Certification of Individual's Landholdings

FORM 7-2180
2012 Instructions
(7-11)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CERTIFICATION OF
INDIVIDUAL’S LANDHOLDINGS
(Discretionary Provisions)

Bureau of Reclamation
Do not use this form after December 31, 2012

OMB Control No.: 1006-0005

Paperwork Reduction Act
This information is being collected to establish landholder compliance with Federal reclamation law. Response to this request is mandatory in
accordance with Public Law 97-293 and 43 CFR 426.18. Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including
time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control
number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimated or any other aspect of these forms to Manager, Land Resources Office, Code 84-53000,
Bureau of Reclamation, PO Box 25007, Denver CO 80225.

GENERAL INFORMATION
“General Information About RRA Forms” (Form 7-21INFO)
provides basic instructions on using Reclamation Reform Act of
1982 (RRA) forms. Ask your district office for this form each
year to keep current. Refer to the definitions at the end of
Form 7-21INFO whenever the meaning of a term is not clear to
you. Please note, some terms such as “irrigable land,”
“irrigation land,” and “irrigation water” have special definitions
when used in these forms which differ from their common
meaning. Other terms and corresponding definitions that are
specific to the RRA forms are:

Fact Sheets 1, 2, and 5 and the instructions to Form 7-2180EZ
are available at your district office if you are unsure whether
Form 7-2180 is the appropriate form for you to submit.
WHERE TO SUBMIT FORMS
You must submit a certification form to each district in which
you hold (directly or indirectly own or lease) land. You must
submit the original form to one district office and may submit
copies to the others if you hold land in more than one district.
WHAT LAND TO INCLUDE

•

“Land” or “acres” means irrigable and/or irrigation land.

•

“You” or “your” means the landholder.

•

“We,” “us,” “our,” or “Reclamation” means the Bureau
of Reclamation

You must certify all of your land held westwide that is subject to
the acreage limitation provisions. Please see Form 7-21INFO if
you have excess land or full-cost land to identify. You must
provide an accurate legal description or an assessor’s parcel
number for each land parcel. Be sure to break down land
parcels as far as necessary to ensure accurate identification.

Visit www.usbr.gov/rra for more information.
IF LANDHOLDINGS CHANGE
WHO MUST SUBMIT THIS FORM
You must certify your landholding on a “Certification of
Individual’s Landholdings” (Form 7-2180) if you are an
individual, an individual with dependent children, a married
couple, or a married couple with dependent children, and you
are a qualified recipient whose total westwide landholdings are
more than the RRA forms submittal threshold of your district(s).
A category 1 district's form submittal threshold is 240 acres and
a category 2 district's threshold is 80 acres for qualified
recipients. Please contact each district in which you hold land to
find out each district's forms submittal category since a district's
RRA forms submittal category is subject to change annually.
You may be eligible to submit an “EZ Certification of
Individual’s Landholdings” (Form 7-2180EZ) instead of
Form 7-2180 if you meet certain conditions. See the instructions
to Form 7-2180EZ for a list of those conditions.

You must notify all districts in which you hold land within
30 calendar days if your westwide landholdings change during
the water year, and you must submit new certification forms
within 60 calendar days of the change. These 30- and 60-day
grace periods do not apply to a new landholder. A new
landholder must submit certification forms prior to receiving
Reclamation irrigation water.
For more information on landholding changes see Fact Sheet 11,
which is available at your district office.
ANNUAL CERTIFICATION
You must submit a standard certification form each and every
year prior to the delivery of Reclamation irrigation water to your
land if your westwide landholdings exceed the applicable
RRA forms submittal threshold, with the following exceptions:

2.
(1)

You may submit a “Verification of Landholdings”
(Form 7-21VERIFY) instead of Form 7-2180 if your
westwide landholdings have not changed since the last
standard certification form you submitted;

(2)

You may submit a Form 7-21VERIFY together with a
new “Selection of Full-Cost Land” (Form 7-21FC) if
your westwide landholdings have not changed since the
last standard certification form you submitted, and you
want to reselect your full-cost land; or

(3)

You do not need to submit any RRA forms if you only
hold land indirectly through entities, trusts, or estates
and neither the acres attributed to you nor the percentage
of the entity, trust, or estate attributed to you has
changed since you previously submitted a Form 7-2180,
and all other information on your previously submitted
Form 7-2180 has not changed.

3.
4.

Enter your marital status (single, married, divorced, or
widowed).
Enter your spouse's name, if married.
(a) Enter your residential address. You must use the street
address or rural route number, city, state, and ZIP code.
Your attorney's address, relative's address, “c/o”
address, etc., is not acceptable in place of a residential
address. Post office box numbers may be used only if
no other address exists.
(b) Enter your mailing address if it is different from your
residential address.

