that the road was constructed or substantially maintained by the state or county for general public use for ten years or longer; objections must be filed in writing with the county clerk by the deadline in the notice. An objector who appeals the board's final decision to district court must give notice of appeal to the county clerk within 30 days after the decision, "or such claim shall be deemed to have been abandoned" (W.S. 24-1-101).

Neighbors and private roads

Wyoming courts start from a presumption that cuts against road claims between neighbors. In Powder River Ranch, the court wrote: "we generally presume that use of a private roadway by a neighbor is permissive," quoting the observation that "neighborliness and accommodation to the needs of a neighbor are landmarks of our western lifestyle." The court then stated that "The presumption of permissive use is, however, rebuttable."

Preventing a prescriptive easement

Title 34, Wyoming's main property title, has no procedure like those in some states that lets an owner block prescription by posting a sign or recording a notice of permission. In Wyoming the claimant must prove adverse use, and a neighbor's use of a private road starts out presumed permissive (Powder River Ranch, 2005), so whether use was by permission is central to these disputes.

Statutory prescriptive easements: water conveyances and older power lines

Two statutes create prescriptive-type easements for specific facilities.

Water conveyances. Under W.S. 34-1-158(a), a prescriptive easement for a water conveyance may be established if a water user has used and maintained it under a claim of right for ten years, during which the use has been continuous and uninterrupted, open and notorious, and adverse. Once the user proves the first two, "there is a rebuttable presumption that the use has been adverse" (W.S. 34-1-158(b)).

Electric utility lines installed by 2006. A 2026 law (Senate File 99, effective July 1, 2026) added W.S. 34-1-159. Among its conditions, an electric utility is granted a nonexclusive easement for a delivery system that it installed, that is visibly installed so as to give successors-in-interest constructive or actual notice that the system exists, and that was installed on the property on or before January 1, 2006. The easement's width must be consistent with the utility's historical and traditional use but may not exceed 30 feet in any direction from the existing line, and the easement "shall be deemed abandoned if the electric utility fails to use the delivery system for greater than three (3) consecutive years without an agreement with the landowner or the landowner's predecessor allowing the lack of use." The section applies only where the system's use has been continuous and uninterrupted (a cessation of use for up to one year does not count as an interruption) and no valid written agreement already establishes an easement for the system, and the utility must first publish notice in a local newspaper or customer newsletter (W.S. 34-1-159(b), (g)).

Prescriptive easements versus adverse possession

A prescriptive easement gives only a right of use. Gaining title to the land itself is adverse possession, which also turns on a ten-year period under W.S. 1-3-103 and is covered in our guide to Wyoming squatters' rights and adverse possession.

How an Easement Ends in Wyoming

Abandonment of a private easement. The Wyoming Supreme Court held in Mueller v. Hoblyn, 887 P.2d 500 (Wyo. 1994), that "Abandonment of an easement requires an intentional relinquishment indicated by conduct which discloses the intention to surrender the right to use the land authorized by the easement," and that it "requires more than simple nonuse of an easement, no matter how long the period of nonuse."

Easements acquired by condemnation. These follow a statutory rule. Under W.S. 1-26-515, an easement authorized under the Eminent Domain Act terminates "Upon abandonment, nonuse for a period of ten (10) years, or transfer or attempted transfer to a use where the transferee could not have condemned for the new use, or where the new use is not identical to the original use and new damages to the landowner whose property was condemned for the original use will occur."

Electric utility easements under W.S. 34-1-159. These are deemed abandoned after more than three consecutive years of nonuse not allowed by an agreement with the landowner, as described above.

Unlocated easements. An easement or agreement that does not specifically describe its location has no further force or effect if the specific description is not recorded within one year of execution (W.S. 34-1-141(c)).

Old recorded easements (Marketable Record Title Act). A person with an unbroken record chain of title to an interest for 40 years or more holds marketable record title, and interests that depend on events before the root of title are void unless an exception applies (W.S. 34-10-103, 34-10-105). A general reference to easements in the chain does not preserve them unless it specifically identifies the recorded instrument that created them (W.S. 34-10-104(a)(i)); a claimant can preserve an interest by recording a sworn notice of claim within the 40-year period (W.S. 34-10-106). The act does not bar clearly observable pipeline, highway, railroad or public utility easements, water rights, timber or mineral interests, interests of the state or the United States, or conservation easements, and marketable title remains subject to prescriptive rights arising in whole or in part after the root of title (W.S. 34-10-104(a)(iii), 34-10-108(a)).

