Section Three Hundred and Seventeen. When letters patent or grants of real property issued or made by the people of this State, are declared void by the determination of a competent Court, an action for the recovery of the property so conveyed may be brought, either by the people of the State, or by any subsequent patentee or grantee of the property, his heirs or assigns, within five years after such determination, but not after that period.
§ 317.Recovery of Property Conveyed When Letters Patent Or Grants Declare Void
Title 2. Of the Time of Commencing Civil Actions · Chapter 2. The Time of Commencing Actions for the Recovery of Real Property · Last amended 1873 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 317 gives the state, or any later patentee or grantee, or their heirs or assigns, five years after a court declares a state land patent or grant void to bring an action recovering the property conveyed, and bars the action after that five-year window closes.
Full Text of § 317
Plain-English Summary
Section 317 addresses what happens after a court declares a state patent or grant of real property void. It opens a five-year window, starting from the date of that judicial determination, for an action to recover the property that had been improperly conveyed.
That action is not limited to the state. Any subsequent patentee or grantee of the same property, or that person's heirs or assigns, may bring it. But the window closes firmly at five years; the section states the action may not be brought after that period.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens after a court voids a state land patent?
Section 317 gives the state, or a later patentee or grantee, or their heirs or assigns, five years from that court determination to bring an action recovering the property.
Can I still recover property under Section 317 more than five years after the patent was declared void?
No. The section bars the action once the five-year period following the court's determination has passed.
Amendment History
Amended by Code Amendments 1873-74, Ch. 383.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: void land patent california lawsuitrecovering property after patent voided