5.

(a) Enter the telephone number where questions can be
directed.
(b) Enter the name of a contact person at that telephone
number, if you are not the person to whom we should
direct our questions.

IRREVOCABLE ELECTION
6.
Please be aware, by submitting this form, a prior law recipient
that only holds land indirectly in a district that has conformed to
the discretionary provisions will be making an irrevocable
election to conform to the discretionary provisions. That action
will be binding in that and all other districts in which the
landholder holds land subject to the acreage limitation
provisions.

If you, your spouse if you are married, or your dependents
hold land in the name of an entity that is entirely owned by
you, your spouse, and/or your dependents, enter that name.
Note: Nondependent minor children who hold land that
exceeds the forms submittal threshold must submit their
own RRA form(s). An entity that is subject to the
discretionary provisions, excluding a trust or estate, that is
wholly owned by an individual (which by definition includes
a married couple under the discretionary provisions) must
not submit its own RRA form. Do not list trusts and estates
of which you are a beneficiary. Instead, list such trusts and
estates in item 15.

Such actions do not apply if you and your spouse, if married, are
nonresident aliens. See Form 7-21INFO for more information
on how an irrevocable election impacts your westwide acreage
limitation status and what actions need to be taken by
nonresident aliens in order to conform to the discretionary
provisions.

Enter the following information if you own 100-percent
interest in an entity that directly owns or leases land:

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

(a) Entity’s name.

Type or print in ink all answers. You must initial and date any
crossouts and corrections. You may attach continuation sheets
to list information. Preprinted continuation sheets are available
for this purpose, or you may make your own. District name
abbreviation(s) used on this form must be spelled out on the
form where the abbreviation is used for the first time, or on a
separate sheet attached to this form. Please contact your district
office or the appropriate Reclamation office if you have any
questions.

(b) Entity’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) [please
see item 15(c) for more information on EIN’s],
(c) State or country where the entity is established, and
(d) The legal description(s) or an assessor’s parcel
number(s) for land that is directly owned or leased by
the entity.
(e) Number of acres if held by a 100-percent owned entity.

ITEM BY ITEM INSTRUCTIONS
(f) Entity’s acreage limitation status: subject to prior law
or subject to discretionary provisions.

Landholder Information
1.

Enter your name.

For purposes of determining total landholdings, if you
hold 100-percent interest in an entity that directly owns
or leases land, all land listed here must be listed again
2

FORM 7-2180 (2012)

in items 10 and 11 for the entity's directly owned land,
or items 13 and 14 for the entity's directly leased land.
List any other name in which you or your spouse
directly hold land (such as a maiden name, dependent’s
name, etc.).

(b) Provide an accurate legal description of the land parcel
or an assessor’s parcel number. For each lessee,
sublessee, or operator entered in item 10(d) [or for
yourself if you check “self” in item 10(c)], there is
space to list four land parcels (one parcel per line) if all
parcels are operated by the same natural person or
entity in the same district. You may list more than one
parcel per line if all parcels have the same lease
information.

Note: All trusts and estates must complete a
“Declaration of Trust’s or Estate’s Landholdings”
(Form 7-21TRUST).
7.

8.

(c) Who primarily operates the land parcel: you (self); a
lessee or sublessee under a lease (lessee/sublessee); or
an operator under any other type of farm operating
arrangement (other).

Check the box(es) to indicate if you or your spouse, if
married, are U.S. citizens, resident aliens, or nonresident
aliens. Please indicate your country of citizenship if you
check “nonresident alien.” Nonresident aliens will be
required to submit proof of citizenship when they
irrevocably elect to conform to the discretionary provisions.
Please note, land held directly by nonresident aliens who
are qualified recipients is not eligible to receive
Reclamation irrigation water.

(d) Name, address, and telephone number of each lessee,
sublessee, or other type of operator. Skip this column
and go to item 10(g) if you are the primary operator of
the land parcel.
(e) Starting date of the lease. This is the date the lease first
became effective. Enter the date the lease was signed if
no effective date was specified in the lease.
Remember, leases cannot exceed 10 years except with
our approval for perennial crops, which are determined
on a crop-by-crop basis but cannot exceed 25 years.

Indicate your dependency status under the Internal Revenue
Code. If your answer is “yes,” STOP, do not continue to
complete this form. Your westwide landholdings must be
included on your parents' or legal guardians’ Form 7-2180.
Parents or legal guardians must submit a Form 7-2180 and
count the land held in the name(s) of their dependent(s)
against the parents’ or legal guardians’ acreage limitation
entitlements, even if they hold no land in their own names.

