A trespass to try title action—sometimes known as an action to quiet title—is a lawsuit against a party who claims an interest in a piece of real property (land).

In a trespass to try title action, the plaintiff seeks to establish the plaintiff’s title (ownership interest) in the land by forcing the adverse claimant (the defendant) to establish or prove an interest in the land or be forever estopped (precluded) from asserting an interest in the land. The resolution of such a lawsuit is designed to settle or quiet a disputed claim to title or ownership of the land.

Laws regarding claims for trespass to try title vary from state to state and may be located in a state’s statutes or in its court opinions (common law or case law). The terms used for such a claim may also vary and in some states there may be a distinction between a trespass to try title claim and a quiet title claim—or a quiet title claim may be treated as an informal reference to a trespass to try title claim.

In Idaho, an action to quiet title, which is similar to a trespass to try title action, is a legal proceeding used to resolve disputes over the ownership of real property. The purpose of a quiet title action is to establish a party's title against anyone and everyone, and thus 'quiet' any challenges or claims to the title. This type of lawsuit is typically brought by someone who already possesses or claims an interest in the property and seeks to eliminate any other claims or liens that might cloud their title. The action is governed by Idaho statutes under the Idaho Code, and the specific procedures and requirements can be found in Title 6, Chapter 4 - Actions to Determine Conflicting Claims to Real Property. In these proceedings, the plaintiff asks the court to declare that the adverse claimant has no interest or to clarify the nature of the respective interests of the parties in the real property in question. If the adverse claimant cannot prove a valid interest in the property, they may be barred from asserting any claim to the property in the future.