Legal Description of Property: How to Find and Read It

The legal description of a property is the written description that identifies exactly which piece of land a deed conveys. The most reliable place to find it is the most recent recorded deed, which you can get from the county recorder, register of deeds, or county clerk. A title commitment or title policy, the mortgage or deed of trust, a recorded plat, and a boundary survey usually repeat it. The assessor’s or appraisal district’s website shows a short version that is useful for finding the parcel, but it is not the description to copy into a deed.

Legal descriptions in the United States follow three main systems: metes and bounds (a walk around the boundary using directions, distances, and markers), lot and block (a lot on a recorded subdivision plat), and the Public Land Survey System of sections, townships, and ranges. Texas adds its own layer of original surveys and abstract numbers. This guide shows where to find the description, how to read each type with worked examples, and what to do when it looks wrong.

The short answer

• Get it from the recorded deed. The vesting deed (the deed that gave the current owner title) has the full description. Title documents and the mortgage usually copy it word for word.
• The tax record is a shortcut, not the source. Assessors and appraisal districts often abbreviate or shorten descriptions. Use them to find the parcel, not to write a deed.
• There are three main systems. Metes and bounds describes the boundary line itself, lot and block points to a recorded plat, and section-township-range points to a federal survey grid. Many descriptions combine two of them.
• Read PLSS descriptions from right to left. Start with the meridian, township, and range, then the section, then the quarters. Each “1/4” divides the area by four, so the NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of a regular section is 40 acres.
• Errors can be fixed, but not by you alone. A wrong lot number or bearing usually calls for a corrective deed, and a real boundary question calls for a licensed surveyor. A title company or real estate attorney can tell you which.
• Don’t write your own. When you deed property, copy the existing description exactly or have a professional prepare a new one. An address or parcel number by itself is not a substitute.

What a legal description is

A legal description identifies a parcel of land precisely enough that a surveyor could find its boundaries on the ground and no other parcel fits the words. Kitsap County, Washington’s assessor describes it as “a method of describing a parcel of real property that is recognized by law,” and lists the same three methods covered below: recorded plat, government survey, and metes and bounds. See the county’s legal descriptions page (opens in a new tab).

The descriptions ultimately rest on cadastral surveys. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) explains that “cadastral” comes from cadastre, “a public record, survey, or map of the value, extent and ownership of land as a basis of taxation,” and that cadastral surveys “create, define, mark, and re-establish the boundaries and subdivisions” of the public lands. See the BLM Cadastral Survey program (opens in a new tab).

Legal description vs. address vs. parcel number

People often treat these three as interchangeable. They do different jobs.

The parcel number is the best key for tax searches; our parcel number guide covers formats and lookups. For deeds, mortgages, and title insurance, the legal description is what counts.

Where to find the legal description

Work down this list. The first source you can get is usually enough for research. For a sale, a new deed, or a boundary question, use the recorded deed and the documents it refers to.

1. The recorded deed. Look for the paragraph that starts with words like “the following described real property” or “being more particularly described as follows,” or for an attachment labeled Exhibit A. Copies come from the county recorder, register of deeds, or county clerk, depending on the state. Our deed search guide walks through the grantor-grantee index, document numbers, and copy fees.
2. A title commitment or owner’s title policy. If you bought with title insurance, Schedule A of the commitment and policy states the land being insured. The exceptions in Schedule B list easements and other recorded matters that affect it.
3. The mortgage or deed of trust. The security instrument describes the land the lender holds as collateral, usually by copying the deed’s description or attaching it as an exhibit. Your closing package should have a copy, and the recorder has the recorded version.
4. A boundary survey. A survey from your purchase or a later project shows the description, the boundary lines, and the monuments the surveyor found or set. It is not always recorded, so check your closing papers.
5. The recorded plat. For a subdivision lot, the plat named in the description shows the lot’s dimensions, easements, and setback lines. Our plat map guide explains how to find one.
6. The condominium declaration. For a condo unit, the declaration and its plats and plans define the unit and its share of the common elements.
7. The assessor or appraisal district record. The property search shows a legal description field, often abbreviated. Start here if you only have an address, then use the deed reference on the record (book and page, or instrument number) to pull the deed. See how to look up property records by address.

