Right-of-way easement
A right-of-way is an easement to pass over land along a defined route — the category that covers public road corridors, railroads, trails and many private lanes.
Also searched as: ROW, road right-of-way, railroad right-of-way.
- Function
- Passage along a defined route
- Can be
- Public dedication or private grant
- Typical street width
- 50 to 80 feet, wider than the pavement
- Owner limit
- Encroachments only by revocable permit
What it is
"Right-of-way" describes the purpose rather than the mechanism: it is an easement whose function is passage. Public street rights-of-way, rail corridors, transmission line routes, pipeline crossings and private lanes are all commonly labeled this way, which is why the term causes so much confusion.
Public road rights-of-way are usually much wider than the pavement. A 60-foot dedicated right-of-way with 24 feet of asphalt leaves 18 feet on each side for shoulders, sidewalks, utility placement and future widening. Owners are regularly surprised to learn that their mailbox, hedge or fence sits inside the public corridor.
Rail corridors are their own puzzle. Some railroads hold fee title, others hold only an easement, and the difference decides who owns the strip when service ends — including whether a rails-to-trails conversion is a continuation of the easement or a new use altogether.
How it shows up in the records
- A plat dedication: "the right-of-way shown hereon is hereby dedicated to public use".
- A deed granting a right-of-way with a stated width and centerline description.
- A Schedule B exception for a road, rail or trail corridor.
- Municipal GIS layers that show right-of-way lines distinctly from parcel boundaries and pavement edges.
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If you want to build
- Setbacks are usually measured from the right-of-way line, not the pavement edge, which pushes buildings farther back than owners expect.
- Fences, walls, irrigation, signs and landscaping placed inside a public corridor are typically permitted only by revocable encroachment permit.
- Driveway connections need an access or curb-cut permit, and agencies routinely limit the number and spacing of connections.
- Sight-distance triangles at corners restrict height inside the corridor, sometimes to as little as two or three feet.
If you are buying
- Compare the survey's right-of-way line with the physical road. The gap is real land you cannot use freely.
- Ask whether a widening project is programmed. State and county transportation improvement plans are published and searchable.
- For rural parcels, confirm whether the frontage road is a public right-of-way or a private lane governed by an easement — maintenance responsibility follows that answer.
- Where a former rail corridor abuts, find out whether the railroad held fee or easement, because reversion rights can affect the boundary.
What the recorded wording looks like
Right-of-way dedication and grant
There is hereby dedicated to the public a right-of-way sixty (60) feet in width as shown hereon for street, sidewalk, drainage and utility purposes, together with the right of the governing body to construct, maintain and repair improvements therein, and no permanent improvement shall be placed within said right-of-way except by permit.
What each phrase actually does
- “dedicated to the public”
- A public dedication rather than a private grant. The holder is the governing body on behalf of everyone.
- “sixty (60) feet in width”
- The corridor width, typically far wider than the paved surface. Setbacks measure from this line.
- “street, sidewalk, drainage and utility purposes”
- A multi-purpose corridor: utilities can be installed within it without a separate easement from you.
- “except by permit”
- Encroachment permits are usually revocable, so an approved fence today can be required to move tomorrow.
This is an illustrative example of common wording, not a copy of any particular recorded document. Your own grant controls. Read a full document line by line.
How this easement ends
- Vacation by the governing body, after which the corridor typically reverts to the abutting owners, often to the centerline.
- Relocation as part of a road realignment, with the old corridor released in the same ordinance.
- Railroad abandonment proceedings, which in the United States run through the Surface Transportation Board.
- Release of a private right-of-way by the benefited owner, recorded like any other easement release.
Common questions
Do I own the land between the sidewalk and the street?
Often you own to the centerline subject to the public right-of-way, and sometimes the agency holds fee title outright. Either way, use of that strip is controlled by the agency, and you are commonly responsible for mowing it while having little say over what happens there.
Can the city remove my fence from the right-of-way?
Yes, generally with notice, and often at your expense. Encroachment permits usually state that the improvement is removable at the agency's discretion when the corridor is needed.
What is the difference between a right-of-way and an easement?
A right-of-way is a kind of easement — one for passage. All rights-of-way are easements when they are not held in fee; not all easements are rights-of-way, since many exist for utilities, drainage or conservation instead of travel.
What happens to a rail corridor when the trains stop?
It depends on whether the railroad holds fee or easement, and on federal railbanking rules. Under railbanking a corridor can be preserved for future rail use and used as a trail meanwhile, which is why an abandoned line does not automatically return to the adjoining owners.
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How this page is sourced
Last reviewed September 9, 2026 by the Easements.com editorial team. Written from state statutes, county recorder publications, and standard appraisal practice. Every state-specific figure links to a free official source you can open yourself.
- Surface Transportation Board — abandonment and railbanking
- FHWA — real estate and right-of-way — Public-agency corridor acquisition and management practice.
General information, not legal advice. Read our editorial standards or report a correction.
General educational reference only. Prescription periods and their exceptions change, and several states set the period by case law rather than by statute. Read the linked official code and consult a licensed attorney in that state before relying on any of it.