Conservation easements

Wyoming has adopted the Uniform Conservation Easement Act (W.S. 34-1-201 et seq.), which defines a conservation easement as a nonpossessory interest imposing limitations or affirmative obligations whose purposes include "retaining or protecting natural, scenic, or open space values of real property."

Eminent Domain in Wyoming

Eminent domain is the power to take private property for public use, with compensation. This section covers Wyoming's rules; for how other states compare and the federal framework, see our guide to eminent domain laws by state.

What the Wyoming Constitution says

Wyoming's takings clause covers damage as well as taking. Article 1, section 33 provides: "Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation." Article 1, section 32, quoted above, bars taking private property for private use without the owner's consent except for private ways of necessity and for listed water works, and never without due compensation.

Can Wyoming take property for a private developer?

In Kelo v. City of New London (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a city's economic-development takings under a comprehensive plan satisfied the Fifth Amendment's public use requirement, and it emphasized that nothing in its opinion precludes any state from placing further restrictions on the takings power.

Wyoming's restriction sits in W.S. 1-26-801(c):

"As used in and for purposes of this section only, 'public purpose' means the possession, occupation and enjoyment of the land by a public entity. 'Public purpose' shall not include the taking of private property by a public entity for the purpose of transferring the property to another private individual or private entity except in the case of condemnation for the purpose of protecting the public health and safety, in which event the public entity may transfer the condemned property for value to a private individual or entity. However, nothing in this section shall restrict or impair the right or authority of the Wyoming energy authority to transfer property condemned by the authority to another public or private entity insofar as the transfer is consistent with the statutory purposes or duties of the authority."

Two limits are written into that text. It applies "for purposes of this section only," and it addresses takings "by a public entity." Other statutes give private condemnors their own powers (see below), and the public-health-and-safety exception allows a transfer for value to a private party. The subsection also preserves the Wyoming Energy Authority's power to transfer property it condemns to another public or private entity when the transfer is consistent with the authority's statutory purposes or duties.

The same section adds a return right. If a public entity acquires property in fee simple under the chapter but fails to make substantial use of it for ten years, "there is a presumption that the property is no longer needed for a public purpose," and the previous owner or a successor may ask the court to return it on repayment of the amount originally received in the condemnation action; the public entity may rebut the presumption by showing good cause for the delay (W.S. 1-26-801(d)).

Who can use eminent domain in Wyoming

• Utilities and pipeline companies. Whenever a utility or "any petroleum or other pipeline company, authorized to do business in this state" has not acquired land it requires for its facilities by gift or purchase, it "has the right of eminent domain and may condemn the easement required" (W.S. 1-26-814).
• Businesses needing ways of necessity for ditches, pipelines, power lines, railroads, roads and haul roads (W.S. 1-26-815, above).
• Energy collector systems. A 2025 law (Senate File 181) added W.S. 1-26-818, which requires a person condemning for an energy collector system to have negotiated and finalized land use and compensation agreements granting the right to occupy and use at least 66 percent of the land on which the system will be built, or with at least 66 percent of the landowners where at least three landowners are involved. That act applies to condemnation actions initiated on or after July 1, 2025. The 66 percent rule does not apply to a public utility holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity, or to systems that began serving load or exporting energy from Wyoming before July 1, 2025 (W.S. 1-26-818(h)). Where it applies, improvements count in fair market value, and compensation may never be less than the average paid under the negotiated agreements (W.S. 1-26-818(c), (d)).

When the condemnor is not a public entity, the court grants only an easement, which does not include the underlying minerals except for subsurface support, and the court may authorize a lump sum or annual payments for the term of the easement (W.S. 1-26-514).

Except as otherwise provided by law, a condemnor must establish that the public interest and necessity require the project (or that the Wyoming Constitution authorizes the use of eminent domain), that the project is planned or located in the manner most compatible with the greatest public good and the least private injury, and that the property is necessary for the project (W.S. 1-26-504(a)). It must prove each by a preponderance of the evidence, and failing to prove any of them "shall result in dismissal of the condemnation action without prejudice" (W.S. 1-26-504(d)). Final findings of the Public Service Commission or another agency with appropriate jurisdiction, made in accordance with law with notice to the owners who are parties, are prima facie valid on these points (W.S. 1-26-504(b)).