Why the deed’s description controls, not the assessor’s

The assessor’s office describes parcels so it can value and tax them. Field width limits, abbreviations, and old data entry mean the description on the tax record may leave out calls, exceptions, or easements. Kitsap County puts it plainly: tax descriptions in the assessor’s records “are often abbreviated legal descriptions for the property and may not contain all the information relating to the legal boundaries of the property as a deed would.” For the full description, the county sends people to their deed, a title company, or the recorded deed at the auditor’s office (Kitsap County Assessor (opens in a new tab)).

Here is what the difference can look like. Both versions below are hypothetical.

• Tax record: “LT 7 BLK 3 MEADOWBROOK ADDN”
• Deed: “Lot 7, Block 3, Meadowbrook Addition, an addition to the City of Springfield, according to the plat recorded in Volume 12, Page 45, Plat Records of Example County, LESS AND EXCEPT the north 10 feet conveyed to the City for street purposes by deed recorded in Volume 210, Page 88.”

The tax record points to the right lot but drops the plat reference and the strip that was carved out. Watch for “PT” (part), “TR” (tract), “ACS” (acres), or a description that just stops: those are signs the tax version is a summary. If the tax description and the deed disagree, the assessor needs to fix its record; see how to get an assessment record corrected.

The three systems at a glance

The BLM’s Specifications for Descriptions of Land (opens in a new tab) (revised 2017) groups land descriptions into the same three types and notes that many descriptions combine two or more of them.

Metes and bounds descriptions

“Metes” are measurements (directions and distances) and “bounds” are the boundaries and markers along the way. A metes and bounds description starts at a fixed point and walks around the parcel, one line at a time, until it returns to the start.

It is the oldest of the three systems. The BLM’s Manual of Surveying Instructions (opens in a new tab) says land ownership and boundaries in 20 states, “the Thirteen Original States plus Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia,” were established outside the federal rectangular survey. Those states rely heavily on metes and bounds. It is used in the other 30 states too, whenever a tract doesn’t match a whole lot or an aliquot part of a section.

The parts of a metes and bounds description

The BLM specifications break a description into a caption, a body, and clauses:

• Caption. The general location: county and state, and often the section, survey, or subdivision the tract lies in, plus the deed it was carved from.
• Point of commencement. A known, findable point, such as a section corner or a street intersection, used to reach the start. Not every description has one.
• Point of beginning (POB). Where the boundary itself starts. The last call must return here.
• Calls. Each “thence” is one boundary line, given as a bearing (direction) and a distance, often ending at a monument such as an iron rod, concrete marker, fence corner, or a neighbor’s line.
• Closing call and area. The final line back to the POB, then the acreage, often followed by “more or less.”
• Basis of bearings. The reference line or coordinate system the bearings were measured from. Two surveys of the same land can show slightly different bearings if they used different bases.
• Clauses. Exceptions, reservations, and “subject to” language. More on these below.

How to read a bearing

A bearing such as N 45°30′ E tells you which way the line runs. Start facing north (the first letter), then turn 45 degrees 30 minutes toward east (the last letter). The angle is never more than 90 degrees, so every bearing starts with N or S and ends with E or W. A degree has 60 minutes (′) and a minute has 60 seconds (″), so N 45°30′ E is halfway between due north and due east, plus another half degree toward east.

• N 00°00′ E runs due north. S 89°45′ E runs almost due east, a quarter degree south of east.
• Reversing a line flips both letters. Walking the same line in the other direction, N 45°30′ E becomes S 45°30′ W.
• Older deeds use older units. The BLM manual lists 1 chain as 66 feet, 100 links, or 4 rods (also called poles or perches), and 80 chains to the mile. So a rod is 16.5 feet and a link is 0.66 feet. Texas field notes often use varas, which Texas law fixes at exactly 33-1/3 inches (Natural Resources Code §21.077 (opens in a new tab)).

Worked example: reading a metes and bounds description

This description is hypothetical, written for this guide. The numbers are chosen so the tract closes and works out to one acre.

All that tract of land in Example County, being more particularly described as follows: COMMENCING at the intersection of the north right-of-way line of Oak Road and the east right-of-way line of Mill Lane; THENCE N 02°15′00″ E along the east line of Mill Lane, 50.00 feet to a 1/2-inch iron rod found, the POINT OF BEGINNING; THENCE N 02°15′00″ E continuing along the east line of Mill Lane, 210.00 feet to a 1/2-inch iron rod set; THENCE S 87°45′00″ E, 207.43 feet to a concrete monument found; THENCE S 02°15′00″ W, 210.00 feet to a 1/2-inch iron rod set; THENCE N 87°45′00″ W, 207.43 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING, containing 1.00 acre of land, more or less.

