Public Land Survey System (PLSS) | Practical Law

Public Land Survey System (PLSS) | Practical Law

Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Practical Law Glossary Item 7-507-1531 (Approx. 3 pages)

Glossary

Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Also known as the township range system or the rectangular survey system. A system used in the public domain states to identify and locate a parcel of land.
A large section of land that is laid out in a grid and divided by:
  • Baselines that run east and west.
  • Meridian lines that run north and south.
The baselines and meridian lines intersect at right angles every six miles.
Each square in the grid is continually subdivided into smaller pieces. These subdivisions from large to small are:
  • Ranges. Ranges are vertical columns of townships in the PLSS, which is the area between two meridian lines.
  • Survey Townships. Survey townships are an area of land approximately six square miles consisting of 36 sections. Also, survey townships are horizontal rows of townships in the PLSS and are different from civil townships, which are a form of local government.
  • Sections. Sections are subdivided portions of survey townships each consisting of one square mile area of land that contains 640 acres. Sections are often further divided into:
    • half sections consisting of 320 acres each;
    • quarter sections consisting of 160 acres each; or
    • quarter of a quarter sections consisting of 40 acres each.
The descriptions are read from the smallest division to the largest and are usually written in shorthand.
An example of a legal description using the PLSS would be:
  • Southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter, section thirteen, township two south, range two west. The shorthand for this description is:
    • SE1/4, SE1/4, NE1/4, Sec. 13, T2S., R2W.