What must happen before a condemnation lawsuit

• Early notice of public projects. When a public entity determines there is a reasonable probability of locating a particular project on specifically identifiable private property, and the project is expected to be completed within two years, it must give the owner shown in the county assessor's records written notice of its intention to consider the project there (W.S. 1-26-504(c)).
• Entry for surveys. One route to pre-suit entry for surveys requires prior notice to the owner specifying the particular activity and the proposed use and potential recipient of the data, with 15 days for the owner to grant written authorization (W.S. 1-26-506(a)(i)); entry can also be sought through a court proceeding under W.S. 1-26-507.
• Initial written offer. The condemnor's written notice must include an offer allowing the owner "up to sixty-five (65) days from the date the initial written offer was sent via certified mail to respond or make a counter-offer in writing" (W.S. 1-26-509(c)(iii)(E)).
• Responding to the offer. The owner must also make reasonable and diligent efforts to negotiate in good faith, "including a timely written response" to the initial offer "specifying areas of disagreement" (W.S. 1-26-509(f)). An owner who fails to respond to the initial written offer may not later object to the condemnor's good faith, if the condemnor met the notice requirements of W.S. 1-26-509(c) (W.S. 1-26-510(a)).
• 90 days before suit. That notice must go to the owner of record in the county assessor's office no less than 90 days before the condemnation action begins (W.S. 1-26-509(d)).
• Final offer. The condemnor must send a notice of final offer by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 15 days before filing (W.S. 1-26-509(e)).

The deposit, and the withdrawal trap

When it files, the condemnor must deposit in court an amount equal to its last settlement offer before the action (W.S. 1-26-513(a)). The owner may withdraw the part of the deposit the court finds is not subject to claims of mortgagees and others, but the withdrawal carries consequences set out in W.S. 1-26-513(c):

• The amount withdrawn is a lien on the owner's property, and the owner must repay any amount withdrawn that exceeds the final judgment.
• An owner who withdraws any portion before judgment "waives all defenses to the action except the right to contest the amount to be awarded."
• The condemnor then becomes entitled to immediate possession, subject to a reasonable period the court sets for removing improvements.

The Eminent Domain Act itself sets no deadline for answering the complaint or appealing, apart from the 30-day trial demand in the informal procedure described below; the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure govern the case where they do not conflict with the act (W.S. 1-26-501(b)). An appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court is taken by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the district court within 30 days from entry of the appealable order (W.R.A.P. 2.01(a)).

How just compensation is calculated in Wyoming

• Valuation date. "The date of valuation is the date upon which the condemnation action was commenced" (W.S. 1-26-703).
• Partial takings. When only part of a property is taken, "the measure of compensation is the greater of the value of the property rights taken or the amount by which the fair market value of the entire property immediately before the taking exceeds the fair market value of the remainder immediately after the taking" (W.S. 1-26-702(b)).
• Business goodwill. The owner of a business on the property taken, or on the remainder in a partial taking, is compensated for lost goodwill only if the owner proves the loss is caused by the taking or the injury to the remainder, cannot reasonably be prevented by relocating the business, will not be included in relocation payments under W.S. 16-7-101 to 16-7-121, and will not be duplicated in the compensation award (W.S. 1-26-713(a)).
• Project influence excluded. Fair market value does not include an increase or decrease before the valuation date caused by the project, the likelihood that the property would be acquired for it, or the condemnation action itself, though a decrease caused by physical deterioration within the owner's reasonable control and the owner's unjustified neglect may be considered (W.S. 1-26-705).
• Crops and improvements are compensated at the higher of two statutory measures (W.S. 1-26-709).
• Reclamation. A condemnor that acquires less than fee simple title must reclaim and restore the land and improvements to their prior condition "to the extent that reasonably can be accomplished," unless the parties agree to compensation instead (W.S. 1-26-714).
• No home bonus. The Eminent Domain Act contains no added percentage for a residence.

Smaller disputes. An informal procedure applies whenever only compensation is disputed and the owner's total demand is less than $20,000, excluding interest and costs, or the gap between the condemnor's latest offer and the owner's latest demand is less than $5,000 (W.S. 1-26-601). Either party may reject the resulting judgment and file a written demand for trial within 30 days after it is entered (W.S. 1-26-604(a)).