1. Find the commencement point. It’s the corner where the north edge of the Oak Road right-of-way meets the east edge of the Mill Lane right-of-way. That is the edge of the public strip, not the pavement.
2. Get to the POB. Go 50 feet just east of north along Mill Lane to an existing iron rod. The 50 feet between the intersection and the rod is not part of the tract.
3. Walk the first call. Keep going the same direction 210 feet along Mill Lane to a new rod. This is the west line.
4. Turn east. S 87°45′ E is nearly due east. Go 207.43 feet to a concrete monument. This is the north line.
5. Come back south and west. The third call is the reverse of the first (S 02°15′ W, 210 feet) and the fourth is the reverse of the second (N 87°45′ W, 207.43 feet), which returns to the POB.
6. Check the area. The lines meet at right angles, so the tract is a rectangle: 210 × 207.43 = 43,560 square feet, which is one acre.

Real descriptions are rarely this tidy. They include curves (described by radius, arc length, and chord), calls along creeks or roads, and calls to a neighbor’s tract (“to a point in the south line of the Smith tract”). The method is the same: one call at a time, noting each monument.

“More or less” and conflicting calls

“More or less” after an acreage signals that the stated area is approximate and the boundary calls define the land. When parts of an older description disagree, for example a distance that doesn’t reach the monument it calls for, courts apply rules of construction that generally rank monuments above distances and the stated acreage last. California has written one version into statute: when “permanent and visible or ascertained boundaries or monuments are inconsistent with the measurement,” the monuments are paramount (California Code of Civil Procedure §2077 (opens in a new tab)). Other states apply similar rules through case law, with local variations. Applying them to real land is a job for a licensed surveyor and, if there’s a dispute, an attorney.

A description that closes on paper doesn’t prove the boundary is right either. The BLM lists “a deed description that mathematically closes is a sign of a good title or boundaries free from conflict” among common misconceptions in its Management of Land Boundaries (opens in a new tab) brochure.

Lot and block descriptions

When land is subdivided, the developer records a plat that draws and numbers every lot, groups them into blocks, and shows streets and easements. After that, a deed can describe a parcel by lot, block, and plat instead of spelling out its boundaries. The BLM specifications list the basic elements:

1. the lot, parcel, or unit number;
2. the block, if the plat uses blocks;
3. the subdivision or plat name;
4. the recording information (plat book or cabinet and page, or document number, with the recording date); and
5. the county and state.

Hypothetical example: “Lot 7, Block 3, Meadowbrook Addition, an addition to the City of Springfield, Example County, according to the map or plat thereof recorded in Volume 12, Page 45, Plat Records of Example County.” Read it as: open plat book (volume) 12 at page 45, find the subdivision named Meadowbrook Addition, find block 3, then lot 7 within that block. The lot’s dimensions, easements, and building lines are on the plat, not in the deed.

The plat becomes part of the description. The BLM specifications quote the U.S. Supreme Court in Cragin v. Powell (1888): when land is granted according to an official plat, the plat “becomes as much a part of the grant or deed … as if such descriptive features were written out upon the face of the deed.” That’s why the plat reference matters, and why “Lot 7, Block 3” alone is not enough when a county has more than one subdivision with similar numbering. For finding and reading plats, replats, and plat books, see our plat map guide.

Section, township and range (PLSS) descriptions

The Public Land Survey System, also called the rectangular survey system, dates to the Land Ordinance of 1785. According to the BLM manual, 30 of the 50 states (the “public domain States”) were originally surveyed under it, and almost every private land title in those states traces back to a federal patent or grant. In practice, that is every state except the 20 listed above.

How the grid works

• Principal meridians and base lines. Each survey region starts at an initial point, with a north-south principal meridian and an east-west base line running through it. The BLM publishes a map of the principal meridians (opens in a new tab). A complete description names the meridian, because “T. 3 N., R. 2 W.” exists in many states.
• Townships. The grid is divided into townships 6 miles square. Townships are numbered north or south of the base line, starting at 1, and ranges are numbered east or west of the principal meridian, starting at 1. “T. 3 N., R. 2 W.” is the third row of townships north of the base line, in the second column west of the meridian.
• Sections. Each township has 36 sections, nominally 1 mile square and 640 acres. Section 1 is in the northeast corner, and numbering snakes back and forth to section 36 in the southeast corner.
• Aliquot parts. Sections are divided into halves and quarters: a quarter section is 160 acres and a quarter-quarter is 40 acres. The BLM manual calls the 40-acre quarter-quarter or the lot the “smallest legal subdivision” under the general land laws.

