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Squatters and vacant property in Wyoming: what the law says

Since July 2025 Wyoming lets you swear a complaint, hand it to law enforcement, and — if they can satisfy themselves you are the record owner — be put back in possession, with no judge and no court case. But that route closes if the person inside was ever a tenant of yours or of whoever owned the place before you, even under a spoken agreement. If they produce a lease, you are on Wyoming's ordinary eviction track, which runs in weeks. The statute does let you change the locks, but only after law enforcement has verified you own the building and served the notice to leave. Remove someone you had no right to remove and the statute hands them your house back plus triple the rent and your lawyer bill. Every answer below is quoted from the statute it came from.

Every answer on this page is quoted from the statute it came from and linked to the source, so you can read the law yourself. Last checked against the statutes on 2026-07-14.

What to do now — this part is ours, not the law

There is no 30-day rule. Nobody becomes a tenant by standing in your house long enough — not in thirty days, not in ninety. They are not a tenant on day one and they are not a tenant on day ninety. What time does change is how hard they are to remove, and how much of your money it takes. That is a reason to move today, not a deadline you have already missed.

If someone is in the property right now

  1. Do not go in, and do not change the locks. It is the first thing everyone wants to do and it is how the owner becomes the defendant. Read that question above before you touch anything.
  2. Call the police non-emergency line. Ask them to look at it as a criminal trespass rather than a landlord–tenant dispute. Those are different outcomes and the words matter.
  3. Have your proof of ownership in your hand when they arrive — the deed, a recent tax bill, your ID. The officer's whole decision turns on whether he believes you own it.
  4. Photograph everything, and write down every date. When you last saw it empty. When you found them. What was said. Who you called, and when.
  5. Call a lawyer the same day. Not next week. The clock on every route above has already started.
The full checklist — what to record and what to ask →

If it has not happened yet

Everything on this page gets easier the earlier you do it. Photograph the property empty, keep the utility bills, and write down who is allowed inside — before you lock up and walk away. None of that is expensive. All of it is worth more than it looks at 2am.

The checklist for leaving a property vacant →

Is a squatter a tenant — and what rights do they have?

No — Wyoming's renter protections are written for someone who holds a rental agreement, and the 2025 removal law is written only for someone who never had one. But read the conditions: if the person was ever your tenant, or a former tenant of whoever owned it before you, that fast route is closed and you are back in ordinary eviction court.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

If a trespasser counts as a tenant, the owner is routed into housing court and every fast option closes.

1 · W.S. § 1-21-1201(a)(ii)–(iii) — definitions, Residential Rental Property

“(ii) "Rental agreement" means any agreement, written or oral, which establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules or any other provisions regarding the use and occupancy of a residential rental unit; (iii) "Renter" means any renter, lessee, tenant or other person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a residential rental unit to the exclusion of others;”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the Legislature's own official Title 1 code PDF. Note that this URL is not versioned — Wyoming republishes each title as a single PDF in place — so confirm the text against the current PDF before relying on it.

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 1-21-1401(a)(v), created by 2025 Senate Enrolled Act No. 20 (SF0006), eff. 2025-07-01

“(v) "Unauthorized person" means a person who is not authorized to maintain presence or residency in a residential dwelling.”

Quoted from the enrolled act on the Legislature's own server. The article is headed "REMOVAL OF UNAUTHORIZED OCCUPANTS" and sits in the code of civil procedure, not in the landlord-and-tenant article.

Read it at the source →

3 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(a) — the five conditions on the removal request

“(a) An owner or the owner's authorized agent may request from law enforcement in the county where the property is located the immediate removal of any person unlawfully occupying or possessing the owner's residential dwelling if all of the following conditions are met: (i) The person requesting the removal is the residential dwelling owner or the owner's authorized agent; (ii) The unauthorized person for whom removal has been requested has unlawfully entered and remains or continues to reside in the owner's residential dwelling; (iii) There is no known pending litigation related to the residential dwelling between the owner and any known unauthorized person; (iv) The unauthorized person is not a current or former tenant pursuant to a written or oral rental or lease agreement authorized by the owner, the owner's predecessor or the owner's authorized agent; (v) The unauthorized person is not an immediate family member of the owner or in a cohabitating relationship with the owner.”

