How to read a county parcel record
A parcel record is the county's own description of one piece of land. Every county in the United States keeps one, because the same record drives the property tax roll. It is the starting point for any easement question, because an easement is always recorded against a described parcel rather than against a mailing address.
What a parcel record contains
County parcel records vary in presentation but carry the same core fields. Read them in this order, because each one narrows what you are looking at.
- Parcel number (also called an APN, PIN, tax ID or folio number). This is the county's permanent identifier for the land. Recorded easements, plats and deeds are indexed against it, so it is the value you carry into the recorder's office.
- Situs address. The physical address the county has assigned. Vacant land often has no situs address at all, which is why a parcel number matters more than a street address.
- Owner of record. The name on the last recorded deed as of the county's most recent update. It is not proof of current ownership; a deed recorded last week may not appear for several weeks.
- Legal description. The written definition of the land itself, either lot-and-block or metes-and-bounds.
- Acreage or lot size. Usually calculated from the mapped boundary rather than from a survey, so treat it as approximate.
- Assessed value and land use code. Tax-roll fields, useful for confirming you have the right lot but unrelated to easements.
Lot-and-block versus metes-and-bounds
A lot-and-block description reads something like "Lot 14, Block 3, Meadow Ridge Subdivision, according to the plat recorded in Plat Book 42, Page 17." It points at a recorded subdivision plat. That plat is where most residential utility and drainage easements are drawn, which makes it the single most valuable document for a suburban lot. Ask the recorder for the plat by book and page.
A metes-and-bounds description reads as a walk around the boundary: a point of beginning, then a series of bearings and distances such as "thence North 12 degrees 30 minutes East, 214.6 feet to an iron pin." It is common on rural land, older parcels and anything never platted as a subdivision. Easements on metes-and-bounds land are usually separate recorded instruments rather than plat markings, so you search the grantor and grantee index instead.
Either description can reference an easement directly, with wording such as "subject to a 20-foot utility easement along the westerly line." That phrase tells you an easement exists and roughly where, but it is not a location. Only a survey or a recorded plat drawing places a strip on the ground.
Why county mapping is not a survey
The boundary you see on a county map was digitized from plats, deeds and aerial imagery so the county could administer taxes. It is drawn to a tolerance that is fine for that purpose and too loose for a fence line. Shifts of several feet between the mapped line and the surveyed line are normal, and larger in rural areas and older subdivisions.
That matters when you are deciding whether a shed, pool, driveway or fence sits inside an easement. If the answer depends on a few feet, the mapped line cannot settle it. A licensed land surveyor locating the recorded monuments is the only thing that can.
For the same reason, a county map that shows no easement is not evidence that none exists. Many counties publish no easement layer at all, and those that do usually map only public utility and drainage corridors, never private access, prescriptive or unrecorded rights.
What to do with the record once you have it
Copy the parcel number and the legal description exactly as the county prints them, then take both to the county recorder or register of deeds. Search the grantor and grantee index under the owner names in the chain of title for documents labeled easement, right of way, grant of easement or plat. If the legal description names a plat book and page, pull that plat first.
A title commitment is the faster route when a transaction is involved. Schedule B of a commitment lists every recorded easement and exception a title examiner found, each with a book and page or instrument number, and it is already indexed for you.
Common questions
- What is a parcel number and where do I find it?
- A parcel number, also called an APN, PIN, tax ID or folio number, is the county's permanent identifier for one piece of land. It appears on your property tax bill, on the county assessor's parcel viewer, and on the deed. Recorded easements are indexed against it, so you need it before searching the recorder's index.
- Is the owner of record the current owner?
- Not necessarily. County records reflect the last deed processed as of the most recent update, which can lag a recent sale by days or weeks. For a transaction, rely on a title search rather than the assessor's owner field.
- The county shows no easement on my parcel. Does that mean there is none?
- No. Most counties publish no easement map at all, and those that do generally map only public utility and drainage corridors. Private access easements, prescriptive rights and older recorded easements often appear nowhere on a county map. A title commitment or a recorder's index search is the reliable check.
- Why does the mapped lot size differ from my survey?
- County acreage is calculated from a digitized boundary drawn for tax administration, not from field measurement. Differences of a few percent are routine. The surveyed area on a recorded survey governs.
- Does looking up a parcel record cost anything?
- No. Parcel records are public and this page reads the county's own free published data. Certified copies of recorded documents from the recorder's office usually carry a small per-page fee.