The Strip You Have Been Mowing
Minn. Stat. 541.02 — 15 years, and taxes for five consecutive years on a separate parcel
In Minnesota, no action to recover real estate may be maintained unless the plaintiff or a predecessor was seized or possessed of it within 15 years before the action.
Taxes on a separate parcel. For real estate assessed as a separate tract or parcel, the limit is no bar unless the adverse claimant or predecessors paid taxes on it for at least five consecutive years of the claimed occupation. That tax rule does not apply to boundary line disputes or to land not assessed for taxation.
Public and cemetery land. No occupant of a public way, levee, square or other public ground acquires title by occupancy, and no occupant of public or private cemetery land acquires title to it.
The statute sets the time. What kind of possession counts beyond what the statute itself says comes from Minnesota court decisions, which this page does not quote. Whether a particular strip of land has changed hands, and how to bring or answer an action over it, are questions for a licensed Minnesota attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Minn. Stat. 541.02 — Recovery of real estate, 15 years
- Minn. Stat. 541.01 — Application to state; public and cemetery land
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Minnesota attorney.