{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-21-103","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-21-103","heading":"Cities or towns - Annexation procedure","body":"A. Before the governing body of a city or town may annex any\n\nterritory adjacent or contiguous to the city or town, it must obtain\n\nthe written consent of the owners of at least a majority of the\n\nacres to be annexed to the municipality and provide for notice and a\n\npublic hearing on the proposed annexation of the territory in the\n\nmanner provided in subsection B of this section. The annexation of\n\nland by a connecting strip serving no municipal purpose other than\n\nto establish statutory contiguity or adjacentness, or to capture\n\nterritory within the area to be annexed, constitutes an\n\nimpermissible exercise of state-delegated authority by a\n\nmunicipality and shall be prohibited.\n\nB. The governing body shall provide the notice and public\n\nhearing required in subsection A of this section in the following\n\nmanner:\n\n1. The governing body of the municipality shall direct that\n\nnotice of the proposed annexation of the territory be published in a\n\nlegally qualified newspaper of general circulation in the territory\n\nand shall describe the boundaries of the territory proposed to be\n\nannexed by reference to a map, geographical locations, legal or\n\nphysical description or other reasonable designation. The notice\n\nshall state the date, time, and place the governing body shall\n\nconduct a public hearing on the question of annexing the territory.\n\nThe notice shall be published in a legal newspaper of general\n\ncirculation in the territory sought to be annexed within fourteen\n\n(14) days following the date the governing body directed the notice\n\nto be published;\n\n2. A copy of the notice of annexation shall be mailed by first-\n\nclass mail to all owners of property to be annexed as shown by the\n\ncurrent year's ownership rolls in the office of the county treasurer\n\nand to all owners of property abutting any public right-of-way that\n\nforms the boundary of the territory proposed to be annexed and to\n\nthe Sales and Use Tax Division of the Oklahoma Tax Commission;\n\nprovided that the notice of annexation shall be mailed by certified\n\nmail to every person who owns a parcel of land of five (5) acres or\n\nmore used for agricultural purposes; and\n\n3. The public hearing of such annexation shall be held no\n\nearlier than fourteen (14) days nor more than thirty (30) days\n\nfollowing the publication and mailing of the notice.\n\nC. Unless otherwise provided by law, a roadway or road right-\n\nof–way that is adjacent or contiguous to the territory to be annexed\n\nshall be considered a part and parcel to the territory to be\n\nannexed.\n\nD. 1. Before any territory is annexed to a municipality, and\n\nprior to the publication of notice pursuant to subsection B of this\n\nsection, the municipality shall prepare a plan to extend municipal\n\nservices including, but not limited to, water, sewer, fire\n\nprotection, law enforcement and the cost of such services\n\nappropriate to the proposed annexed territory. The plan shall be\n\nincluded in the notices published and mailed pursuant to subsection\n\nB of this section. The plan shall provide that the municipality\n\ncomplete the implementation of the plan in accordance with any\n\nexisting capital improvement plan applicable to the portion of the\n\nmunicipality adjacent to the territory proposed to be annexed. If\n\nno such capital improvement plan has been adopted, the municipality\n\nshall complete the service plan within one hundred twenty (120)\n\nmonths from the date of annexation unless a different time is\n\ndetermined by consensus between property owners and the municipality\n\nat the hearing. The time for completion of the service plan shall\n\nbe set forth in the ordinance annexing the territory. If\n\nmunicipality services are not substantially complete within the\n\nprescribed time, then the affected owners may either directly\n\npetition a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of\n\ncompletion of the planned services or may bring a process for\nand the municipality\n\nat the hearing. The time for completion of the service plan shall\n\nbe set forth in the ordinance annexing the territory. If\n\nmunicipality services are not substantially complete within the\n\nprescribed time, then the affected owners may either directly\n\npetition a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of\n\ncompletion of the planned services or may bring a process for\n\ndetachment as provided in Section 21-110 of this title. For\n\npurposes of this subsection, services may be provided by any method\n\nor means available to the municipality to extend municipal services\n\nto any other area of the city or town.\n\n2. If the municipality fails to detach pursuant to Section 21-\n\n110 of this title, then the majority of the annexed territory's\n\nregistered voters may file a petition with the municipality to\n\ndetach the territory. The petition shall include a legal\n\ndescription of the area to be detached, contain a plat or similar\n\ndepiction of the area and detail the reason for detachment. The\n\nterritory petitioned to be detached shall not be platted as a\n\nsubdivision of the municipality to which it is seeking to be\n\ndetached, shall have at least one border not within the municipality\n\nlimits to which the property is seeking to be detached, and shall\n\nplead the allegations of failure of the municipality to\n\nsubstantially complete the services set forth in the annexation.\n\nSuch petition shall be filed with the municipal clerk. If the\n\nmunicipality fails or refuses to detach the area within ninety (90)\n\ndays of receipt of the petition, any of the petitioners may bring a\n\ncause of action in district court to request detachment. The\n\ndistrict court shall enter an order detaching the property if the\n\ncourt finds a valid petition was filed with the municipality and the\n\nmunicipality failed to perform its obligations in accordance with\n\nthe service plan.