FACT SHEET 1

August 1998

RRA FORMS 

WHO, WHERE, WHEN, 

AND WHAT 

Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (RRA) 

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This Fact Sheet explains who must file RRA forms, where RRA forms must be submitted, and

when RRA forms must be filed. This Fact Sheet also provides a list of the various RRA forms. 

WHO MUST FILE RRA FORMS

Except as otherwise noted in this Fact Sheet, all landholders (direct or indirect 

landowners or lessees), who hold (directly or indirectly own or lease) nonexempt land 

(irrigable or irrigation land that is subject to the acreage limitation provisions) within Bureau 

of Reclamation (Reclamation) projects must annually file an RRA form as a condition for 

the receipt of irrigation water from a Reclamation facility. This requirement applies to

individuals, married couples and their dependents, legal entities (partnerships, corporations,

trusts, estates, joint tenancies, tenancies-in-common, etc.), religious or charitable

organizations, and public entities. Owned land must be declared on RRA forms as title is 

held. If land is subleased, the sublessee, not the lessee, must annually file an RRA form;

however, if the lessee should otherwise have to file an RRA form, information on the 

sublease must be provided on that form. 

 If an RRA form is not filed, you or the entity in which you have an interest 

will not be eligible to receive Reclamation irrigation water, even if other existing

requirements are met. Delivery of Reclamation irrigation water to land without an 

RRA form on file is a violation of the RRA and the Acreage Limitation Rules and

Regulations (43 CFR part 426). 

Landholders are ultimately responsible for the information provided on RRA forms, even if

another party (a district employee, attorney, accountant, relative, etc.) should complete the

RRA form for a landholder. All landholders must sign their own RRA forms. If you need

information on the signature requirements, see Fact Sheet 10.

CERTIFICATION forms (blue text) are for those landholders subject to the discretionary

provisions of the RRA, while REPORTING forms (brown text) are for those landholders 

subject to the prior law provisions. If you are not sure which of these provisions apply to you,
FACT SHEET 1

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contact your district or see Fact Sheet 2, How to Determine Your Status Under Reclamation

Law. DECLARATION forms (green text) are to be used by trusts and public entities,

regardless of whether their landholdings are located in a prior law or discretionary provisions

district. 

The form(s) you submit must be an approved Reclamation form(s) that has not expired. 

Other forms used by your district; the Farm Service Agency; or other Federal, State, or 

local governments and organizations cannot be used in place of Reclamationís official 

forms. The only exception is for substitute RRA forms which have been approved by

Reclamation and display an RRA substitute form approval number.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RRA FORMS REQUIREMENTS

Exceptions to the RRA forms requirements are based on both the landholder's acreage

limitation status and each district's RRA forms submittal category. Since a district's RRA

forms submittal category is subject to change on an annual basis, qualified recipients 

should annually contact all districts in which they hold land to determine the RRA forms

submittal category of each district.

1. Any landholder whose total westwide (the 17 Western States where Reclamation

has projects) landholding is less than the RRA forms submittal threshold shown below is

exempt from the requirement to file RRA forms. When determining the total westwide

landholding, all nonexempt land that is owned or leased (both directly and indirectly through

entities) must be counted. Landholders may not use Class 1 equivalency factors in

calculating their total landholdings for purposes of determining if they must submit RRA forms.

 Indirect landholders need not count involuntarily acquired acreage designated as

excess by the direct landowner when determining whether any RRA forms must 

be filed. 

RRA FORMS SUBMITTAL THRESHOLDS

Landholder Status District Forms Submittal

Category 1

District Forms Submittal

Category 2

Qualified Recipient 240 acres 80 acres

Limited Recipient 40 acres 40 acres

Prior Law Recipient 40 acres 40 acres

Public Entities 40 acres 40 acres

Trusts and Estates See the instructions for the ìDeclaration of Trustís or

Estateís Landholdingsî (Form 7-21TRUST) or 

Fact Sheet 12
FACT SHEET 1

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Multi-district landholders who hold land in more than one district MUST file forms based 

on their westwide landholdings and the forms submittal threshold for each district in which 

the land is located. For example, Landholder A is a qualified recipient who directly holds 

120 acres in District Y and 65 acres in District Z. For the 1997 water year, District Y has a

Category 1 RRA forms submittal status, while District Z has a Category 2 RRA forms submittal

status. Since Landholder A holds 185 acres westwide, she is not required to submit an RRA

form to District Y for 1997, but she must submit an RRA form to District Z. If in 1998, both

districts have Category 1 status, Landholder A would not have to submit RRA forms to either

district; however, if both districts had Category 2 status in 1998, she would have to submit

RRA forms to both districts. 

2. Land in districts exempted from the acreage limitation provisions by statute (such 

as Corps of Engineers projects that meet certain criteria) or by actions taken by the Secretary

of the Interior need not be declared on RRA forms, unless such land receives Reclamation

irrigation water from another district that is subject to the acreage limitation provisions.

3. Land held in districts that have only Small Reclamation Projects Act, Rehabilitation

and Betterment Loan, Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991, or Water

Conservation and Utilization Act contracts need not be declared on RRA forms.

4. Indian trust or restricted lands need not be declared on RRA forms.

5. A wholly owned subsidiary is exempt from submitting RRA forms provided its

ultimate parent legal entity has properly filed such forms and those forms disclose the

landholdings of each of its subsidiaries.