These conditions do real work, and they are all quoted above so that the rest of this page can point at them. An oral agreement counts. An agreement made by whoever owned the building before you counts. A holdover tenant, a relative, or someone you live with is outside this article entirely, and the ordinary eviction track in the same chapter is where that case goes.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

Can I just change the locks?

Not on your own — and never in another state. Wyoming is one of a handful of states whose statute lets an owner change the locks, and it lets you do it only after law enforcement has satisfied itself that you are the record owner and has served the notice to leave. You may then ask officers to stand by while you do it, though the statute does not say they must. Do it before any of that, or in almost any other state, and you are the one breaking the law. Remove the wrong person and Wyoming gives them the house back, triple the rent for the time they were out, and your lawyer bill.

›Read the law — 4 provisions

Lawful in a handful of states, a crime in most. Getting this wrong turns the victim into the defendant.

1 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(c)–(d) — verification first, then the notice to vacate

“Upon receipt of a complaint under this section, law enforcement shall verify that the person who submitted the complaint is the record owner of the residential dwelling or the authorized agent of the owner and that the person is entitled to relief under this section. If law enforcement is unable to verify that the person who submitted the complaint is the record owner of the residential dwelling and is entitled to relief under this section, law enforcement shall have no obligation to provide notice and vacate the residential dwelling as provided in subsection (d) of this section.”

Read the order of the article, not the sentence you were looking for. Nothing in § 1-21-1403 is reached until law enforcement has done this and has given notice under subsection (d). If law enforcement cannot verify the complainant is the record owner, the statute says in as many words that it has no obligation to do anything at all.

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 1-21-1403(a) — the owner may request that law enforcement stand by

“After law enforcement provides notice to immediately vacate, the owner or the owner's authorized agent may request that law enforcement stand by to keep the peace while the owner or agent changes the locks and removes the personal property of the unauthorized person from the premises to or near the property line.”

THIS IS LAWFUL IN WYOMING AND IT IS A CRIME IN MOST OF THE UNITED STATES. Read the first six words — "After law enforcement provides notice to immediately vacate" — because that is the gate the statute actually imposes, and that notice only exists after the verification in § 1-21-1402(c). Then read the verb: the owner MAY REQUEST that officers stand by. We are not going to tell you the statute requires an officer to be present, because it does not say that, and it does not say law enforcement must agree to the request. What it does say is that none of this is reached until law enforcement has verified you and served the notice. It is not permission to change a lock on your own judgment, at your own hour, and DeedProof does not advise anyone to do any of this.

Read it at the source →

3 · W.S. § 1-21-1403(c) — civil cause of action for wrongful removal

“A person may bring a civil cause of action against an owner or the owner's authorized agent for wrongful removal. A person harmed by a wrongful removal under this article may be restored to possession of the residential dwelling and may recover: (i) Actual costs and damages incurred; (ii) Statutory damages equal to triple the fair market value of renting the residential dwelling during the period of wrongful removal; (iii) Court costs; (iv) Reasonable attorney fees.”

The complaint itself makes the owner acknowledge this before he signs: § 1-21-1402(b)(vii) requires him to state that a person removed under the section 'may bring a cause of action against the owner for any false statements made in the complaint, or for wrongfully using this procedure'. And § 1-21-1402(b)(x) requires the whole complaint to be submitted under penalty of perjury.

Read it at the source →

4 · W.S. § 6-3-306 — forcible entry or detainer; penalty

“A person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), if he violently takes or keeps possession of land without authority of law.”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the Legislature's own official Title 6 code PDF; the URL is not versioned. Note the word doing the work: 'violently'. We found no Wyoming appellate decision we could fetch on what that word reaches, and we do not put words in a court's mouth. Untested is not the same as permitted, and the person who finds out which it is will be the defendant.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

If police do act, what is the charge — and can they arrest for it?

Depends on what the officer can see. Being in a building you have no right to be in is criminal trespass, and in Wyoming that is a misdemeanor — which means an officer can arrest on the spot only if the offence is happening in front of him, or if he has probable cause and thinks the person will vanish, hurt someone, or destroy evidence. If they broke in to steal, that is burglary and a felony, and the probable-cause power is wider. And since 2025 a squatter who damages the house commits a felony in its own right.

