As of August 24, 2026, any pending or new off-reservation, non-gaming fee-to-trust application will be subject to approval by the Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs (AS-IA) in Washington, D.C. While this mirrors authority shifts in prior Republican administrations, this policy is a departure from the current authority matrix in which these types of applications were reviewed and approved by the Regional Director (RD).

On August 24, 2026, the AS-IA issued National Policy Memorandum NPM-TRUS-49, an interim policy governing off-reservation fee-to-trust (FTT) acquisitions, whether mandatory or discretionary, and regardless of whether they are gaming-related. The memorandum pulls the decision-making authority for these types of applications to Washington, D.C. (AS-IA). This change adds an additional layer of federal review and delay.

Most importantly, this affects applications already in the pipeline. All pending off-reservation fee-to-trust applications that had not received a decision from the Regional Director by August 24, 2026, are now subject to AS-IA approval rather than the Region. If an application was awaiting a decision as of that date, it now should be on the new approval track through the AS-IA’s office.

The change outlined in the memorandum effectively sends all off-reservation applications to one office, as opposed to each of the 12 regional offices around the United States. This will almost certainly impact the speed at which applications are reviewed because of the volume of applications that are now subject to review.

The AS-IA has sole authority to issue the Notice of Decision. A denial that comes directly from the AS-IA is final and immediately effective with no administrative appeal to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals. These decisions are only reviewable in federal court under the Administrative Procedure Act.

The policy does not impact on-reservation FTT acquisition requests. On-reservation applications will still be reviewed locally and approved by the RD. The policy may, however, impact some contiguous FTT acquisitions. If there is a question as to whether a parcel is contiguous, the Regional Solicitor’s office must issue an opinion, and the AS-IA’s office must agree with the opinion.

The policy is effective August 24, 2026, and expires August 24, 2027, unless renewed or made permanent.

This article summarizes aspects of the law and does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice with regard to your situation, you should contact an attorney.