County Recorders and the Cadastral Data Content Standard

County Recorder Data

- A Crosswalk To The Standard -

The left column of the table below contains a list of real property information and cadastral data typically recorded and stored by County Recorders and Registers of Deeds.

The right column contains the Cadastral Data Content Standard entity and attribute which corresponds to the County Recorder data in the the left column.

Overall, the table lists a potential of twenty-nine connections between commonly used County Recorder data and the FGDC Cadastral Data Content Standard.  This represents twenty-nine links, key terms, or relate items --- in other words, a wealth of capability to not only work with standardized definitions but to use these definitions as understandable links between multiple agencies and varying databases.

County Recorder Data Cadastral Data Content Standard Entity/Attribute
County Public Agency/County
State Public Agency/State
Town(1) Public Agency/City-Village-Town
County Recorder Office Public Agency/Public Agency Name
Recorder's Indexing number Transaction/Transaction ID
County Recorder Transaction/T-Source Agent
Book, Page(2) Transaction/T-Source Index
Date Recorded Transaction/Recorded Date
Time Recorded Transaction/Recorded Time
Parcel Number Parcel/Parcel Local Label
Survey Meridian and Baseline(3) PLSS Description/Origin Of Public Land Survey System
Township PLSS Township/Township Number
Range PLSS Township/Range Number
Direction PLSS Township/Township Direction (or Range Direction)
Section PLSS Township First Division/Type
Section number PLSS Township First Division/Designator
Quarter Section PLSS Township Second Division/Second Division Type
Quarter Quarter Section (16th) PLSS Township Second Division/Second Division Type
Block PLSS Township Second Division/Second Division Type
Lot PLSS Township Third Division/Third Division Type
Parcel PLSS Township Third Division/Third Division Type
Boundary Azimuth or Bearing Straight Line/Direction Value
Boundary Distance Straight Line/Distance Value
Acres(4) Parcel Area/Parcel Area Unit
Quantity of Acres Parcel Area/Parcel Area Quantity
Monument description Corner Point/Monument Type
Land Surveyor's name(5) Agent/Agent Name
Date of survey(6) Legal Area Descriptions/LAD-Source Date
Owner Name Agent/Agent Name
Notes:
(1)"Town" is not usually included in a legal land description at the time of survey, and not included in recorder information.  However, after survey information is passed along to the assessor's office, it is determined what town (city, village) the parcel is in.  So, in general, until information is passed to the assessor's office, the "Town" attribute would likely remain empty.
(2)"Book, Page".  As recording systems are automated, many offices are doing away with this reference, replacing Book and Page with an Index number.   Book and Page are becoming historical references.
(3)Most county recording offices do not identify the attributes listed above from "Survey Meridian and Baseline" through "Lot".  However, as counties move toward digital recording, they are being encouraged to capture all of these attributes, which will increase the ability to take advantage of the Cadastral Data Content Standard.
(4)It is important to note if acres are historical or calculated.  For example, an historical acreage may indicate a parcel is 2.3 acres, while calculating the acres for the parcel could indicate it is 1.85 acres.
(5)"Land Surveyor's name" is not usually identified on recorder documents, but it is recommended the name be included on digital forms as they are developed and implemented.
(6)"Date Of Survey" is not commonly recorded, but it is recommended to add this information to digital records.

The table above illustrates that:

  1. The Cadastral Data Content Standard offers a significant range of definitions and terminology for data commonly used by County Recorders.
  2. There are likely to be some attributes in the Standard which County Recorders may not use.   For example, the list of typical County Recorder data above does not include information on Restrictions, found in the Standard.
  3. Likewise, there are likely to be elements in your data which have no correspondence with the Standard, such as information about tax districts and street names.
  4. County Recorder offices (and other county departments) can make use of many of the Cadastral Standard's attributes to link data with other departments, with other County, State, and Federal agencies, and with businesses which deal with real property and cadastral information.
The Cadastral Data Content Standard entities from the table above can be seen illustrated and highlighted in diagram form.

Back to Part One, What Recorders Need To Know

or

Back to Part Three, Using The Standard

Table Of Contents - County Recorders and the Cadastral Data Content Standard

Links to the other Cadastral Courses:
Learning The Cadastral Data Content Standard
Cadastral Information For GIS Specialists
Surveyors And The Cadastral Data Content Standard

Presented by the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, and

the Federal Geographic Data Committee Cadastral Subcommittee