(a) Filing and fees. (1) A person who desires to enter public lands under the desert land laws must file an application together with a petition on forms approved by the Director, properly executed. However, if the lands described in the application have been already classified and opened for disposition under the desert land laws, no petition is required. The documents must be filed in the proper office (see § 1821.2-1 of this chapter).

(2) All applications must be accompanied by an application service fee of $15 which is not returnable, and the payment of 25 cents per acre for the lands therein described as required by law.

(b) Post-office addresses of applicants and witnesses. Applicants and witnesses must in all cases state their places of actual residence, their business or occupation, and their post-office addresses. It is not sufficient to name only the county or State in which a person lives, but the town or city must be named also; and where the residence is in a city the street and number must be given. It is especially important to claimants that upon changing their post-office addresses they promptly notify the authorizing officer of such change, for in case of failure to do so their entries may be canceled upon notice sent to the address of record but not received by them.

(c) Execution of applications and proofs; time for filing of applications. (1) Applications and proofs, except final proofs required by R.S. 2294 (43 U.S.C. 254), must be signed by the applicants but need not be under oath. Final proofs may be executed before any officer authorized to administer oaths in public land cases, as explained by § 1821.3-2 of this chapter.

(2) An application to make desert-land entry is not acceptable if dated more than 10 days before its filing at the land office.

(d) Evidence of water rights required with application. No desert-land application will be allowed unless accompanied by evidence satisfactorily showing either that the intending entryman has already acquired by appropriation, purchase, or contract a right to the permanent use of sufficient water to irrigate and reclaim all of the irrigable portion of the land sought, or that he has initiated and prosecuted, as far as then possible, appropriate steps looking to the acquisition of such a right, or, in States where no permit or right to appropriate water is granted until the land embraced within the application is classified as suitable for desert-land entry or the entry is allowed, a showing that the applicant is otherwise qualified under State law to secure such permit or right. If applicant intends to procure water from an irrigation district, corporation, or association, but is unable to obtain a contract for the water in advance of the allowance of his entry, then he must furnish, in lieu of the contract, some written assurance from the responsible officials of such district, corporation, or association that, if his entry be allowed, applicant will be able to obtain from that source the necessary water. The authorizing officer will examine the evidence submitted in such applications and either reject defective applications or require additional evidence.