Government Lot, PLSS Definition

Government lots are the PLSS solution to irregular parcels. When a section cannot be evenly divided into standard half-sections and quarter-sections — because of a lake, river, coastline, prior survey boundary, or the convergence of meridians — the irregular pieces are numbered sequentially as government lots within that section.

Lot numbers are assigned starting from the north and proceeding south, and within each row, from east to west. Lot 1 is typically in the northeast area of the fractional section, Lot 2 to the west of Lot 1, and so on. This numbering is recorded on the official BLM survey plat for that township. Unlike aliquot parts, government lot acreages vary and cannot be calculated from the section size alone — each lot's acreage must be looked up on the plat.

A legal description referencing a government lot looks like this: "Lot 3, Section 6, T2N, R4W, Willamette Meridian." This format is unambiguous and ties directly to the specific plat where the lot boundaries and acreage are defined. In areas with significant water features, such as Minnesota's lake country or coastal Washington, government lots are extremely common.

For GPS coordinate conversion purposes, government lots present a challenge because their boundaries are irregular. The Township America converter uses BLM cadastral data to define the actual boundary coordinates of each government lot, rather than assuming a geometric shape. This makes accurate centroid calculation possible even for highly irregular lots along rivers or lakes. Professionals working with titles, deeds, or surveys in fractional-section areas should always obtain a copy of the original BLM plat to verify lot boundaries and acreage.