How to Read a Legal Description

First identify which type it is. If it starts with “Lot” and a plat reference, it points to a recorded subdivision map. If it starts with “Beginning at” and lists directions and distances, it's metes and bounds. If it mentions a section, township and range, it uses the government survey grid. Each type is read differently. If you're new to the topic, What Is a Legal Description? gives the background.

Step 1: Identify the Type

It starts with…	Type	How to read it
Lot, Block, Subdivision name, Plat Book	Lot and block	Look up the recorded plat
Beginning at, thence, feet, bearings	Metes and bounds	Follow the boundary calls in order
Section, Township, Range, quarter	Government survey (PLSS)	Read from the end back to the beginning

Reading a Lot-and-Block Description

Lot 12, Block 4, Willow Creek Estates, Unit 2, according to the plat recorded in Plat Book 18, Page 42, records of Example County.

1. Lot 12, Block 4 is the lot's position within the subdivision.
2. Willow Creek Estates, Unit 2 is the name of the subdivision and phase.
3. Plat Book 18, Page 42 tells you where to find the plat at the county recorder.

The dimensions, easements and corner markers are on the plat, not in the description. See Parcel Map vs Plat Map for how to retrieve it. Descriptions can name more than one lot, too: Colorado's guidance gives “Lots 4 and 5, Block 26, Riverside Addition to the City of Fort Morgan” as a model. If the reference doesn't lead to any plat at the recorder, don't guess. Ask the recorder's office, then a title company.

Reading a Metes-and-Bounds Description

Beginning at an iron pin at the northwest corner of Lot 5; thence South 89°30′ East, 200.00 feet to an iron pipe; thence South 0°15′ West, 217.80 feet to a point; thence North 89°30′ West, 200.00 feet to a point; thence North 0°15′ East, 217.80 feet to the point of beginning, containing 1.00 acre, more or less.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Point of beginning (POB)	The starting corner. The description must return here to close the shape
Commencing at	A starting point that is not part of the boundary, used to reach the POB from a known corner
Thence	“From there.” Starts the next side
Bearing	A direction, such as South 89°30′ East
Distance	The length of that side, usually in feet. Older texts use rods or chains
Monument	A marker at a corner, such as an iron pin, pipe or concrete post, or a natural feature such as a creek
More or less	An allowance for small differences between the stated and the measured value

The “commencing” row trips people up. Colorado's guidance shows a description that starts “Commencing from the northwest corner of said section 30; thence south 20°30′ east 140.60 feet to the point of beginning” before it begins tracing the parcel. Those first 140.60 feet are a tie from a known corner. They aren't a side of the parcel.

How to read a bearing

A bearing starts with North or South, then an angle, then East or West. Imagine you're facing the first direction and turn toward the second by the angle.

• South 89°30′ East: face south, turn 89°30′ toward the east. That's almost due east, a little to the south.
• North 45° East: halfway between north and east, which is northeast.
• North 0°15′ East: almost due north, a hair toward the east.

The little symbols are degrees (°), minutes (′) and seconds (″). A minute is 1/60 of a degree. The angle in a bearing never exceeds 90°, because it's measured from north or south, whichever is closer.

If you want to plot one on a compass dial, convert it to a heading measured clockwise from north. This assumes the deed's “north” is true north, which a surveyor will confirm for an old deed.

Bearing form	Compass heading	Example
North angle East	angle	N 45° E = 45°
South angle East	180° − angle	S 89°30′ E = 90°30′
South angle West	180° + angle	S 0°15′ W = 180°15′
North angle West	360° − angle	N 89°30′ W = 270°30′

Walk through the example

1. Start at the iron pin (point of beginning)
2. ↓
3. Go almost due east 200 ft
4. ↓
5. Turn and go almost due south 217.8 ft
6. ↓
7. Turn and go almost due west 200 ft
8. ↓
9. Turn and go almost due north 217.8 ft, back to start

Four sides, two of 200 ft and two of 217.8 ft. 200 × 217.8 = 43,560 square feet, which matches the “1.00 acre” at the end. That check, multiplying the sides to compare with the stated acreage, is a handy way to confirm that you've understood the description. Because the bearings are a quarter of a degree off square, the shape leans very slightly, and the true area works out to within a fraction of a square foot of 43,560. For irregular shapes, see How to Calculate Acreage of a Property.

Units in older descriptions

• 1 chain = 66 feet.
• 1 rod (also pole or perch) = 16.5 feet. Four rods make a chain.
• 1 link = 7.92 inches (1/100 of a chain).
• 80 chains = 1 mile.