Land You Directly Own

(f) Ending date of the lease. This is the date on which the
current lease will terminate, including all exercisable
options.

It is the responsibility of landowners, sellers of land, and districts
to notify lessees, buyers of land, and new landholders,
respectively, of the RRA forms submittal requirements
associated with the land in question.

(g) Number of acres in the land parcel. If you lease land
from a public entity and then sublease it to another
landholder, do not list those acres in this column
because they are attributed to the sublessee.

9.

Enter your name again. (These forms are often
photocopied, so it is necessary to have your name identified
on each page.)

11. Total column 10(g). This is the number of acres you
directly own westwide. Include in this total any directly
owned acres listed on continuation sheets or attachments.
Land You Directly Lease From Another Party

10. This section requests information regarding land that you
directly own westwide. Also include any land owned by an
entity in which you own 100-percent interest. Include land
leased from a public entity here instead of including it as
leased land in item 13 because it counts against the lessee's
ownership entitlement (pursuant to Public Law 91-310). In
that situation, write the land is leased from a public entity
and include the name of that public entity after the legal
description of the land parcel. Enter the following for each
land parcel:

Landholders that lease land to or from other landholders should
inform the lessees and lessors of their obligation to also submit
RRA forms. If either the lessee or lessor fails to submit
RRA forms, the eligibility of the land to receive Reclamation
irrigation water will be jeopardized.
12. Enter your name.
13. This section requests information regarding land that you
directly lease westwide from another party. Also include
any land directly leased by an entity in which you own 100percent interest. Do not include land you lease from a
public entity here; instead, include it in item 10. Include

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
Group land parcels by district to make it easier to
complete items 20 through 26.

3

FORM 7-2180 (2012)

information regarding any land you sublease to others here.
Enter the following for each land parcel:

trust’s or estate’s Form 7-21TRUST that attributes land to
you. By referring to the information contained on the
entity's, trust's, or estate's form, you can help ensure the
information you certify on your form is accurate. For the
land held by a dependent, include the name of the dependent
after the name of the entity. Enter the following for each
land parcel in each district in which the entity, trust, or
estate holds land attributed to you:

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
Group land parcels by district to make it easier to
complete items 20 through 26.
(b) Provide an accurate legal description of the land parcel
or an assessor’s parcel number.

(a) Name of district in which the land parcel is located.
Group land parcels by district to make it easier to
complete items 20 through 26.

(c) Who primarily operates the land: you (self) or another
party (other).
(d) Natural person or entity that directly owns the land that
you lease. Enter the sublessee’s name as well as the
landowner's name if you sublease the land to another
landholder. If you sublease the land from another
landholder, enter the sublessor’s name and the
landowner’s name. Include the farm operator’s name if
the land is operated by a farm operator.

(b) Name of the entity, trust, or estate that holds land in
which you own an interest or are a beneficiary.

(e) Starting date of the lease. This is the date the lease first
became effective. Enter the date the lease was signed if
no effective date was specified in the lease.
Remember, leases cannot exceed 10 years except with
our approval for perennial crops, which are determined
on a crop-by-crop basis but cannot exceed 25 years.

(d) Percentage of interest you own in each entity or the
percentage of land held in a trust or estate attributed to
you.

(f) Ending date of the lease. This is the date on which the
current lease will terminate, including all exercisable
options.

(f) Multiply item 15(d) (in decimal form) by item 15(e).
This is the number of acres that you indirectly own
through the entity, trust, or estate.

(g) Number of acres in the land parcel. Do not list acres
that you sublease to others in this column because they
are attributed to the sublessee.

(g) Total number of acres leased (directly and indirectly)
by the entity, trust, or estate.

(c) The entity's, trust's, or estate's EIN. Leave this blank if
the entity, trust, or estate does not have an EIN, and is
not required by the Internal Revenue Service to have
an EIN.

(e) Total number of acres owned (directly and indirectly)
by the entity, trust, or estate.

(h) This item applies if you directly own land and lease that
same land to an entity, trust, or estate in which you own
an interest. Leave both sections of item 15(h) blank if
you do not have this situation. By completing this item
you will prevent counting the same land twice against
your entitlement, once as directly owned land and again
as indirectly leased land if this situation applies to you.

14. Total column 13(g). This is the total number of acres you
directly lease (and sublease) westwide. Include in this total
any directly leased (and subleased) acres listed on
continuation sheets or attachments. Please contact your
district office for further instructions if all or part of your
directly leased land is also attributed to your indirectly
owned land.

(1) Enter the number of acres from item 15(g) that you
directly own and lease to the entity, trust, or estate.

Land You Indirectly Own or Lease Through Other
Entities

(2) Subtract item 15(h)(1) from item 15(g). This is
the number of adjusted acres that the entity, trust,
or estate leases to use in calculating the number
of leased acres attributed to you.