Section numbers inside a township, as set out in the BLM manual (north at top):

Worked example: NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of section 12

Hypothetical description: “The NE1/4SW1/4 of section 12, T. 3 N., R. 2 W., Fifth Principal Meridian.” Read it from right to left, from the biggest area to the smallest:

1. Fifth Principal Meridian: the survey region.
2. T. 3 N., R. 2 W.: the township in the third row north of the base line (12 to 18 miles north) and the second column west of the meridian (6 to 12 miles west).
3. Section 12: on the east edge of the township, second row down.
4. SW1/4: the southwest quarter of that section, 160 acres.
5. NE1/4: the northeast quarter of that quarter, 40 acres, nominally a square about 1,320 feet on a side.

How to compute acreage

For a regular section, start with 640 and multiply by each fraction: 640 × 1/4 × 1/4 = 40 acres for the example above. A few more:

• N1/2NE1/4: 640 × 1/4 × 1/2 = 80 acres.
• S1/2SW1/4SE1/4: 640 × 1/4 × 1/4 × 1/2 = 20 acres.
• E1/2: 640 × 1/2 = 320 acres.

Commas matter. The BLM specifications explain that a comma means “and the,” while no comma means “of the.” NE1/4SW1/4SE1/4 is one 10-acre parcel. NE1/4, SW1/4, SE1/4 is three quarter sections totaling 480 acres. The specifications’ own example, “Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada, T. 4 N., R. 20 E., sec. 15, NW1/4, NE1/4SE1/4SW1/4, and NW1/4SE1/4,” covers three parcels of 160, 10, and 40 acres, or 210 acres in all.

Government lots and irregular sections

The earth is curved and old measurements weren’t perfect, so not every section holds exactly 640 acres. The BLM manual explains that the surveys push the shortfall or excess into the sections along the north and west sides of each township. Those sections are split into as many regular quarter-quarters as possible, and the remainder is shown as numbered lots whose acreage comes from the field measurements. Sections cut by lakes and rivers are also split into lots. Outside federal usage, these are commonly called government lots.

You can’t compute a lot’s size with fractions. For example, “lot 2, section 6” might hold 38.6 acres in one township and 41.2 in another. The official survey plat gives the area, and the BLM’s General Land Office Records system has those plats (see mapping, below). Also remember that the PLSS grid doesn’t cover everything in PLSS states. Spanish and Mexican grants, other private land claims, and some areas such as Ohio’s Virginia Military Survey were never part of the regular grid, so descriptions there use metes and bounds.

Texas: original surveys and abstract numbers

Texas never joined the PLSS. Land left the public domain through grants and patents from Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, and the State, each based on an original survey. Texas descriptions identify land by that survey’s name and its abstract number.

• Abstract number. The Railroad Commission of Texas glossary explains that an abstract is an original land survey of land transferred from the public domain, recorded in the “State Abstract of Land Titles” kept by the Texas General Land Office (GLO). Each survey gets an abstract number “unique within the county in which the survey falls.” So “Abstract 610” means nothing until you add the county.
• Survey name. Usually the name of the original grantee, or of the railroad or other grantee common to a group of surveys.
• Blocks and sections. Large grants, especially to railroads, were often surveyed into blocks of numbered, roughly mile-square sections. “Section 12, Block 34” in West Texas is a Texas survey, not a PLSS section. Some railroad blocks, such as Texas and Pacific surveys, also carry their own township numbers (for example, “Block 34, T-1-S”), but those townships are part of the Texas survey, not the federal grid, and there is no range or meridian.

A real survey: the GLO’s land grant record (opens in a new tab) for Dallas County Abstract 610 shows a 320-acre grant to James Horton, patented June 30, 1854. A modern deed for a small piece of that land might begin (hypothetical tract): “BEING a 2.000-acre tract of land situated in the James Horton Survey, Abstract No. 610, Dallas County, Texas, and being part of that tract described in deed recorded in Instrument No. …, Official Public Records of Dallas County, Texas, and being more particularly described by metes and bounds as follows …”

The survey and abstract tell you which original grant the tract lies in. Many later tracts can share that abstract, so the metes and bounds calls (or a lot and block reference, in a subdivision) are what pin down the parcel. You can look up any original survey in the GLO’s Land Grant Search (opens in a new tab), and appraisal district records usually show the abstract in their legal description field. Directory page: Dallas County, Texas.

