Land Law Examiner

US-Bureau-of-Land-Management; Alturas (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Bureau of Land Management is seeking a Land Law Examiner in California to examine and adjudicate land and mineral cases supporting public lands management. The position is located in Alturas or Cedarville, CA, and requires meeting the IOR via education or experience.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date (10/23/2026). The role emphasizes collecting and verifying information, examining case records, and drafting decisions.

Qualifications

• Experience with land or mineral case actions is preferred.
• Ability to review land records, maps, and legal documents for accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Collecting and verifying factual information for routine land or minerals case actions.
• Reviewing basic case records and land descriptions to confirm standard requirements.
• Drafting simple case decisions or standard letter communications.
• Entering, updating, and maintaining case information in recordkeeping systems.
• Developing, verifying, and analyzing factual information for moderately difficult land or minerals cases.
• Examining and processing land or minerals applications and applying laws, regulations, and policies.
• Researching statutes, regulations, precedents, and preparing notices or adjudication decisions.
• Maintaining and quality-checking case data and communicating with applicants, representatives, agency personnel, or the public.

Job description

Join the Bureau of Land Management as a Land Law Examiner, where you will examine and adjudicate land and mineral cases that support the management of public lands and resources.

We expect to fill 1 vacancy in one of the following locations. Learn more about these communities and surrounding areas below:

• Alturas, CA
• Cedarville, CA

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/23/2026-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.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT - LAND LAW EXAMINING SERIES (0965)

In addition to the grade-level qualifications below, you must meet the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) through qualifying education or experience, as applicable:

Experience:

You have experience directly related to examining or adjudicating cases under land and resource-related laws and regulations. Examples include reviewing applications or claims for public land use or disposal; processing leases, licenses, or permits for land or resource use; resolving land-use matters or conflicts; title searching or abstracting; or interpreting land records, survey plats, tract indexes, or legal documents when the work demonstrates an understanding of applicable land laws, regulations, and policies.

OR

Education for GS-07:

You have graduate-level education, including law school, that included or was supplemented by at least 12 semester hours of coursework related to the administration of land laws. Examples include land surveying, cartography, land use or real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation.

OR

Education for GS-09:

You have qualifying graduate education with major study in a field related to the administration of land laws, such as the fields described above for GS-07.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE GS-07 LAND LAW EXAMINER

In addition to meeting the IOR, you must meet one of the following:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

You have at least one full year of specialized experience comparable to the GS-05 level or equivalent performing all of the following:

• Collecting and verifying factual information for routine land or minerals case actions, using established procedures to determine whether an application or claim is accurate and properly executed.
• Reviewing basic case records, land descriptions, or supporting documents to identify clear-cut facts and confirm standard requirements are met for routine applications or transactions.
• Drafting simple case decisions or standard correspondence for review and signature by higher-graded staff.
• Entering, updating, and maintaining case information in recordkeeping systems and ensuring accuracy of data used for routine case processing.

OR

EDUCATION:

You have completed one full year of graduate-level education related to the position that also satisfies the GS-07 education provision of the IOR above and demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work.

One year of full-time graduate education is the number of credit hours the school considers one year of full-time study; if this cannot be determined, 18 semester hours is considered one full year.

OR

SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (SAA):

You successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a directly related field that included at least 12 semester hours of coursework related to the administration of land laws AND meet one of the following: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (GPA): earn a GPA of (a) 3.0 or higher out of 4.0 ("B" or better) based on four years of education or courses completed during the final two years; OR (b) 3.5 or higher out of 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on required courses completed in the major field or during the final two years. GPA is rounded to one decimal place (e.g., 2.95 = 3.0; 2.94 = 2.9); OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Freshman honor societies do not qualify.

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

You have qualifying graduate education and specialized experience that together equal at least 100 percent of the GS-07 requirement and also satisfy the IOR above.

Divide your months of qualifying experience by 12 and your qualifying graduate semester hours by the number your school considers one full year (18 semester hours if not otherwise established). Add the percentages; the total must equal at least 100 percent. Required related coursework is prorated consistent with OPM standards.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE GS-09 LAND LAW EXAMINER

In addition to meeting the IOR, you must meet one of the following:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

You have at least one full year of specialized experience comparable to the GS-07 level or equivalent performing all of the following:

• Developing, verifying, and analyzing factual information and evidence for moderately difficult land or minerals case actions, including determining the accuracy and proper execution of applications or claims and applicant qualifications for requested rights.
• Examining and processing land or minerals applications, claims, legal instruments, land descriptions, titles, tract maps, or related case records and applying laws, regulations, policies, guides, and precedents to determine sufficiency, compliance, or appropriate case action.
• Researching statutes, regulations, precedents, opinions, manuals, or case records and preparing correspondence, notices, or adjudication decisions that organize facts, findings, conclusions, requirements, and appropriate case actions.
• Maintaining and quality-checking case information in data or recordkeeping systems and communicating with applicants, representatives, agency personnel, or the public to obtain, clarify, or provide factual information concerning land or minerals transactions.

OR

EDUCATION:

You have a master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR an LL.B. or J.D., if related. Your education must be related to the position, satisfy the GS-09-and-above education provision of the IOR above, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work.

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

You have qualifying graduate education and specialized experience that together equal at least 100 percent of the GS-09 requirement. Only graduate education beyond the amount required for the next lower grade may be credited.

The percentage of qualifying graduate education beyond the first full year, plus the percentage of qualifying GS-07-level specialized experience, must equal at least 100 percent. Your education and/or experience must also satisfy the IOR above.

Other Information: 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.