Colorado's conversion table adds two for area: 10 square chains and 160 square rods each equal one acre.

When the numbers disagree

Old descriptions contain conflicts. A distance says 200 feet and the original iron pipe sits 198.6 feet away. The bearings and the stated acreage don't quite agree. Surveyors and courts use an order of priority to work out what the parties meant. The BLM's boundary law course lists it from strongest to weakest: natural objects such as rivers and ridges, then artificial objects such as monuments, then distances, then bearings, then acreage. Its summary: monuments, natural or artificial, win over measurements.

Reading a Government Survey (PLSS) Description

The Northeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 14, Township 3 North, Range 5 West of the Sixth Principal Meridian.

Read it from the end to the start, from big to small:

1. Sixth Principal Meridian is the reference line of the survey grid. Named meridians matter, because the same township and range numbers repeat under different ones. Colorado alone uses three principal meridians.
2. Township 3 North, Range 5 West is a 6-mile by 6-mile square, three rows north and five columns west of the reference point.
3. Section 14 is one of the 36 one-mile squares in the township, each nominally 640 acres.
4. Southwest Quarter is a quarter of that section, nominally 160 acres.
5. Northeast Quarter of that is a quarter of the quarter, nominally 40 acres.

Section numbers aren't in simple rows. Federal law has them start at the northeast corner and run west and east alternately, back and forth, to 36 in the southeast corner:

6	5	4	3	2	1
7	8	9	10	11	12
18	17	16	15	14	13
19	20	21	22	23	24
30	29	28	27	26	25
31	32	33	34	35	36

North is at the top. Section 14, the one in the example, sits in the third row, second from the east edge.

Details that change the answer

• Commas. “NE¼SE¼” with no comma is the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter, 40 acres. “NE¼, SE¼” with a comma is two quarters, 320 acres, which is the east half.
• Halves. The South ½ of the Southeast ¼ of a section is 80 acres.
• Government lots. Along the north and west edges of a township, the survey absorbed measuring error, so some tracts are numbered lots instead of quarters. Colorado's guidance cites a model, “Lot 1 (NE¼NE¼) of section 6”. Lots also occur where a river, lake or cliff interrupted a 40-acre tract.
• “Nominal” acres. Federal law treats a section as containing the quantity returned on the official survey, and a quarter section without its own return as one-fourth of that. A “40” may not measure exactly 40 acres.

What the Words “Subject To” and “Together With” Mean

• Subject to: the land is affected by an easement, restriction or other right. Check it.
• Together with: the land comes with a right, such as an easement over a neighbor's land for access.
• Less and except: a piece of the land that is carved out of the description.

What If You Can't Make It Work?

• The shape doesn't close. Typos and rounding are common. Don't conclude that the land is wrong; ask a surveyor to check.
• It refers to a marker or road you can't find. Old descriptions use features that may have disappeared. Surveyors know how to deal with that.
• It refers to another document. “As described in Deed Book 210, Page 33” means you must read that deed too.

Reading a description gives you a good picture of the land, but it doesn't tell you where the corners are on the ground. For that, see How to Find Property Corners and, for anything important, hire a licensed surveyor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you read the “thence” calls in a deed?

Start at the point of beginning and take each call in order: a bearing, then a distance, then the next corner. The last call should bring you back to the start.

How do you read a township, range and section?

Start from the end. The meridian names the grid, township and range place a 6-mile square on it, the section is a one-mile square inside that, and the quarters narrow it down.

Can I draw my own legal description on a map?

You can sketch it to understand the shape. Treat the sketch as a picture and not as a boundary, because plotting errors and old reference points add up.

Common Mistakes

• Reading a bearing as a compass heading. “South 89°30′ East” is not 89°30′ on a compass; it's 90°30′.
• Ignoring the words “subject to” and “less and except.”
• Using the description to plot the shape and then treating it as a precise outline of the land on a map.
• Relying on a short assessor's version instead of the deed.
• Skipping the comma in a quarter-section call, or dropping the meridian from it.

Sources

• Chapter 13, Land Identification and Real Property Descriptions (Colorado Division of Property Taxation) Rectangular survey, government lots, bearings, commencing vs beginning, unit conversions.
• The Basics of Boundary Law Study Guide (Bureau of Land Management) Priority of calls.
• Specifications for Descriptions of Land (Bureau of Land Management, rev. 2017) Townships, sections and subdivision of sections.
• 43 U.S. Code, Chapter 18: Survey of Public Lands (GovInfo) Section numbering and nominal acreage.
• Understanding Property Legal Descriptions (Alabama Cooperative Extension System) Reading township, range and section.