15. This section requests information regarding land that you
indirectly own or lease westwide through entities, trusts, or
estates. Do not include land directly held by any entity in
which you own 100-percent interest. Instead, include that
land in item 10 or item 13 as appropriate. Include land
indirectly held by any entity in which you own 100-percent
interest. Obtain a completed copy of any entity’s
“Certification of Entity’s Landholdings” (Form 7-2181) or
“Report of Entity’s Landholdings” (Form 7-2191), or any

If this double-counting adjustment does not meet your
particular scenario, please contact your district office.

4

FORM 7-2180 (2012)

(i) Multiply item 15(d) (in decimal form) by item 15(h)(2)
if you completed item 15(h). Multiply item 15(d) (in
decimal form) by item 15(g) if you did not complete
item 15(h). This is the number of leased acres
attributed to you through the entity, trust, or estate.
16. Total column 15(f). This is the total number of acres you
indirectly own westwide. Include in this total any indirectly
owned acres listed on continuation sheets or attachments.

Involuntarily acquire excess land; or

•

Involuntarily acquire eligible land and designate it
as excess.

23. For each district, enter the total number of acres you directly
lease in the district. Obtain this information from item
13(g). Add the number of acres in item 23 and enter that
number in the “TOTAL” column (far right column). This is
the number of acres you directly lease westwide and should
equal item 14.

17. Total column 15(i). This is the total number of acres you
indirectly lease westwide. Include in this total any indirectly
leased acres listed on continuation sheets or attachments.

24. For each district, enter the total number of acres you
indirectly lease in the district. Obtain this information from
item 15(i). Add the number of acres in item 24 and enter
that number in the “TOTAL” column (far right column).
This is the number of acres you indirectly lease westwide
and should equal item 17.

Landholdings Summary
18. Enter your name.
19. Enter the name of each district westwide in which you hold
land. Circle the district at which the original form is filed if
you are a multidistrict landholder.

25. For each district, add item 23 and item 24. This is the total
number of acres you lease in each district. Add the number
of acres in item 25 and enter that number in the “TOTAL”
column (far right column). This is the number of acres you
lease westwide.

20. For each district, enter the total number of acres you directly
own in the district. Obtain this information from item
10(g). Add the number of acres in item 20 and enter that
number in the “TOTAL” column (far right column). This is
the number of acres you directly own westwide and should
equal item 11.

26. For each district, add item 22 and item 25. This is the total
number of acres you hold in each district. Add the number of
acres in item 26 and enter that number in the “TOTAL” column
(far right column). This is the number of acres you hold
westwide and counts against your nonfull-cost entitlement. You
must submit a Form 7-21FC if this number is more than your
nonfull-cost entitlement AND you directly or indirectly lease
land.

21. For each district, enter the total number of acres you
indirectly own in the district. Obtain this information from
item 15(f). Add the number of acres in item 21 and enter
that number in the “TOTAL” column (far right column).
This is the number of acres you indirectly own westwide
and should equal item 16.

Basis for Eligibility for Discretionary Provision
Entitlements

22. For each district, add item 20 and item 21. This is the total
number of acres you own in each district. Add the number
of acres in item 22 and enter that total in the far right
column. This is the number of acres you own westwide and
counts against your ownership entitlement. You must
submit a “Designation of Excess Land” (Form 7-21XS) if
this number is more than your ownership entitlement.

27. Check the box next to the one statement that best describes
how you became subject to the discretionary provisions.
Provide the requested information for that statement. Please
contact your district office if you do not know which
statement applies to you.

We will determine all land held by you to be ineligible to
receive Reclamation irrigation water if you exceed your
westwide ownership entitlement and you do not submit
Form 7-21XS to designate your excess acres. Your land
will be ineligible to receive such water until the appropriate
excess designation is made. Regardless of whether your
owned land exceeds your ownership entitlement, you must
complete a Form 7-21XS and designate land as excess on
that form if you:
•

•

Signatures
28. Read the attestation statements carefully and sign and date
the form in ink. The statements concerning the reporting of
changes in information, the rent paid on irrigation land,
written leases, the terms of such leases, and holdings of your
spouse, if married, and dependents are requirements of
Federal reclamation law. Both you and your spouse, if
married, must sign the form. This requirement applies even
if the land is not jointly held. However, you may use a
written signature authorization to permit one spouse to sign
for the couple and a copy must be submitted to each district

Purchase land that was designated as excess by the
seller without our sales price approval;
5

FORM 7-2180 (2012)

you submit RRA forms. The district office must keep any
such spousal signature authorizations on file.

6

FORM 7-2180 (2012)