Attorney fees and litigation expenses

Wyoming defines "litigation expenses" as the reasonable costs, disbursements and expenses, "including attorney, appraisal and engineering fees," associated with a condemnation proceeding (W.S. 1-26-502(a)(iv)). The act provides for them in several situations, including these:

• Failure to negotiate in good faith. The condemnor reimburses all reasonable litigation expenses if a court finds it failed to negotiate in good faith as required by W.S. 1-26-509(b) through (e), or failed to comply with any requirement of W.S. 1-26-504(a) (W.S. 1-26-509(g)).
• Value above 115 percent of the final offer. If a court or jury finds fair market value more than 115 percent of the final offer, the condemnor reimburses reasonable litigation expenses incurred after the owner received that final offer (W.S. 1-26-509(j)). Expenses before the final offer are not covered by this rule.
• Survey entry. The court awards litigation expenses in an entry proceeding if it finds the condemnor entered unlawfully, caused significant damage not reasonably necessary to the entry, or failed substantially to comply with the court's entry order (W.S. 1-26-508(b)).
• Inverse condemnation. When a party with condemnation power takes possession of or damages land, or substantially diminishes its use or value, without the owner's authorization or before filing a condemnation action, the owner may sue in district court and "shall be granted litigation expenses if damages are awarded to the owner" (W.S. 1-26-516). The Wyoming Supreme Court has held that an inverse condemnation action must be brought within eight years under W.S. 1-3-105(a)(ii)(B), and that the Governmental Claims Act deadlines do not apply to it (Smith v. Board of County Commissioners of Park County, 2013 WY 3).
• Rescinded authorization. A public entity may not sue until it has adopted a written resolution authorizing the action, and if it rescinds that authorization it "shall pay the litigation expenses of the condemnee" (W.S. 1-26-512(a)).
• Failed or abandoned condemnation on federally assisted projects. If the final judgment is that the property cannot be acquired by condemnation, or that the proceeding is abandoned, the agency pays a sum the court sets to reimburse the owner's reasonable attorney, appraisal and engineering fees actually incurred (W.S. 16-7-116).
• Retrial demanded by the condemnor. If the condemnor demands a trial after the informal procedure and ultimately obtains a judgment no more favorable to it, the court may require it to pay the owner's litigation expenses incurred after the demand (W.S. 1-26-604(b)).

Relocation assistance

Wyoming's relocation act applies "only to acquisitions of real property by an agency for a program or project for which federal financial assistance will be available to pay all or any part of the cost of the program or project," unless another state law requiring equivalent or greater payments or more stringent acquisition policies applies, in which case that law governs (W.S. 16-7-120). The amounts written into the Wyoming act include a replacement housing payment of not more than $22,500 to an owner-occupant who lived in the dwelling at least 180 days before negotiations began (W.S. 16-7-104(a)); a fixed business or farm payment of not less than $1,000 nor more than $20,000 (W.S. 16-7-103(c)); and rental assistance for a period not exceeding 42 months of not more than $5,250 (W.S. 16-7-105(b)).

Because the Wyoming act covers only federally assisted projects, and federal law conditions that assistance on assurances that displaced persons receive the relocation payments a federal agency would have to provide (42 U.S.C. 4630), the current federal limits are the operative ones; for example, the replacement housing payment for an eligible 90-day homeowner-occupant may not exceed $41,200 (49 C.F.R. 24.401(b)). Our national eminent domain guide covers the federal rules.

For federally assisted projects, the acquiring agency must also follow W.S. 16-7-118. It appraises the property before negotiating and gives the owner a chance to accompany the appraiser; it offers no less than the approved appraisal, with a written statement of the basis for the amount; an owner need not give up possession until the agreed price is paid or at least the approved appraisal (or the award) is deposited in court; to the greatest extent practicable, no lawful occupant must move from a dwelling, business or farm without at least 90 days' written notice; and the agency must offer to buy an uneconomic remnant left by a partial taking. The agency also reimburses, to the extent it deems fair and reasonable, recording fees, transfer taxes, mortgage prepayment penalties and prorated property taxes (W.S. 16-7-115).

