Find your parcel: reference, boundary and area
Almost every project on land starts with the same question: which exact piece of ground is mine, and what are its boundaries? The answer is a parcel, identified by a reference and drawn on the cadastral map or the land registry. This guide explains what a parcel reference is, where to find yours, how far you can trust the boundary and the area, and how to bring the parcel into a plan in Plan², where it is imported in France and drawn by hand everywhere else.
On this page
What a parcel is, and what its reference means
A parcel is a piece of land recorded as one unit in a land register or a cadastre. Each parcel has an identifier, and that identifier is what an authority, a notary or a surveyor uses to be sure everyone is talking about the same ground. A plot, in everyday speech, can be one parcel or several, and a parcel can belong to one owner or to many.
In France the reference is made of the letters of a cadastral section followed by a number. Plan²’s own form shows the example “AB 142”: the section AB, parcel number 142. The commune and sometimes a prefix are part of the full identification, so a reference alone is meaningful only together with the commune.
Other countries use other systems. Many have a land registry, an assessor’s map or a cadastre, each with its own way of numbering parcels, and some call them lots, tax lots or plots. If you are not in France, the generic advice applies: find the identifier in your deed or in the register, and use it exactly as written.
Where to find your parcel reference
The reference is on documents you probably already have, and on an official map you can open for free.
- Your title deed, the document of ownership signed at the notary’s (in France, the titre de propriété). It names the parcels and usually their area.
- Your property tax notice, which in France (the taxe foncière) lists the cadastral references of the parcels you own.
- The official cadastral website. In France it is cadastre.gouv.fr, where you can find a parcel on the map and open its details.
- In other countries, the land registry of your country or region, an assessor’s or a county’s parcel viewer, or a cadastral map viewer if there is one. HM Land Registry in England and Wales holds a title plan for registered land, for example.
- A survey, if you have had one done, which shows the boundaries as measured on the ground.
When the sources disagree, trust the deed and the survey over a tax notice, and ask a notary or a surveyor which source applies for your question.
How reliable the cadastre is
The cadastral map is not a survey. In France the cadastral plan was drawn for tax purposes, and its lines are indicative: it does not fix the legal boundary of your land, and it can be off by a few metres or more, especially in older areas. The same caution applies to land registries and parcel viewers elsewhere: they show where a parcel is, within a margin, and not where the boundary stands to the centimetre.
Only a licensed surveyor can fix the boundary. In France that is a géomètre-expert, who carries out a bornage: a survey that sets boundary markers, agreed with the neighbours and recorded in a document. In other countries a licensed land surveyor does the equivalent work. If a project depends on exact distances to the boundary, such as a building close to a limit or the division of a plot, order a survey.
The area is also approximate. The area on the deed or on the cadastre is the one recorded, and the area you measure on a drawing may differ. Plan² shows both when it can: the area of the cadastre and the area of the outline you traced, and the difference between them when they differ.
Bringing your parcel into a plan with Plan², step by step
Open Terrain mode
Pick Terrain in the Layers button. A guide with four steps opens: Address, Parcel, House and Around. Each can be skipped, and Back is always available.
Accept the map and find the address
The map is opt-in: a consent card comes first, and nothing is sent before you accept. Then type the address, or look for the plot yourself. In France the map shows the IGN aerial photo and the cadastral parcels. Elsewhere it is based on OpenStreetMap, through OpenFreeMap.
Tap your parcel (France)
In France, tap the parcel on the map and it lights up. If your plot covers several parcels, tap them all: they must touch, because a plot is in one piece. Tap one again to remove it. Plan² shows how many parcels you have chosen and their total area.
Draw the boundary by hand (everywhere else)
Outside France there is no cadastral import. Choose to draw the boundary, tap each corner of the plot, then Finish. Work from your deed, your survey, or a cadastral extract, and type the lengths if you have them.
Compare the areas
Plan² shows the cadastre area and the traced area, and says by how much they differ when they do. A big gap is a reason to check your sources before you build on the figure.
Store the reference with the plot
Open the details of the terrain and enter the parcel reference, for example AB 142, the address and a name. The reference is kept with the plot, and it appears on the site sheets you export. A project can hold several plots, each with its own name.
Place the house, then export
Place the house on the plot, then choose File, then Export…, and pick Site plan to get a sheet with the boundary, the distances from the house to the boundaries and the information box. Save a JSON file so you can come back to it.
Common mistakes with a parcel
- Treating the cadastral boundary as exact. It is an indication, not a survey.
- Reading a reference without the commune, or mixing up two sections with similar letters.
- Forgetting that the plot may cover several parcels, and tapping only one.
- Choosing parcels that do not touch. A plot in one piece needs parcels that join.
- Using the area on a tax notice as the legal area. Check the deed or the survey.
- Building close to a boundary without a survey. A few metres of error decide whether a rule is respected.
- Forgetting that the map is opt-in. If nothing appears, check that you accepted the map.
What Plan² does not do
Plan² does not survey land and does not fix a boundary. It does not look up a parcel outside France, and it does not give you the owner, the legal area or the planning rules attached to the parcel. In France, the IGN data it uses are as accurate as the state cadastre, and the building outlines can be a few metres off.
It gives you the plot in a form you can work with: the boundary, the reference, the area and the house on it. For anything legal, rely on the deed, the survey and the authority.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cadastral parcel reference?
In France it is the letters of a cadastral section followed by a number, such as AB 142, which identifies one parcel in a commune. Other countries use other systems, such as lot numbers or title numbers. Always use the identifier exactly as it is written on your deed or in the register.
Where can I find my parcel reference?
On your title deed, on your property tax notice, and on the official cadastral website: in France, cadastre.gouv.fr. In other countries, check the land registry or an official parcel viewer. A survey also shows the boundaries as measured on the ground.
Is the cadastral boundary exact?
No. The cadastral plan, for example in France, is a fiscal map: its lines are indicative and can be off by a few metres. Only a licensed surveyor fixes the legal boundary, in France a géomètre-expert by a bornage. Order a survey if exact distances matter.
Can Plan² import my parcel?
In France, yes: tap your parcel on the map, or several if the plot covers more than one. Outside France the parcel import is not available. You draw the boundary by hand, from your deed, your survey or a cadastral extract, by tapping each corner.
Why do the cadastre and my drawing show different areas?
Because the cadastre is an indicative map, and your drawing is as precise as the corners you tapped. Plan² shows both areas and the difference when they differ. Check the deed and, if the gap matters, ask a surveyor.
Is anything sent to a server when I use the map?
Only after you accept the map, which is opt-in. The plan itself stays in your browser, and a share link holds the whole plan in the address, with no server to store it.