Note that “abstract” has a second meaning. An abstract of title is a compiled history of the recorded documents affecting a property, prepared by an abstractor or title company. It is unrelated to the GLO abstract number.

Condominium unit descriptions

A condo unit is usually described by reference to the recorded declaration rather than by its own boundaries. Texas law, for example, says a unit description is sufficient if it contains (1) the condominium’s name, (2) the recording data for the declaration, including amendments, plats, and plans, (3) the county, and (4) the unit’s identifying number (Texas Property Code §82.054 (opens in a new tab)). Other states have similar rules in their condominium acts.

Hypothetical example: “Unit 304, Building B, Riverside Lofts, a Condominium, according to the Declaration recorded under Instrument No. 2019000000, Official Public Records of Example County, Texas, and any amendments, together with the undivided interest in the common elements appurtenant to the unit.” To see the unit’s actual boundaries (often walls, floors, and ceilings) and which parking spaces or storage areas go with it, read the declaration and its plats and plans. A parking space or storage unit can have its own description and tax parcel.

Exceptions, easements and other clauses

Many descriptions don’t end with the land itself. The extra language can change what you own or what others may do on it.

The BLM specifications’ own example shows how this looks in practice: “Reserving all minerals; except coal. Subject To a 66 foot wide road parcel,” followed by the recording reference for the road. If a clause refers to another document, that document is part of the picture. For recorded claims against the property, such as liens and lis pendens, see how to check for liens on a property.

How to read a legal description step by step

1. Make sure it’s the current description. Use the latest vesting deed. If the parcel was split, combined, or replatted, older descriptions describe a different shape.
2. Read the caption and identify the system. Note the county and any subdivision, section-township-range, or Texas survey and abstract. Many descriptions mix systems, such as “part of the NE1/4 of section 21, described as follows” followed by calls.
3. Pull every referenced document. Plats, prior deeds, the condo declaration, and surveys named in the description are effectively part of it.
4. Work through it in order. For PLSS, go from the meridian down to the smallest quarter. For metes and bounds, sketch each call in sequence and label each monument.
5. Check the result. Does a metes and bounds sketch return to the POB? Does the computed acreage roughly match the stated acreage? Big gaps are a reason to ask a surveyor, not proof of an error.
6. Read the exceptions and “subject to” clauses. Subtract the excepted pieces and note the easements.
7. Compare with the tax record and map. The assessor’s abbreviated description and the GIS outline should point to the same land. If they don’t, find out why before relying on either.

How to map a legal description

Section, township and range

The BLM’s General Land Office Records (opens in a new tab) system, relaunched July 13, 2026, has images of more than five million federal land title records issued since 1788, survey plats and field notes dating back to 1810, and current Master Title Plats. Its FAQ explains how to search the map by township and range: choose “Legal Land Description” from the options next to the map’s address search. For GIS users, the BLM distributes PLSS data through its Geospatial Business Platform Hub (opens in a new tab). Many county GIS viewers also have a section-township-range layer, and USGS topographic maps print the section grid in PLSS states.

Lot and block

Find the plat at the recorder or county clerk, or on the county GIS map, which often links plat images to subdivision layers. Then match the lot number and dimensions to the parcel outline.

Metes and bounds and Texas surveys

A metes and bounds description can be plotted by hand with a protractor and scale, or with deed-plotting software. Start from a point you can find on a map, such as a section corner or street intersection named in the description. In Texas, the GLO’s county maps and some appraisal district GIS viewers show original survey lines and abstract numbers. A hand plot is a research check, not a survey.

Whatever the system, a GIS outline is an approximation drawn for tax mapping, and it can be shifted against the aerial photo. Read our guide to what county GIS parcel lines can and can’t tell you before using a map to settle a fence or driveway question. For the property search and GIS map in your county, use the state and county directory.

When the legal description is wrong or unclear

Common problems

• Scrivener’s errors. A typo when the deed was drafted: the wrong lot number, a bearing of N 45° E instead of S 45° E, a missing call, the wrong county or plat page.
• Carried-forward mistakes. An error in an old deed copied into every deed since.
• Gaps and overlaps. Two neighbors’ descriptions leave a sliver between them or claim the same strip.
• Vague calls. “To the old oak tree” or “along the fence” when the tree and fence are gone.
• Mismatch with the tax record. The assessor maps or describes the parcel differently from the deed.