\n\nE. Subject to the requirements of subsections A and B of this\n\nsection, if the municipality fails to reach the thresholds of\n\nconsent of owners, a municipality may annex a territory which is\n\nbordered by at least fifty percent (50%) by property within\n\nmunicipal limits without such consent in the limited circumstance\n\nwhere the governing board proves beyond a preponderance of the\n\nevidence that the annexation will provide more benefit to all owners\n\nthan being excluded. Owners can refute more benefit by showing\n\nlower current utility rates, trash rates, or sanitation rates than\n\nrates offered by the municipality. For emergency services, owners\n\ncan show response time comparisons and costs of service. Any\n\ndetermination of less benefit shall result in a judgment for the\n\nowners. The board shall also show that all municipal services\n\noffered to all other municipal residents will be provided to the\n\nterritory within one hundred twenty (120) months from the date of\n\nannexation, unless otherwise prohibited by law. To prove such\n\nbenefit, the municipality shall petition a court of competent\n\njurisdiction and provide service to every person entitled to notice\n\nunder subsection A of this section. Owners in the territory shall\n\nbe permitted no less than thirty (30) days from the date of service\n\nto present a defense. No municipality may bring a forced annexation\n\nunder this subsection more often than once per year.\n\nF. In any situation where the territory to be annexed by any\n\ncity or town includes land owned by a state beneficiary public trust\n\nor that was previously owned and conveyed by a state beneficiary\n\npublic trust, annexation shall require the written consent of all of\n\nsaid trust and transferees of said trust.\n\nG. The prevailing property owner in an annexation dispute shall\n\nbe entitled to court costs and reasonable attorney fees, including,\n\nbut not limited to, when a municipality withdraws, revokes or\n\notherwise reverses the ordinance at issue in response to litigation\n\nbefore issuance of a final judgment.\nnnexation shall require the written consent of all of\n\nsaid trust and transferees of said trust.\n\nG. The prevailing property owner in an annexation dispute shall\n\nbe entitled to court costs and reasonable attorney fees, including,\n\nbut not limited to, when a municipality withdraws, revokes or\n\notherwise reverses the ordinance at issue in response to litigation\n\nbefore issuance of a final judgment.\n\nH. A municipality shall not attach ad valorem taxes to an\n\nannexed area for a sinking fund to satisfy any judgment as provided\n\nby law if the annexed area was not part of the municipality at the\n\ntime of the judgment.\n\nI. As used in this section:\n\n1. \"Airport\" means any facility owned by any legal entity or by\n\na county, a municipality or a public trust having at least one\n\ncounty or municipality as its beneficiary which is used primarily\n\nfor the purpose of providing air transportation of persons or goods\n\nor both by aircraft powered through the use of propellers,\n\nturboprops, jets or similar propulsion systems;\n\n2. \"Military installation\" means those facilities constituting\n\nthe active or formerly active bases owned by the Department of\n\nDefense or other applicable entity of the United States government\n\nor by any entity of local government after transfer of title to such\n\ninstallation; and\n\n3. \"Spaceport\" means any area as defined pursuant to Section\n\n5202 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\nJ. Except for ordinances enacted pursuant to Section 43-101.1\n\nof this title, parcels of land five (5) acres or more used for\n\nagricultural purposes annexed into the municipal limits on or after\n\nJuly 1, 2003, or parcels of land forty (40) acres or more used for\n\nagricultural purposes prior to annexation and have continued in\n\nuninterrupted agriculture use annexed into the municipal limits\n\nshall be exempt from ordinances restricting land use and building\n\nconstruction to the extent such land use or construction is related\n\nto agricultural purposes. Where there is no residence within fifty\n\n(50) feet of the boundaries of such a parcel of land, the property\n\nshall not be subject to ordinances regulating conduct that would not\n\nbe an offense under state law; provided, that any such property that\n\ndischarges into the municipal water, wastewater, or sewer system\n\nshall be subject to any ordinances or regulations related to\n\ncompliance with environmental standards for that system.\n\nK. Parcels of land situated within an area that is or may be\n\nsubject to any form of land use or other regulatory control as a\n\nresult of proximity to an airport, spaceport or military\n\ninstallation shall not be exempt from municipal ordinances or other\n\nlaws regulating property for the purpose of operations necessary for\n\nthe use of an airport, spaceport or military installation and such\n\nparcels of land shall be subject to all ordinances enacted pursuant\n\nto Section 43-101.1 of this title.\n\nL. If territory is annexed pursuant to this section, the\n\nannexing governing body shall provide notice by first-class mail\n\ntogether with a map and plat of the annexed territory to the Sales\n\nand Use Tax Division of the Oklahoma Tax Commission prior to the\n\neffective date of such annexation. The Tax Commission shall notify\n\nthe known sales tax vendors within the boundaries of the annexed\n\nterritory as provided by Section 119 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes.\n\nM. No municipality may annex more than the greater of ten\n\npercent (10%) of its current land area or eight (8) square miles in\n\none area at any one time unless the municipality obtains the written\n\nconsent of the owners of at least sixty-five percent (65%) of the\n\nacres to be annexed and twenty-five percent (25%) of the population\n\nto be annexed.","path":["OK Code","Title 11"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os11.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"9b87d011a7290bb62bbf3af83bedcf48b4c4fa1e951a053dc594ba27e1e8b22e","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-21-102","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-21-105"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}