How to Remove a Squatter in Wyoming: The Legal Process for Owners

If someone has settled into your Wyoming property without permission, start with the thing most articles on this topic still get wrong: as of July 1, 2025, you may not need a lawsuit at all. Wyoming's Legislature created a fast, non-judicial removal remedy aimed squarely at squatters — W.S. 1-21-1401 through 1-21-1403, "Removal of Unauthorized Occupants," enacted by 2025 Senate File 0006 / Senate Enrolled Act No. 20 and now codified in the Legislative Service Office's current Title 1 statutes. Under it, a qualifying owner files a sworn complaint with law enforcement and, on verification, the sheriff or police must order the occupant out and put the owner back in possession — no judge, no hearing.

That remedy does not cover everyone. If the person is a current or former tenant, a family member, or someone you already have a lawsuit with, you are back on the traditional path: a forcible entry and detainer (FED) case in Circuit Court. Both routes are laid out below, along with the one deadline (a 3-day notice) that gets FED cases thrown out when owners skip it.

The fast route: a sheriff's removal under W.S. 1-21-1402

W.S. 1-21-1402(a) lets an owner or the owner's authorized agent ask law enforcement in the county where the property sits for immediate removal of a person unlawfully occupying it — but only if all five of these are true:

• You are the record owner or the owner's authorized agent.
• The person unlawfully entered and is still there.
• There is no known pending litigation about the dwelling between you and the occupant.
• The occupant is not a current or former tenant under any written or oral lease authorized by you, your predecessor, or your agent.
• The occupant is not an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) and is not in a cohabitating relationship with you.

If any one of those fails, this remedy is off the table and you use FED instead. If they all hold, you submit a written complaint to law enforcement. W.S. 1-21-1402(b) lists what it must contain — among other things, that the occupant is not on title (unless by title fraud), a copy of your government-issued ID or agent authorization, an acknowledgment that you can be sued if you use the procedure wrongfully, and an attestation that everything in it is true under penalty of perjury. That perjury clause is the safeguard the Legislature built in, and it is the reason to be scrupulous about the five conditions.

Law enforcement then verifies that you really are the record owner and are entitled to relief (W.S. 1-21-1402(c)). If they cannot verify it, they have no obligation to act. If they can, the statute is mandatory: law enforcement "shall, without delay, provide notice to immediately vacate to all unauthorized persons occupying the residential dwelling and shall put the owner in possession" (W.S. 1-21-1402(d)). Notice can be hand-delivered or posted on the front door. Officers must also try to identify and document everyone in the dwelling, and they may arrest anyone there for trespass, outstanding warrants, or any other legal cause.

Yes, you change the locks — but only after the notice, and with officers present

This is where the old advice inverts. Once law enforcement has served the notice to vacate, W.S. 1-21-1403(a) says the owner or agent "may request that law enforcement stand by to keep the peace while the owner or agent changes the locks and removes the personal property of the unauthorized person from the premises to or near the property line." Doing the lock change is the statute's own instruction, not a trap. W.S. 1-21-1403(b) adds a shield: neither law enforcement nor the owner is liable for loss or damage to the removed belongings — unless the removal was wrongful, or the property was wantonly destroyed or damaged.

The real danger is using the procedure against someone it does not cover. W.S. 1-21-1403(c) lets a wrongfully removed person be restored to possession and recover actual costs and damages, statutory damages equal to triple the fair market rental value of the dwelling for the period of wrongful removal, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees. So:

• Do not lock anyone out on your own authority, before law enforcement has served the vacate notice.
• Do not use this route against anyone who is or ever was a tenant, or against a family member or cohabitant — that is exactly the wrongful-removal case.
• Do not wantonly destroy or damage the occupant's belongings; move them to the property line.
• Cutting off heat, water, or power is not the statutory procedure and gains you nothing — use the process the statute gives you.

The new act also gave you criminal leverage. W.S. 6-5-309 makes it a misdemeanor to present a fake lease or deed to stay on property, and a felony to rent out or advertise property you have no ownership or leasehold interest in. And W.S. 6-3-201(b)(iv) now makes it a felony — up to ten years — for an unlawful occupant who knowingly defaces, injures, or destroys property in a residential dwelling, regardless of the dollar value of the damage. Report the damage; it is no longer a petty misdemeanor.

The court route: forcible entry and detainer

If the sheriff's remedy does not fit — or law enforcement will not verify your ownership — FED remains fully available. W.S. 1-21-1403(d)(iii) expressly preserves it. And the FED statute covers squatters by name: W.S. 1-21-1002(a)(v) allows the action "in cases where the defendant is a settler or occupier of lands or tenements, without color of title, to which the complainant has the right of possession." You do not need a lease to use it.