Recent Changes to Wyoming Easement and Eminent Domain Law

• 2026: Electric utility easements (Senate File 99). Created W.S. 34-1-159, effective July 1, 2026, granting electric utilities a nonexclusive easement for qualifying delivery systems installed on or before January 1, 2006, capped at 30 feet from the existing line and deemed abandoned after more than three consecutive years of nonuse not allowed by an agreement with the landowner.
• 2025: Energy collector systems (Senate File 181). Limited condemnation for energy collector systems through the 66 percent agreement requirement in W.S. 1-26-818, with exceptions for certificated public utilities and systems serving load or exporting energy before July 1, 2025. The act applies to condemnation actions initiated on or after July 1, 2025.
• 2025: County and municipal roads over state lands (House Bill 219). Granted a perpetual right-of-way easement over state and school lands for county and municipal roads that cross those lands and were established before January 1, 2025 (W.S. 36-9-121(b)).

Wyoming Easement and Eminent Domain Rules at a Glance

Related Wyoming Property Pages

• Easement laws by state
• Eminent domain laws by state
• Wyoming squatters' rights and adverse possession
• Wyoming property records
• Wyoming statute of limitations

This article provides general legal information about Wyoming easement and eminent domain law, not legal advice. Laws change and their application depends on specific facts. For advice about a particular property or condemnation, contact a lawyer licensed in Wyoming.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get a prescriptive easement in Wyoming?

At least ten years of continuous and uninterrupted adverse use, together with adverse use, a claim of right and use that puts the owner on notice. The Wyoming Supreme Court set out these four elements in Powder River Ranch, Inc. v. Michelena (2005), and the claimant bears a heavy burden on each.

Is using a neighbor's private road enough for a prescriptive easement in Wyoming?

Not by default. The Wyoming Supreme Court generally presumes that a neighbor's use of a private roadway is permissive, so the claimant has to rebut that presumption and prove adverse use (Powder River Ranch, 2005).

What can I do if my land is landlocked in Wyoming?

W.S. 24-9-101 lets an owner whose land has no outlet to, nor connection with, a public road bring an action in district court for a private road to a convenient public road. The Wyoming Supreme Court treats land as landlocked only if it has no legally enforceable means of access to a public road; an owner with public-road access must show a substantial inconvenience (Tilden v. Jackson, 2025 WY 57). If the court finds access is necessary because the owner has no legally enforceable access, it appoints three viewers and appraisers, the road may not exceed 30 feet in width, and the landlocked owner pays the damages and road costs (W.S. 24-9-103).

How does an easement end in Wyoming?

A private easement is abandoned only by conduct showing an intent to give it up; abandonment requires more than simple nonuse, no matter how long the period of nonuse (Mueller v. Hoblyn, 1994). An easement acquired by condemnation terminates on abandonment, ten years of nonuse, a transfer to a user who could not have condemned for the new use, or a non-identical new use that causes new damages (W.S. 1-26-515). Older recorded easements can also be cut off under the Marketable Record Title Act unless preserved or excepted (W.S. 34-10-101 to 34-10-109).

Can Wyoming take my property for a private developer?

For the purposes of W.S. 1-26-801, public purpose excludes a public entity taking private property to transfer it to another private individual or entity, except when the condemnation protects public health and safety, in which case the property may be transferred for value. The definition applies to that section only, it does not restrict the Wyoming Energy Authority's power to transfer property it condemns to a public or private entity consistent with its statutory purposes or duties, and other statutes give utilities, pipeline companies and businesses their own condemnation powers.

Can a pipeline company use eminent domain in Wyoming?

Yes, within the statute. W.S. 1-26-814 gives a utility or any petroleum or other pipeline company authorized to do business in Wyoming the right of eminent domain to condemn the easement it requires, and the condemnor must still meet the Eminent Domain Act's proof, negotiation and deposit requirements.

Does Wyoming pay a landowner's attorney fees in eminent domain?

In some situations. The condemnor must reimburse reasonable litigation expenses, which include attorney, appraisal and engineering fees, if a court finds it failed to negotiate in good faith or to comply with W.S. 1-26-504(a), and it must reimburse expenses incurred after the final offer if the court or jury finds fair market value above 115 percent of that offer (W.S. 1-26-509(g), (j)). An owner who wins damages in an inverse condemnation action under W.S. 1-26-516 is also granted litigation expenses.

Does Wyoming pay extra compensation for taking a home?

The Wyoming Eminent Domain Act contains no added percentage for a home. Compensation is valued as of the date the condemnation action was commenced (W.S. 1-26-703), and relocation payments under W.S. 16-7-101 to 16-7-121 apply only to acquisitions for programs or projects with federal financial assistance.