(a) Commonwealth rights.--The right of a person to a patent for vacant or unappropriated lands is subject to the right of the department to formally acquire for the department on behalf of the Commonwealth and have vacant or unappropriated lands patented to the Commonwealth for State forest purposes or State park purposes as provided by section 6105 (relating to acquisition determination).
(b) Survey.--A person may apply for a warrant to have a survey made of any tract of vacant or unappropriated land.
(c) Investigation.--The department, with the cooperation of the commission, shall investigate to determine whether office rights have been granted for a tract of land and whether the tract of land is vacant or unappropriated if an applicant does all of the following:
(1) Completes an application prescribed by the department.
(2) Gives 30 days' notice of the filing of the application by publication once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the land is situate. The applicant must furnish proof of publication to the department.
(3) Submits a certified abstract of title.
(4) Submits the survey under subsection (b).
Cross References. Section 6103 is referred to in section 6108 of this title.