How to Find Your Parcel Number, Lot Lines and Lot Area
Almost every project on a lot starts with the same question: exactly which land is mine? The answer lives in a few documents and maps, and each one tells part of the story: a parcel number, a legal description, a recorded plat, a parcel map on the county’s website. This guide explains where to find them, how to read them and how far to trust them, then shows how to draw the lot in Plan², for free in your browser, and how to keep its reference with the plan.
On this page
What a parcel is, and what its number tells you
A parcel is a piece of land that the county treats as one unit for property records and taxes. Each parcel gets an identifier, often called the parcel number, the assessor’s parcel number or APN. It is the key that links the land to its owner, its tax bill and its record at the county, and it is what a department asks for when you apply for a permit.
The format varies a great deal from one county to the next. Some are a string of digits split by dashes, some mix letters and numbers, and some follow the book and page of a map. Read it exactly as the county writes it, with the dashes, because a missing digit points to a different parcel.
The parcel number is not the legal description. The legal description, written in your deed, names the land in words: a lot number in a recorded subdivision, or a description by distances and directions from a known point. The parcel number is an index, and the deed is the document that says what you own.
Where to find your parcel number and your lot lines
- Your property tax bill: it normally shows the parcel number, the owner and the assessed value.
- Your deed: it holds the legal description and often refers to a recorded plat. A copy is in your closing documents, and the county recorder keeps the original.
- The recorded plat: the map of the subdivision, filed with the county, which shows each lot, its dimensions and the easements. Ask the recorder or the planning department for a copy.
- A property survey: if you got one at closing, it shows the lot lines, the corners and the buildings at that date. It is the most precise document you are likely to have.
- The county’s parcel viewer or GIS map: most counties publish a map where you can search by address and click a parcel to see its number, its area and its outline. The county assessor’s website often has the same data.
- The county assessor or recorder’s office: if a document is missing, they can tell you where to find it.
How far to trust a parcel map
A parcel map is a record for taxes and administration. It is drawn to find the parcel and to compute the assessment, not to fix a boundary on the ground. Its lines can be several feet off, and the area shown can differ from the one in your deed or survey.
Only a licensed land surveyor can establish a boundary on the ground, by measuring it, and the pins and marks set by a surveyor carry more weight than any map. When a fence, a wall or a hedge matters, for a setback, a pool or a sale, do not rely on a map: use the survey, and call a surveyor if there is none or if the neighbors disagree.
In practice, use the parcel map to find your lot and to get a first outline, take the lengths from the plat, the deed or the survey, and treat the difference between them as a flag to look into.
The parcel in Plan², step by step
Switch to Terrain mode
Open Layers and choose Terrain mode. The guided flow has four steps: Address, Parcel, House and Around. You can skip any of them, and Back is always there.
Enter the address
In the Address step, search for your address. The map is opt-in: a consent card asks first, and nothing is sent to a map server until you accept. Without the map the plan works the same.
Draw the boundary from your documents
In France Plan² can import the cadastral parcel from the national map, by tapping it, or several that touch. Elsewhere, including in the United States, the map is built on OpenStreetMap, there is no parcel import and you draw the boundary by hand: tap each corner, then tap Finish. Take the lengths from your plat, deed or survey.
Check the area and the corners
Plan² shows the area of the lot as you drew it. Compare it with the area in your deed or survey: if the two differ by more than a rounding, one of the lengths is wrong. In France, when the cadastre and the tracing differ, the difference is shown.
Keep the reference with the terrain
A project can hold several terrains, each with a name, an address and a parcel reference, listed under “Project properties”. Enter your parcel number in the details of the property, so the plan carries it along with the name and the address.
Place the house and the surroundings
Place the house on the lot, then add the street, the access and the neighbors. Plan² shows the distance from the house to each boundary, so you can see the setbacks at a glance.
Export and keep the plan
Choose File, then Export…, and pick Site plan for a sheet of the lot with its distances, access, scale bar and north arrow. Keep the JSON file too. The plan stays in your browser tab, and nothing is stored on a server.
Mistakes to avoid
- Taking the area of a parcel map as the area of the lot. Use the deed or the survey, and treat a difference as a flag.
- Mixing up the parcel number and the legal description: the first is an index, the second is what the deed says you own.
- Dropping a digit or a dash when copying the parcel number into a form.
- Tracing the lot lines on the map instead of from the plat or the survey.
- Relying on a fence or a hedge as the boundary without checking it against the documents.
- Forgetting easements, which cross a lot without changing who owns it.
What Plan² does not do
Plan² does not look up a parcel number or a legal description, does not read county records and does not fix a boundary. Outside France it has no parcel import: the lot is drawn by hand. The area it shows comes from your drawing, and only a licensed land surveyor produces a boundary that holds on the ground. Plan² gives you a clear drawing of the lot and what is on it, to prepare a project and to discuss it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a parcel number?
It is the identifier the county gives to a parcel of land for its property records and taxes, often called the parcel number, the assessor’s parcel number or APN. It is the key to the owner, the tax bill and the record at the county, and permit applications usually ask for it.
Where do I find my parcel number?
On your property tax bill, on the county assessor’s website or parcel viewer when you search by address, and in the records at the county. Your deed names the land by its legal description. Read the number exactly as the county writes it.
Is the area on the county map the real area of my lot?
Not necessarily. A parcel map is made for records and taxes, and its lines and areas can differ from your deed or survey. Use the survey or the deed for the area and the lot lines, and call a licensed land surveyor if the difference matters for a project.
Can Plan² import my parcel from the county?
No. The import of the cadastral parcel works in France only. In the United States you draw the boundary by hand in Terrain mode, from your plat, deed or survey. Plan² shows the area of what you drew, and it keeps the parcel reference in the details of the property.
Does the map in Plan² send my data anywhere?
Only after you accept. The map is opt-in: a consent card asks first, and nothing is sent to a map server before. Without it the plan works the same, on a white page, and the plan itself stays in your browser.