Adverse Possession in Utah: Seven Years, Irrigation Works and a Tax Requirement
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Utah · Last updated October 5, 2026
Utah is one of the few states whose adverse possession statute counts money spent on irrigation works as possession of the land. Adverse possession is the rule that lets someone who openly occupies land they do not own become its legal owner after a set number of years, once every statutory requirement has been met. Utah fixes the period at seven years (Utah Code 78B-2-204 and 78B-2-208). Where the occupant holds no written instrument, land is considered possessed and occupied adversely in three cases only: where it has been protected by a substantial enclosure, where it has been usually cultivated or improved, or where labor or money amounting to the sum of 5 dollars per acre has been expended upon dams, canals, embankments, aqueducts, or otherwise for the purpose of irrigating the land (78B-2-213). The ditch and the seven years are still not enough on their own. Utah closes the chapter with a flat prohibition: adverse possession may not be established unless it is shown that the land has been occupied and claimed continuously for seven years, and that the party and the party's predecessors and grantors have paid all taxes which have been levied and assessed upon the land according to law (78B-2-214). A written document purporting to convey title does not cut the seven years. It widens what counts as possession to four cases (78B-2-211), while without one the claim covers the land actually occupied and no other (78B-2-212). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
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Which side of the boundary question are you on?
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How long does adverse possession take in Utah?
Seven years. Utah Code 78B-2-204 bars an action for the recovery or possession of real property unless the plaintiff or a predecessor owned or possessed it within seven years before the action, and 78B-2-208 lets the presumption favouring the record owner be rebutted only by adverse possession for at least seven years.
Do you have to pay the property taxes to claim adverse possession in Utah?
Yes. Utah Code 78B-2-214 provides that adverse possession may not be established unless it is shown that the land has been occupied and claimed continuously for seven years, and that the party and the party's predecessors and grantors have paid all taxes which have been levied and assessed upon the land according to law.
Does irrigation work count as possession under Utah adverse possession law?
It can. Where the claim is not founded on a written instrument, Utah Code 78B-2-213 recognises three cases only: a substantial enclosure, usual cultivation or improvement, or labor or money amounting to 5 dollars per acre expended upon dams, canals, embankments, aqueducts, or otherwise for the purpose of irrigating the land.
Can land owned by a Utah city or water district be taken by adverse possession?
Generally no. Utah Code 78B-2-216 provides that a person may not acquire by adverse possession, prescriptive use, or acquiescence any right in or title to real property held by a town, city, county, metropolitan water district or special district and designated for any present or future public use.
Utah adverse possession at a glance
Adverse possession lets a person who openly occupies land belonging to someone else become its owner once every statutory requirement has been satisfied for the full period. Utah fixes that period at seven years and then writes two unusual things around it. First, where no written instrument is involved, qualifying possession is limited to three cases, and the third is spending: labor or money amounting to 5 dollars per acre expended upon dams, canals, embankments, aqueducts, or otherwise for the purpose of irrigating the land (78B-2-213). Second, no claim survives the tax requirement. Adverse possession may not be established unless the land was occupied and claimed continuously for seven years and all taxes levied and assessed on it were paid by the party and the party's predecessors and grantors (78B-2-214). Public use land held by a government entity is excluded (78B-2-216).
A sold off canal bank in Davis County and the exception that reopens it
Suppose a quarter acre of old canal bank near Kaysville was conveyed out of city ownership in 2014 to a private buyer for valuable consideration, and the farmer on the next parcel has fenced it, run water through the lateral and cropped it every year since. Standing alone a water conveyance corridor held by a city is untouchable: Utah Code 78B-2-216(2) bars acquiring any right in it by adverse possession, prescriptive use or acquiescence. The 2014 deed changes the analysis, because 78B-2-216(3) allows title where a government entity conveyed the property for valuable consideration and the possession has been exclusive, continuous and adverse for at least seven consecutive years afterwards. The tax requirement in 78B-2-214 still has to be met. Whether these facts satisfy the statute is a question for the district court.
Relevant Laws
Utah Code 78B-2-204 (seizure or possession within seven years necessary)
Provides that an action for the recovery or possession of real property may not be maintained unless it appears the plaintiff, or an ancestor, grantor or predecessor, owned or possessed the property in question within seven years before the commencement of the action.
Utah Code 78B-2-208 and 78B-2-209 (presumption favouring the record owner)
Section 78B-2-208 presumes that the person establishing legal title has been in possession and that any occupation by another has been under and in subordination to the legal title, rebuttable by a showing that the property was held and possessed adversely for at least seven years. Section 78B-2-209 restates that presumption for an action to recover, quiet title to, or determine the owner of real property, and adds a separate four year presumption for tax titles.
Utah Code 78B-2-210 and 78B-2-211 (claim under a written instrument or judgment)
Section 78B-2-210 treats property as adversely held where the possessor holds a written document purporting to convey title, or a decree or judgment from a court of competent jurisdiction conveying title, and has occupied continuously for at least seven years, and provides that in a tract divided into lots possession of one lot is not possession of another. Section 78B-2-211 lists the four cases of qualifying possession under such an instrument, including uninclosed land used for fuel, fencing timber, husbandry, pasturage or the ordinary use of the occupant.
Utah Code 78B-2-212 and 78B-2-213 (claim not founded on a written instrument)
Section 78B-2-212 provides that where there has been an actual continued occupation of land under claim of title, exclusive of any other right, but not founded on a written instrument, judgment or decree, the land actually occupied and no other is considered to have been held adversely. Section 78B-2-213 recognises three cases only: a substantial enclosure, usual cultivation or improvement, or labor or money amounting to 5 dollars per acre expended upon dams, canals, embankments, aqueducts, or otherwise for the purpose of irrigating the land.
