Land records · Parcel maps · October 7, 2026
Profit a Prendre: Rights to Take From Land
What a profit a prendre is: a property right to enter another's land and take resources like timber, gravel, game, or minerals, and how it is recorded.
Profit a prendre is a property right that allows a person to enter another’s land and take something from it, such as timber, gravel, sand, minerals, crops, fish, or game. The term comes from old French and English law, meaning a right to take. A profit is similar to an easement, which allows use of land, but it adds the right to remove natural resources. Profits can be appurtenant, benefiting a particular parcel, or in gross, belonging to a person or company. Like easements, profits are often created by deed and recorded. This page is general land-records background, not legal advice.
Examples of profits
| Profit | What can be taken |
|---|---|
| Timber profit | Trees or logs |
| Gravel or sand profit | Aggregate materials |
| Hunting or fishing profit | Game or fish |
| Grazing profit | Forage by livestock |
| Mineral profit | Some minerals, depending on state law |
Profit vs easement vs license
An easement, such as an access easement, allows use. A profit allows use plus taking resources. A license is personal permission that can usually be revoked. Leases, like a hunting lease, may grant similar rights by contract for a term.
Profit vs mineral estate
A mineral deed usually transfers ownership of minerals in place. A profit gives a right to take, sometimes without ownership. State law treats these differently.
Creation
Profits are usually created by express grant in a deed or reservation when land is sold. Some can arise by prescription through long use.
Recording and title
Recorded profits appear in title searches as encumbrances. Buyers should review them. See how to find deed restrictions.
Rights included
A profit carries reasonable access rights needed to take the resource, such as roads for logging. The owner of the land can still use it in ways that do not unreasonably interfere.
Termination
Profits may end by their terms, release, merger of ownership, or abandonment.
Example
When selling a wooded tract, an owner reserves the right to cut and remove timber for 10 years. The reservation, recorded in the deed, is a timber profit. The buyer owns the land but must allow logging access during that period.
Exclusive vs nonexclusive
An exclusive profit means only the holder can take the resource. A nonexclusive profit allows the landowner or others to take it too.
Profits in old deeds
Old deeds may reserve rights to cut timber, take stone from a quarry, or fish in a pond, sometimes without a time limit. These reservations can survive many transfers. When a title search turns up such language, ask whether the right was ever used, released, or abandoned, and whether state law limits its duration.
Taxes and value
A recorded profit can reduce what buyers will pay for the land.
Bottom line
A profit a prendre is a right to enter land and take resources like timber, gravel, or game. It is similar to an easement but includes removal, and it is often recorded. Check deeds and title records for profits before buying land. Explore parcels via the Platbookmapper map.
Profit a prendre FAQ
What is a profit a prendre?
A right to take resources from another’s land.
How is a profit different from an easement?
A profit includes the right to remove resources.
Is a timber reservation a profit?
Often, yes.
Are profits recorded?
Usually, in deeds or separate instruments.
Can a profit end?
By its terms, release, merger, or abandonment.