{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-1354","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 21-1354","heading":"Request removal of persons unlawfully occupying real","body":"property — Complaint — Wrongful removal.\n\nA. A property owner or his or her authorized agent may request\n\nfrom the sheriff of the county in which the property is located the\n\nimmediate removal of a person or persons unlawfully occupying real\n\nproperty pursuant to this section if all of the following conditions\n\nare met:\n\n1. The requesting person is the property owner or authorized\n\nagent of the property owner;\n\n2. An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully entered\n\nand remain or continue to reside on the property owner's property;\n\n3. The real property was not open to members of the public at\n\nthe time the unauthorized person or persons entered;\n\n4. The property owner or their agent has directed the\n\nunauthorized persons to leave the property;\n\n5. The unauthorized person or persons are not current or former\n\ntenants pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement authorized by\n\nthe property owner;\n\n6. The unauthorized person cannot produce documentation,\n\ncorrespondence, or identification cards sent or issued by a\n\ngovernment agency, including, but not limited to, Service Oklahoma\n\nor the Election Board, which show that the person used the property\n\naddress as an address of record with the agency within the previous\n\ntwelve (12) months;\n\n7. The unauthorized person cannot produce a lease signed by the\n\nproperty owner or their agent;\n\n8. The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate family\n\nmembers of the property owner; and\n\n9. There is no pending litigation related to the real property\n\nbetween the property owner and any known unauthorized person.\n\nB. To request the immediate removal of an unlawful occupant of\n\na residential dwelling, the property owner or his or her authorized\n\nagent must submit a complaint by presenting a completed and verified\n\nComplaint to Remove Persons Unlawfully Occupying Residential Real\n\nProperty form to the sheriff of the county in which the real\n\nproperty is located. The submitted complaint must be in\n\nsubstantially the following form:\n\nCOMPLAINT TO REMOVE PERSONS UNLAWFULLY OCCUPYING\n\nREAL PROPERTY\n\nI, the owner or authorized agent of the owner of the real\n\nproperty located at __________________, declare under the penalty of\n\nperjury that (initial each box):\n\n1. ______ I am the owner of the real property or the authorized\n\nagent of the owner of the real property.\n\n2. ______ I purchased the property on _________________.\n\n3. ______ An unauthorized person or persons have unlawfully\n\nentered and are remaining or residing unlawfully on the real\n\nproperty.\n\n4. ______ The real property was not open to members of the\n\npublic at the time the unauthorized person or persons entered.\n\n5. ______ I have directed the unauthorized person or persons to\n\nleave the real property, but they have not done so.\n\n6. ______ The person or persons are not current or former\n\ntenants pursuant to any valid lease authorized by the property\n\nowner, and any lease that may be produced by an occupant is\n\nfraudulent.\n\n7. ______ The unauthorized person or persons sought to be\n\nremoved are not an owner or a co-owner of the property and have not\n\nbeen listed on the title to the property unless the person or\n\npersons have engaged in title fraud.\n\n8. ______ The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate\n\nfamily members of the property owner.\n\n9. ______ There is no litigation related to the real property\n\npending between the property owner and any person sought to be\n\nremoved.\n\n10. _____ I understand that a person or persons removed from\n\nthe property pursuant to this procedure may bring a cause of action\n\nagainst me for any false statements made in this complaint, or for\n\nwrongfully using this procedure, and that as a result of such action\n\nI may be held liable for actual damages, penalties, costs, and\n\nreasonable attorney fees.\n\n11. _____ I am requesting the sheriff to immediately remove the\n\nunauthorized person or persons from the property.\npursuant to this procedure may bring a cause of action\n\nagainst me for any false statements made in this complaint, or for\n\nwrongfully using this procedure, and that as a result of such action\n\nI may be held liable for actual damages, penalties, costs, and\n\nreasonable attorney fees.\n\n11. _____ I am requesting the sheriff to immediately remove the\n\nunauthorized person or persons from the property.\n\n12. _____ A copy of my valid government-issued identification\n\nis attached, or I am an agent of the property owner, and documents\n\nevidencing my authority to act on the property owner's behalf are\n\nattached.\n\nI ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND THAT MAKING OR CAUSING TO BE MADE A\n\nFALSE STATEMENT IN THIS AFFIDAVIT MAY SUBJECT ME TO CRIMINAL\n\nPROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND/OR BEING LIABLE FOR ACTUAL DAMAGES\n\nSUFFERED OR INCURRED BY ANY PERSON OR OTHER ENTITY AS A RESULT OR\n\nCONSEQUENCE OF THE MAKING OF OR RELIANCE UPON SUCH FALSE STATEMENT.\n\n_____________________________ (Signature of Property Owner or\n\nAgent of Owner)\n\nC. Upon receipt of the complaint, the sheriff shall verify that\n\nthe person submitting the complaint is the record owner of the real\n\nproperty or the authorized agent of the owner and appears otherwise\n\nentitled to relief under this section. If verified, the sheriff\n\nmust, without unnecessary delay, serve a notice to immediately\n\nvacate on all the unlawful occupants and shall put the owner in\n\npossession of the real property. Service may be accomplished by\n\nhand delivery of the notice to an occupant or by posting the notice\n\non the front door or at a conspicuous location on the property. The\n\nsheriff shall also attempt to verify the identities of all persons\n\noccupying the property and note the identities on the return of\n\nservice. If appropriate, the sheriff may arrest any person found on\n\nthe property for trespass, outstanding warrants, or any other legal\n\ncause.\n\nD. The sheriff is entitled to the same fee for service of the\n\nnotice to immediately vacate as if the sheriff were serving a writ\n\nof execution under Section 1148.10 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes. After the sheriff serves the notice to immediately\n\nvacate, the property owner or authorized agent may request that the\n\nsheriff stand by to keep the peace while the property owner or agent\n\nof the owner changes the locks and removes the personal property of\n\nthe unlawful occupants from the premises. When such a request is\n\nmade, the sheriff may charge a reasonable hourly rate, and the\n\nperson requesting the sheriff to stand by and keep the peace is\n\nresponsible for paying the reasonable hourly rate set by the\n\nsheriff. The sheriff is not liable to the unlawful occupant or any\n\nother party for loss, destruction, or damage of property. The\n\nproperty owner or his or her authorized agent is not liable to an\n\nunlawful occupant or any other party for the loss, destruction, or\n\ndamage to the personal property unless the removal was wrongful.\n\nE. A person may bring a civil cause of action for wrongful\n\nremoval against the person who requested such removal under this\n\nsection. A person harmed by a wrongful removal under this section\n\nmay be restored to possession of the real property and may recover\n\nactual costs and damages incurred, statutory damages equal to triple\n\nthe fair market rent of the dwelling, court costs, and reasonable\n\nattorney fees.\n\nF. This section does not limit the rights of a property owner\n\nor limit the authority of a law enforcement officer to arrest an\n\nunlawful occupant for trespassing, vandalism, theft, or other\n\ncrimes.","path":["OK Code","Title 21"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os21.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"21ed1ba600bab8d044e9b20b18f946fc99c490ed92ea015bd4a1de4ebdb49334","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-1353","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-1355"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}