Utah Code 78B-2-214 (continuous, seven years, taxes paid)
Provides that adverse possession may not be established unless it is shown that the land has been occupied and claimed continuously for seven years, and that the party and the party's predecessors and grantors have paid all taxes which have been levied and assessed upon the land according to law.
Utah Code 78B-2-215 (payment of taxes by a tax title holder)
Provides that payment of all the taxes levied and assessed on the real property for a period of not less than four years by the holder of a tax title, or by predecessors, is sufficient to satisfy the chapter's requirement regarding the payment of taxes necessary to establish adverse possession.
Utah Code 78B-2-216 (public use property and the conveyance exception)
Provides that a person may not acquire by adverse possession, prescriptive use, or acquiescence any right in or title to real property held by a government entity, defined as a town, city, county, metropolitan water district or special district, and designated for any present or future public use, including a street, lane, avenue, alley, park, public square, water facility, or water conveyance right of way or corridor. It then allows title where the government entity sold, disposed of or conveyed the property to a purchaser for valuable consideration and the purchaser or successors held exclusive, continuous and adverse possession for at least seven consecutive years afterwards.
Utah Code 78B-2-217 and 78B-2-218 (tenancies and descent cast)
Section 78B-2-217 provides that where a landlord and tenant relationship exists, the possession of the tenant is considered the possession of the landlord until seven years after the termination of the tenancy, or, where there has been no written lease, until seven years from the last payment of rent. Section 78B-2-218 provides that the right of a person to possession is not impaired or affected by a descent cast in consequence of the death of a person in possession.
Utah Code 78B-2-205 and 78B-2-206 (tax title limitation of four years)
Section 78B-2-205 bars an action for the recovery or possession of real property unless the plaintiff or a predecessor owned or possessed it within seven years, and bars actions or defences against the holder of a tax title more than four years after the tax deed, conveyance or transfer unless there was actual occupation within those four years. Section 78B-2-206 states the same four year bar from the date of the tax sale, conveyance or transfer, with provisos for the legal title owner's actual occupation and for a city or town lien defence.
Utah Code 78B-2-201 (actions by the state)
Provides that the state may not bring an action against any person for or with respect to real property based on the state's right or title unless the right or title accrued within seven years before the proceeding, or the state or those from whom it claims received all or a portion of the rents and profits within the immediately preceding seven years, with the limitation running from actual notice of the facts giving rise to the action.
Utah Code 78B-6-1301 (quiet title)
Provides that a person may bring an action against another person to determine rights, interests, or claims to or in personal or real property.
Utah State Courts: An Overview of the Utah District Courts
The Utah State Courts explain that the District Court is the state trial court of general jurisdiction, with 71 full time district judges across the state's eight judicial districts, and that it has original jurisdiction to try all civil cases.
Regional Variances
Utah adverse possession rules at a glance
Statutory period
Seven years. An action for the recovery or possession of real property may not be maintained unless the plaintiff or a predecessor owned or possessed it within seven years before the action (78B-2-204), and the presumption favouring the record owner yields only to adverse possession for at least seven years (78B-2-208).
Property taxes
A requirement in every case. Adverse possession may not be established unless it is shown that the land was occupied and claimed continuously for seven years and that the party and the party's predecessors and grantors paid all taxes which have been levied and assessed upon the land according to law (78B-2-214).
Qualifying possession without an instrument
Three cases only (78B-2-213): protection by a substantial enclosure, usual cultivation or improvement, or labor or money amounting to 5 dollars per acre expended upon dams, canals, embankments, aqueducts, or otherwise for the purpose of irrigating the land.
Extent of the claim
Without a written instrument, judgment or decree, the land actually occupied and no other is considered to have been held adversely (78B-2-212). In a tract divided into lots, possession of one lot is not considered possession of any other lot in the same tract (78B-2-210).
Color of title
Does not shorten the period. A written document purporting to convey title, or a decree or judgment conveying it, still needs seven years of continuous occupation (78B-2-210), and widens qualifying possession to the four cases in 78B-2-211 including uninclosed land used for fuel, fencing timber, husbandry or pasturage.
Acreage cap
None. Utah Code 78B-2-201 through 78B-2-226 imposes no acreage limit on a claim. The 5 dollar per acre figure in 78B-2-213 measures qualifying irrigation expenditure, not the size of the ground that may be claimed.
Government owned land
Excluded where it is both held by a government entity, meaning a town, city, county, metropolitan water district or special district, and designated for any present or future public use including streets, alleys, parks, public squares, water facilities and water conveyance corridors (78B-2-216). An exception applies where the entity conveyed the property for valuable consideration and seven consecutive years of exclusive, continuous and adverse possession followed.
Tax titles
A different and shorter clock. Actions or defences against the holder of a tax title may not be commenced more than four years after the tax deed, conveyance or transfer, subject to the occupation provisos (78B-2-205 and 78B-2-206), and four years of tax payment by a tax title holder satisfies the chapter's tax requirement (78B-2-215).
Tenancies
Where a landlord and tenant relationship exists, the tenant's possession is considered the landlord's possession until seven years after the tenancy ends, or seven years from the last payment of rent where there was no written lease (78B-2-217).
Perfecting title
A quiet title action to determine rights, interests, or claims to or in real property (78B-6-1301), brought in the District Court, which the Utah State Courts describe as the state trial court of general jurisdiction with original jurisdiction to try all civil cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Utah guides
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