WHERE TO FILE RRA FORMS

You must submit RRA forms to each district in which you directly or indirectly own or lease 

nonexempt land. If you contract directly with Reclamation, submit your RRA forms to your 

local Reclamation office.

If you have been submitting REPORTING forms (brown text), but then you become subject 

to the discretionary provisions through an action taken by a district (the district amends its

contract or enters into a new contract), you must submit the proper CERTIFICATION forms

(blue text) to every district in which you own or lease nonexempt land.

 Nonresident aliens and foreign entities who hold land in a district that is subject 

to the discretionary provisions must file REPORTING forms (brown text), unless 

they have made an irrevocable election to conform to the discretionary provisions
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which has been approved by Reclamation. This assumes the nonresident alien or

foreign entity holds the land indirectly in a discretionary provisions district, since 

land held directly by nonresident aliens and foreign entities in discretionary 

provisions districts is ineligible to receive Reclamation irrigation water.

If you make an IRREVOCABLE ELECTION to become subject to the discretionary provisions,

you must submit originals of your irrevocable election and the proper CERTIFICATION forms

to your district. If you hold land in more than one district, the original irrevocable election and

certification forms must be filed in one district and copies of both your irrevocable election and

certification forms must be submitted concurrently to every other district in which you own or

lease nonexempt land.

WHEN TO FILE RRA FORMS

RRA forms must be submitted annually. All appropriate RRA form(s) for your landholding for

the water year in question must be on file at your district(s) before you or the entity in which

you have an interest receives Reclamation irrigation water for that water year. Each district

may establish a due date for the RRA forms. Contact your district(s) to determine if such a

date has been established. Any time you have a landholding change, new RRA forms must

be filed at your district within 60 calendar days. For information on landholding changes, see

Fact Sheet 11.

 The landholding change provisions only apply to landholders who have already

submitted an RRA form to the district for the water year in question. New landholders

must have RRA forms on file prior to receiving Reclamation irrigation water on their

land. This even applies to a landholder who has RRA forms on file in other districts 

and becomes a landholder in yet another district; that landholder must have an RRA

form on file in the new district before he/she/it receives Reclamation irrigation water 

on land in that district, although the landholder will have 60 calendar days to file new

RRA forms in the other districts. 

 Landholders who meet the following criteria do not have to submit RRA forms 

annually as long as all of the criteria are met: The landholder (a) only holds land 

indirectly through entities, trusts, or estates, (b) has submitted an RRA form in 

a previous year, and (c) the acres attributed to the landholder and the percentage 

of the entity, trust, or estate attributed to the landholder have not changed since 

the RRA form was submitted and all other information on the previously submitted 

RRA form has not changed.
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WHAT ARE THE RRA FORMS

The following tables include RRA forms that have been designed and distributed by

Reclamation and approved for use by the Office of Management and Budget. If you are not

sure of which RRA forms to file, see Fact Sheet 5 for Qualified Recipients, Fact Sheet 7 for

Limited Recipients, and Fact Sheet 9 for Prior Law Recipients.

Information submitted by landholders on RRA forms is covered by the Privacy Act of 1995. 

Districts will maintain and dispose of the RRA forms according to the requirements of the

Privacy Act of 1995.

STANDARD RRA LANDHOLDER FORMS

A standard RRA form is a form in which a total landholding can be identified.

RRA Form Number Title of Form Color of Text

Form 7-2180 Certification of Individualís Landholdings Blue

Form 7-2180EZ "EZ" Certification of Individualís Landholdings Blue

Form 7-2181 Certification of Entityís Landholdings Blue

Form 7-2184 Certification of Religious or Charitable 

Organization's Landholdings

Blue

Form 7-2190 Report of Individualís Landholdings Brown

Form 7-2190EZ "EZ" Report of Individualís Landholdings Brown

Form 7-2191 Report of Entityís Landholdings Brown

Form 7-2194 Report of Religious or Charitable 

Organization's Landholdings

Brown

Form 7-21PE Declaration of Public Entityís Landholdings Green

Form 7-21TRUST Declaration of Trustís or Estateís Landholdings Green
FACT SHEET 1

Mission of the Bureau of Reclamation: To manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically

sound manner in the interest of the American public.

The Department of the Interior has established a 24-hour toll-free telephone number (1-800-424-5081) for anyone wishing to report suspected

violations of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (RRA). Anyone reporting suspected violations will be protected under Federal privacy laws.

Distributed by the Bureau of Reclamation, United States Department of the Interior.

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OTHER RRA LANDHOLDER FORMS

Other RRA forms are supplemental to standard RRA forms. These forms do not provide a

complete picture of a landholding.

RRA Form Number Title of Form Color of Text

Form 7-21VERIFY Verification of Landholdings Red

Form 7-21FC Selection of Full-Cost Land Red

Form 7-21XS Designation of Excess Land Red

Form 7-21CONT-I Continuation Sheet for Indirectly Held

Landholdings

Black

Form 7-21CONT-L Continuation Sheet for Directly Leased

Landholdings

Black

Form 7-21CONT-O Continuation Sheet for Directly Owned

Landholdings

Black

DISTRICT SUMMARY FORMS

District summary forms are annually completed by the district and submitted to Reclamation 

by the district. Districts use information provided on RRA forms submitted by landholders to

complete the district summary forms.

Copies of the RRA forms may be obtained from your district or local Reclamation office.