What to do

1. Collect the chain of deeds. Pull the current deed and the earlier deeds it refers to. Often the earlier deed shows the correct version.
2. Call the title company that insured your purchase. If you have an owner’s policy, read it, and ask whether the problem is covered or can be fixed with a corrective instrument.
3. Hire a licensed land surveyor if the question is on the ground. Where the line is, whether monuments still exist, and whether a fence or building crosses the line are survey questions.
4. Record a correction if the paper is wrong. Many states allow a corrective deed or correction instrument. Texas spells out the rules: a person with personal knowledge can correct clerical errors in a legal description, such as a distance, bearing, lot or block number, plat reference, or section number, and can add an inadvertently omitted call (Texas Property Code §5.028 (opens in a new tab)). Bigger changes, such as adding or removing land, need every party to the original deed or their heirs, successors, or assigns (§5.029). In each case the correction must be recorded in every county where the original was recorded, and a §5.028 correction that not every original party signs must also be sent to each of them.
5. See a real estate attorney for disputes. If a neighbor disagrees, or the fix would move a boundary, the usual tools are a boundary line agreement or a quiet title action. Both need legal advice.
6. Ask the assessor to fix its record. If only the tax description or map is off, send the assessor or appraisal district a copy of the recorded deed and survey.

Why you shouldn’t write your own when deeding property

Adding a spouse to title, deeding land to a child, or moving a house into a trust looks like a fill-in-the-blanks job. The legal description is where do-it-yourself deeds most often go wrong. As the BLM specifications put it, “The ambiguous descriptions of the past are the boundary disputes of the future.”

• Copy, don’t paraphrase. If you’re conveying exactly what you own, copy the description from your vesting deed word for word, including every exception and plat reference. Don’t copy from the tax record, the listing, or a map.
• An address or parcel number is not a description. Addresses change and parcel numbers get retired.
• Splitting land needs a surveyor, and maybe a plat. Describing a new piece of land requires a survey. Local rules may also require plat approval before you divide a tract. In Texas, for example, dividing a tract inside a city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction generally requires a plat even if the division is done by metes and bounds in a deed, with an exception for parts over five acres that each have access and dedicate no public improvements (Local Government Code §212.004 (opens in a new tab)).

A bad description can cloud the title and block a future sale or refinance. A title company, real estate attorney, or licensed surveyor can prepare or review it for far less than a correction costs later.

Frequently asked questions

What is the legal description of a property?

The written description in a deed that identifies exactly which land is conveyed, precisely enough for a surveyor to locate it. It uses lot and block, section-township-range, metes and bounds, or a combination.

How do I find the legal description of my property?

Get a copy of your recorded deed from the county recorder, register of deeds, or county clerk, or check your closing papers for the deed, title policy, or deed of trust. The assessor’s or appraisal district’s website shows a short version and usually the deed’s recording reference, which you can use to pull the full deed.

Is the legal description on the assessor’s website or tax bill the real one?

It is a summary for tax purposes, often abbreviated, and may leave out exceptions and easements. For a deed or other legal document, use the description from the recorded deed.

What is the difference between a legal description and an address?

An address tells people how to find a building; a legal description defines the land’s boundaries. Addresses can change or not exist, while a legal description changes only through a new recorded document.

What does metes and bounds mean?

It is a description that walks the boundary: it starts at a point of beginning, then gives each line as a bearing and distance, such as N 45°30′ E 150 feet, usually ending at a monument, until it returns to the start. “Metes” are the measurements and “bounds” are the boundaries and markers.

How do you read section, township and range?

Read right to left. The meridian and the township and range numbers locate a 6-mile-square township. The section number locates a 1-mile-square section inside it, numbered 1 to 36 starting in the northeast corner. Each quarter reference then narrows it down, dividing the area by four each time.

What is a cadastral survey?

A survey that creates, marks, or re-establishes legal land boundaries for the public record. In the 30 PLSS states, the original federal cadastral surveys created the townships and sections that most private titles trace back to; the BLM still keeps those records and does resurveys.

What is an abstract number on a Texas property record?

It identifies the original land survey your land lies within: a survey of land transferred from the public domain by the Republic of Texas or the State of Texas, recorded in the General Land Office’s State Abstract of Land Titles. The number is unique only within its county. It is not the same thing as an abstract of title, which is a history of recorded documents.

To pull your deed, start with our deed search guide, and find your county’s official assessor, recorder links, and GIS map in the county directory.