›Read the law — 5 provisions

A charge that only supports a citation does not remove anyone from a house. This is the link that killed the previous market.

1 · W.S. § 6-3-303(a)–(b) — criminal trespass; penalties

“(a) A person is guilty of criminal trespass if he enters or remains on or in the land or premises of another person, knowing he is not authorized to do so, or after being notified to depart or to not trespass. For purposes of this section, notice is given by: (i) Personal communication to the person by the owner or occupant, or his agent, or by a peace officer; or (ii) Posting of signs reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders. (b) Criminal trespass is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both.”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the Legislature's own official Title 6 code PDF; the URL is not versioned. Subsection (c) adds: 'This section does not supersede W.S. 1-21-1003' — the three-day notice to quit that starts an ordinary eviction. Entering a building without authority is separately an offence, criminal entry, under § 6-3-302, and it is also a misdemeanor punishable by not more than six months.

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 6-10-101 — "felony" and "misdemeanor" defined

“Crimes which may be punished by death or by imprisonment for more than one (1) year are felonies. All other crimes are misdemeanors.”

This is the link that killed the previous market elsewhere — an offence graded so low that the officer may only write a ticket. Wyoming does not bar arrest for a misdemeanor outright, but it does condition it. Read the next link.

Read it at the source →

3 · W.S. § 7-2-102(b) — preconditions for arrests

“A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant when: (i) Any criminal offense is being committed in the officer's presence by the person to be arrested; (ii) The officer has probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed and that the person to be arrested has committed it; or (iii) The officer has probable cause to believe that a misdemeanor has been committed, that the person to be arrested has committed it and that the person, unless immediately arrested: (A) Will not be apprehended; (B) May cause injury to himself or others or damage to property; or (C) May destroy or conceal evidence of the commission of the misdemeanor.”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the Legislature's own official Title 7 code PDF; the URL is not versioned. Read the structure: for a FELONY, probable cause alone is enough. For a MISDEMEANOR it is not — the offence must be committed in the officer's presence, or one of the three conditions in (iii) must hold. Wyoming also lets an officer charge any misdemeanor by citation instead (§ 7-2-103), and a citation leaves the person in the house. And note § 1-21-1402(d), which is permissive, not mandatory: 'If appropriate, law enforcement may arrest any person found in the residential dwelling for trespass, outstanding warrants or any other legal cause.' These are the provisions, in order. We have drawn no conclusion from them.

Read it at the source →

4 · W.S. § 6-3-301(a)–(b) — burglary; penalties

“(a) A person is guilty of burglary if, without authority, he enters or remains in a building, occupied structure or vehicle, or separately secured or occupied portion thereof, with intent to commit theft or a felony therein. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, burglary is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years, a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), or both.”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the official Title 6 code PDF. The intent element is what separates this from trespass, and it is not ours to find on anyone's facts.

Read it at the source →

5 · W.S. § 6-3-201(b)(iv), created by 2025 Senate Enrolled Act No. 20 — property destruction by an unlawful occupant

“A felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years, a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), or both, if the person unlawfully detains or occupies a residential dwelling as defined by W.S. 1-21-1401(a)(iv) and who knowingly defaces, injures or destroys property in or on the residential dwelling, regardless of the cost of restoring the injured property or the value of the property if destroyed.”

The last clause is the change: ordinarily property destruction is only a felony above a $1,000 threshold (§ 6-3-201(b)(iii)). For an unlawful occupant of a dwelling the threshold is removed. The same act also created § 6-5-309, which makes it a misdemeanor to present a false lease or deed with intent to remain on the property, and a felony to rent out a property you have no interest in.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What decides whether police arrest or walk away?

Permission — whether the officer believes the person inside had yours. And to weigh that he has to know who the owner is. Wyoming orders law enforcement to verify you are the record owner and then tells them nothing about how: the only proof of ownership the sworn complaint has to carry is a copy of your ID, which shows who you are, not what you own. If they cannot verify it, the statute says they do not have to do anything at all.

DeedProof solves this

We verify you own the property and file your notarized statement where police can check it. How it works →

›Read the law — 3 provisions

Every other question here is downstream of this one. The whole encounter, in one decision, made in a doorway in the dark.

