Land Law Examiner
What you'd do
Explore a new career with the Bureau Land Management - where our people are our most precious resource. You will serve as a Land Law Examiner. Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
Major duties
Review and process applications for lands, mining, mineral, oil and gas pipelines, electronic signal transmission systems, and roads/trails for recordable disclaimers and other actions Make decisions concerning the application and compliance on land patent applications. Prepare, finalize, and distribute patents ensuring appropriate rights are granted, conveyance authorizations cited, patent reservations inserted, and existing rights identified. Analyze reports; research land records; and review private title documents and title insurance policies. Communicate with customers land transfer laws, regulations and land statuses.
What you need to qualify
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/22/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: For GS-07: Specialized Experience: You must possess one (1) full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience in or directly related to examination or adjudication of cases involving laws and regulations dealing with lands and resources. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: examination of applications and claims for the disposal, use of, or title to public lands, issuance of leases, licenses, or permits for land or resources use; title searching, interpreting land records; work in land appraising; legal instrument review and interpretation; working with legal transactions such as acquisition, leases, or disposal of land. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement: See OPM's General Policies, Application of Qualification Standards Section 4.f.) S.A.A. must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a directly related field AND meet one of the following: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper 3rd of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on the completed courses; OR (2) Grad-Point Average (GPA): earn a GPA of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on 4 years of education, or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum -or- (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years. Note: GPA will be rounded to one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society. For GS-09: Specialized Experience: You must possess one (1) full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to GS-07 in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as: adjudicating or examining applications and claims for the disposal, use of, or title to public lands; issuance of leases, licenses, or permits for land use; resolving conflicts arising from use; interpreting land records; work as a land appraiser; and/or general practice of law including legal transactions involving acquisition, lease, or disposal. -OR- Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., directly related to duties performed by a Land Law Examiner. Examples of related coursework are land surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation. -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. For GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must possess one (1) full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to GS-09 in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as: adjudicating or examining claims for the disposal, use of, or title to public lands, leases, licenses, or permits for land use, resolving conflicts arising by; interpreting land records; work as a land appraiser; general practice of law including legal transactions involving acquisition, lease, or disposal. Interpret and solve difficult and complex drafting problems in research, analysis, evaluation and compilation of source data; adapting and developing standards, methods and techniques for map or plat design and construction. -OR- Education: Have a PH.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., directly related to duties performed by a Land Law Examiner. Examples of related coursework are land surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation. - OR- Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Before you apply
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