• Document everything. Deed or title, photos, dates, communications, and proof there is no lease or permission.
• Serve the 3-day notice to quit. This is not optional. W.S. 1-21-1003 requires that the party bringing a FED action notify the occupant to leave, and the notice "shall be served at least three (3) days before commencing the action," by leaving a written copy with the person or at their usual place of abode or business if they cannot be found. It applies to every FED case, including the no-lease squatter — there is no trespasser exception. The Wyoming Judicial Branch calls it a 72-hour notice and says it may be hand-delivered, left at the property, or posted on the front door. File without it and your case gets dismissed.
• File in Circuit Court. FED is a circuit court action — W.S. 1-21-1001, and W.S. 5-9-128(a)(v) of Title 5 gives circuit courts exclusive original jurisdiction over "actions for forcible entry or detainer." The court's official FED forms are free.
• Attend the hearing. The summons must be served not less than 3 nor more than 12 days before trial (W.S. 1-21-1004). Bring your documentation.
• Let the sheriff enforce it. On a judgment of restitution, the court issues a writ of restitution at your request (W.S. 1-21-1012), and the officer executes it within two days of receiving it, Sundays excepted, by restoring you to possession (W.S. 1-21-1013). In the FED path, the sheriff — not you — does the removing.

If the occupant claims to own the land: that is district court, not circuit court

Ejectment and quiet title are not circuit court actions. W.S. 5-9-128(a) is a closed list of circuit courts' civil jurisdiction — money claims and personal property under $50,000, UCC and certain statutory liens, small claims, FED, and abandoned vehicles. Ejectment and quiet title live in W.S. 1-32-201 et seq. and appear nowhere on that list. Wyoming's district courts are, in the Judicial Branch's own words, "the trial courts of general jurisdiction," with jurisdiction "unlimited except for civil cases under $50,000, small claims cases, and misdemeanors." File ejectment or quiet title in District Court. Filing it in circuit court wastes your fee and, worse, weeks. Note also W.S. 1-21-1016: a pending FED action does not bar an ejectment action — the two can run in parallel.

Adverse possession: the long-term worry, kept in perspective

Owners hear "squatter's rights" and panic. In Wyoming the period is 10 years: W.S. 1-3-103 says an action to recover title or possession of land "can only be brought within ten (10) years after the cause of such action accrues." Wyoming has no adverse possession statute beyond that limitation period — the doctrine is common law, and the elements are possession that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous, and hostile (without the owner's permission) for the full ten years. There is no payment-of-taxes requirement in Wyoming. That element belongs to several neighboring states, not this one, so do not comfort yourself with the thought that a squatter who never paid your property taxes can never claim title. One exception cuts your way: under W.S. 1-3-104, an owner who is under a legal disability when the claim accrues may bring the action within ten years after the disability is removed.

A squatter present for weeks or months is nowhere near ten years. But the clock is a reason not to drift: act promptly, document the trespass, and make clear in writing that the person has no permission — which also undercuts any future "hostile and continuous" claim.

When to bring in a lawyer or legal aid

Many straightforward removals can be handled with the sheriff's complaint or the court's free self-help FED forms. Get professional help when:

• The occupant claims a lease or verbal agreement — that alone knocks out the W.S. 1-21-1402 route and can turn this into a full eviction.
• The occupant claims an ownership interest, or there is a family or inheritance dispute over the property (also outside the sheriff's remedy).
• You are unsure whether you meet all five conditions in W.S. 1-21-1402(a) — getting that wrong exposes you to triple fair-market rent plus attorney fees.
• You need ejectment or quiet title, which belongs in District Court.
• The case involves a mobile home, multiple occupants, or possible damage and theft.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant law changes and can have local city or county variations, so confirm the current Wyoming rules or talk to a Wyoming attorney before you act.

Official Legal Sources for Wyoming

This page is based on Wyoming state landlord–tenant law. Laws change — verify the current text directly against the official sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• Wyoming Statutes Title 1, Chapter 21, Article 12 — Residential Rental Property (W.S. §§ 1-21-1201 through 1-21-1211) — official Wyoming statute.
• Wyoming Statutes Title 1, Chapter 21, Article 10 — Forcible Entry and Detainer (W.S. §§ 1-21-1001 et seq.; notice to quit, 1-21-1003)
• W.S. § 1-21-1208 — Deductions from deposit; itemization and refund within 30 days (with § 1-21-1207, nonrefundable deposit disclosure)
• W.S. §§ 1-21-1202 & 1-21-1203 — Owner's duty to maintain the rental unit in a safe and sanitary condition fit for human habitation (electrical, plumbing, heating, water)
• Wyoming Judicial Branch — Evictions / Renter Rights (Equal Justice Wyoming) — official state resource.

Local ordinances may apply. This page covers Wyoming state law. Your city or county may add protections — such as rent control, just-cause eviction, rental registration, or stricter housing codes — that change these rules. Check your local city or county ordinances.