1 · W.S. § 6-3-303(a) — the words the offence hinges on

“A person is guilty of criminal trespass if he enters or remains on or in the land or premises of another person, knowing he is not authorized to do so, or after being notified to depart or to not trespass.”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the Legislature's own official Title 6 code PDF; the URL is not versioned. "Knowing he is not authorized to do so" is the whole encounter in seven words, and it is a question about permission the officer must answer in a doorway — against a person holding a piece of paper that says he has it. The civil side turns on the same fact: § 1-21-1401(a)(v) defines an unauthorized person as one "not authorized to maintain presence or residency in a residential dwelling."

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(c) — law enforcement shall verify the record owner

“Upon receipt of a complaint under this section, law enforcement shall verify that the person who submitted the complaint is the record owner of the residential dwelling or the authorized agent of the owner and that the person is entitled to relief under this section.”

A CLAIM ABOUT OUR OWN SEARCH, NOT ABOUT THE LAW: on 2026-07-14 we read the whole of W.S. §§ 1-21-1401 through 1-21-1403, as enacted, in the enrolled text of Senate File 0006 on the Legislature's own server, and again in the Legislature's official Title 1 code PDF. We looked for any provision telling a deputy HOW to establish that the complainant is the record owner — a deed check, a county recorder lookup, a registry, a standard of proof, anything. We found no such provision. Confirm it against the official code before relying on it.

Read it at the source →

3 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(b)(i), (ix)–(x) — what the complaint must contain

“The complaint shall include, at a minimum, that: (i) The person is the owner or the owner's authorized agent for the residential dwelling; … (ix) A copy of the owner's valid government-issued identification or a copy of documents authorizing the owner's authorized agent to act on the owner's behalf is included; (x) The information contained in the complaint is true and correct and that the complaint is submitted under penalty of perjury.”

The ellipsis skips paragraphs (ii) through (viii), which are the conditions the owner must swear to — no pending litigation, not a current or former tenant, not family, and an acknowledgment that a wrongly removed person can sue him. Read what paragraph (ix) actually asks for: identification. A driver's licence establishes who is standing at the counter. It does not establish who holds the deed, and the statute asks for nothing that does.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What is the lawful way to get them out?

A sworn complaint to the sheriff, who can put you back in possession himself. There is no case to file and no judge to persuade. But the fast route only exists for someone who was never a tenant of you or of the previous owner — everyone else goes through Wyoming's ordinary eviction track in circuit court, which starts with a three-day written notice to leave.

›Read the law — 4 provisions

The route sets the real cost. A summary track is weeks; a full civil suit is months.

1 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(a), (d) — limited alternative remedy for removal

“An owner or the owner's authorized agent may request from law enforcement in the county where the property is located the immediate removal of any person unlawfully occupying or possessing the owner's residential dwelling if all of the following conditions are met … Upon verification under subsection (c) of this section, law enforcement shall, without delay, provide notice to immediately vacate to all unauthorized persons occupying the residential dwelling and shall put the owner in possession of the residential dwelling. Notice may be accomplished by hand delivery of the notice to the unauthorized occupant or by posting the notice on the front door or entrance of the residential dwelling.”

The ellipsis joins subsection (a)'s opening to subsection (d), and it spans three things, all of which are quoted elsewhere on this page: the five conditions in subsection (a), quoted in full in the first answer; subsection (b), the contents of the sworn complaint, quoted in the 'what makes police act' and 'need a court' answers; and subsection (c), law enforcement's duty to verify the record owner, quoted in both of those and in the lock-changing answer. The section is headed a 'limited alternative remedy' for a reason — § 1-21-1403(d)(iii) says it does not limit 'Remedies available under title 1, chapter 21 of the Wyoming statute or any other provision of law', which is the ordinary eviction track.

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 1-21-1002(a)(i), (v) — when forcible entry and detainer proceedings are allowed

“Proceedings for forcible entry and detainer may be had in any of the following cases: (i) Against tenants holding over their terms or after a failure to pay rent for three (3) days after it is due; … (v) In cases where the defendant is a settler or occupier of lands or tenements, without color of title, to which the complainant has the right of possession;”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the Legislature's own official Title 1 code PDF; the URL is not versioned. The ellipsis skips paragraphs (ii) through (iv), which cover possession after judicial and mortgage sales. Paragraph (v) is the one that reaches a person who was never a tenant.

Read it at the source →

3 · W.S. § 1-21-1003 — notice to quit premises required

“The party desiring to commence an action for forcible entry or detainer must notify the adverse party to leave the premises involved. The notice shall be served at least three (3) days before commencing the action, by leaving a written copy with the defendant or at his usual place of abode or business if he cannot be found.”

Wyoming ties its criminal trespass section back to this one: § 6-3-303(c) provides that "This section does not supersede W.S. 1-21-1003." Read on 2026-07-14 in the official Title 1 code PDF.

Read it at the source →

4 · W.S. §§ 1-21-1012 and 1-21-1013 — writ of restitution; execution

“When a judgment of restitution is entered by a circuit court, the court shall, at the request of the plaintiff, his agent or attorney, issue a writ of restitution thereon. … Unless the defendant takes an appeal, the officer shall execute the writ of restitution within two (2) days after receiving it, Sundays excepted, by restoring the plaintiff to possession of the premises.”

The ellipsis joins two consecutive sections as printed. Read on 2026-07-14 in the official Title 1 code PDF.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Weeks, if they fight — and they will, because a lease in the doorway is what a fake lease is for. Then it is Wyoming's ordinary eviction track: a three-day written notice to leave, a summons served three to twelve days before trial, and a court order to hand the place back, carried out two days after judgment unless they appeal. If the person inside was never anyone's tenant and law enforcement can verify you own the building, the sheriff route runs in days — but that is the branch that does not happen to most people reading this. On the money: the statute sets no fees, and Wyoming courts set their own, so ask the circuit court clerk in your county.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

The two numbers every owner wants, and the one nobody warns them about: you do not get it back.

1 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(d) — without delay

“Upon verification under subsection (c) of this section, law enforcement shall, without delay, provide notice to immediately vacate to all unauthorized persons occupying the residential dwelling and shall put the owner in possession of the residential dwelling.”

This is the UNCONTESTED branch, and it is the reason Wyoming is measured in days in the press. It depends entirely on law enforcement being able to verify, under § 1-21-1402(c), that you are the record owner — and on the person inside not being a current or former tenant of anyone. A lease in the doorway puts that in doubt, and the statute gives the deputy nothing to resolve it with.

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 1-21-1004 — summons; service and return; and § 1-21-1007 — continuances

“Such service shall be not less than three (3) nor more than twelve (12) days before the day of trial set by the judge. … No continuance shall be granted the defendant for longer than two (2) days unless he gives a bond to the adverse party, with good and sufficient surety approved by the circuit court, conditioned for the payment of the rent that may accrue and costs if judgment is rendered against him.”

The ellipsis joins § 1-21-1004 to § 1-21-1007 as printed. Read on 2026-07-14 in the Legislature's own official Title 1 code PDF. Either side may demand a jury (§ 1-21-1009).

Read it at the source →

3 · W.S. § 1-21-1014(b) — proceedings upon stay on appeal; bond required

“An appeal by a defendant shall not stay the proceedings on judgment unless within forty-eight (48) hours after judgment, Sundays excepted, the appellant executes and files with the court his bond to plaintiff, with two (2) or more sufficient sureties approved by the court, conditioned that the appellant will pay all costs which have accrued or may thereafter accrue and all damages which plaintiff may have sustained or may thereafter sustain in consequence of the wrongful detention of the premises during the pendency of the appeal.”

NO DOLLAR FIGURE APPEARS ON THIS PAGE, and that is deliberate. The statute names none, and Wyoming circuit court filing fees and sheriff service fees are set outside it. Every fee figure on this site appears verbatim in a document we fetched, or it does not appear. What the statutes DO name are penalties: a $750 maximum fine for criminal trespass, and up to $10,000 for a squatter who damages the house.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

Can a sheriff remove them on the owner's affidavit alone, with no court?

Yes — and Wyoming is one of the few states where that is true. Since July 2025 you swear a complaint, hand it to law enforcement in the county, and if they can verify you are the record owner they give the people inside notice to leave and put you back in possession. No judge signs anything, and there is no case to file. What stands between you and that is the deputy satisfying himself you own the building — and the statute never says how he does that.

›Read the law — 3 provisions

Where a state has passed this, it hands the owner the whole mechanism for free. This field tracks the existential risk.

1 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(b), (viii) — the complaint, and what it asks for

“To request the immediate removal of an unauthorized person who is occupying a residential dwelling, the owner or the owner's authorized agent shall submit to law enforcement of the county where the residential dwelling is located a complaint for the removal of the unauthorized person. … (viii) The owner is requesting law enforcement to immediately remove the unauthorized person from the residential dwelling;”

The ellipsis skips paragraphs (i) through (vii), quoted elsewhere on this page. Note what the word 'complaint' does NOT mean here: it is not a pleading and it is not filed with a court. It goes to the sheriff or to a city or town's peace officers (§ 1-21-1401(a)(ii)).

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 1-21-1402(c)–(d) — verification, notice, and possession

“Upon receipt of a complaint under this section, law enforcement shall verify that the person who submitted the complaint is the record owner of the residential dwelling … Upon verification under subsection (c) of this section, law enforcement shall, without delay, provide notice to immediately vacate to all unauthorized persons occupying the residential dwelling and shall put the owner in possession of the residential dwelling.”

The ellipsis joins subsection (c) to subsection (d) as printed. There is no counter-affidavit in this article, no hearing, and no judicial officer. The occupant's remedy is to sue afterwards under § 1-21-1403(c), which is why the governor's own concern, when he let the act become law without his signature, was about due process. The check the legislature chose is the verification duty in (c) — and it named no way to discharge it.

Read it at the source →

3 · W.S. § 1-21-1403(c)(ii) — statutory damages for wrongful removal

“Statutory damages equal to triple the fair market value of renting the residential dwelling during the period of wrongful removal;”

Compare Georgia, where one signed counter-affidavit from the occupant closes the fast lane and sends the case to a magistrate. Wyoming has no such form. The risk of being wrong is carried entirely by the owner, after the fact, in money.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

How long before they can claim they own it?

Ten years. And note how Wyoming writes the rule — as a deadline on YOU: an action to recover the title or possession of land can only be brought within ten years after the claim arises.

›Read the law — 2 provisions

The thing an owner of an empty building actually fears. Pure state statute.

1 · W.S. § 1-3-103 — recovery of real property; generally

“An action for the recovery of the title or possession of lands, tenements or hereditaments can only be brought within ten (10) years after the cause of such action accrues.”

A CLAIM ABOUT OUR OWN SEARCH: on 2026-07-14 we read W.S. §§ 1-3-102 through 1-3-105 in the Legislature's own official Title 1 code PDF. The statute states the ten years and nothing else. Wyoming courts require the occupier to prove far more than the passage of time — possession that is actual, open, notorious, exclusive, continuous and hostile — but those elements are judicial, we could not fetch a Wyoming Supreme Court opinion stating them, and we do not put words in a court's mouth. Do not read the bare ten years as the whole rule; ask a Wyoming lawyer what the elements are. The URL is not versioned.

Read it at the source →

2 · W.S. § 1-3-104 — recovery of real property; legal disability

“Any person entitled to bring an action for the recovery of real property who is under any legal disability when the cause of action accrues may bring his action within ten (10) years after the disability is removed.”

Read on 2026-07-14 in the official Title 1 code PDF; the URL is not versioned.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

This page is the law. What it costs you in Wyoming — the filing fee, the sheriff’s bill, the months, and whether you ever see the money again.

Your deed proves you own it. It does not prove you never rented it.

That is the officer’s real question, and the lease in their hand does not contradict your deed. You can swear it is a forgery — but a statement you write the morning after, against a lease dated last year, is worth very little. The version that counts has to already exist.

How DeedProof verifies owners and files the affidavit in advance →

› Every source on this page (4)

W.S. § 1-3-104 — recovery of real property; legal disabilityW.S. § 1-21-1403(c)(ii) — statutory damages for wrongful removalW.S. § 6-3-303(a) — the words the offence hinges onW.S. § 7-2-102(b) — preconditions for arrests

DeedProof is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. We cite primary sources; we do not interpret them for your situation. Laws change — confirm current requirements with the relevant government office or a licensed attorney.