Legal Land Description Lookup: Find Any Land Parcel in the US

A legal land description is the official way land parcels are identified across the United States. Whether you're looking up a quarter section in Colorado, a section in Montana, or a township in North Dakota, Township America converts any PLSS legal land description to GPS coordinates and displays it on a map.

What Is a Legal Land Description?

The United States uses the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) across 30 states to describe land parcels:

• PLSS (Public Land Survey System): Used across 30 states in the Western and Midwestern US. Describes land by Principal Meridian, Township, Range, Section, and Quarter Section. Example: NE 14-5N-3W Sixth Principal Meridian.
• Quarter Sections: The most commonly referenced unit — 160 acres, one-fourth of a section. Example: NW 22-12S-7E Black Hills Meridian.
• Sections: Full 640-acre parcels. Example: Sec 14 T5N R3W Sixth PM.
• Quarter-Quarter Sections: 40-acre parcels for precise locations. Example: NESW 25-5N-30E Mount Diablo Meridian.

Each format serves the same purpose: pinpointing a specific parcel of land. The glossary has detailed definitions for every term in the PLSS.

When You Need a Legal Land Description Lookup

An environmental consultant in Colorado receives a remediation report referencing NE 14-5N-3W Sixth PM. They need to see this parcel on a map, confirm it's in the right area, and get GPS coordinates for their field team.

A title searcher in Montana is reviewing a property deed that says "SW Quarter, Section 22, Township 12 North, Range 25 East, Montana Principal Meridian." They need to confirm the geographic location before proceeding with the search.

A land technician in North Dakota has a spreadsheet of 200 legal land descriptions from various regulatory filings — a mix of quarter sections and full sections. They need GPS coordinates for all of them before a deadline.

In each case, the job starts with looking up the legal description and getting usable coordinates.

How to Look Up a Legal Land Description

Step 1: Go to Township America

Open Township America in your browser. The search bar accepts legal land descriptions from the PLSS system.

Step 2: Enter the Description

Type or paste the legal land description. Township America automatically detects the format you're using:

• Quarter Section: NE 14-5N-3W Sixth Principal Meridian
• Section: Sec 14 T5N R3W Sixth PM
• Township-Range: T5N R3W Sixth PM
• Quarter-Quarter Section: NESW 25-5N-30E Mount Diablo Meridian

No need to select a state or meridian — the converter figures it out from the format.

Step 3: Review the Result

Township America returns:

• GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) for the center of the parcel
• Map view with the parcel boundary outlined on the survey grid
• Parcel hierarchy — which township, range, and section the parcel belongs to
• Satellite imagery on Pro and Business plans

Step 4: Export or Navigate

You can:

• Copy coordinates to use in Google Maps, GPS devices, or GIS software
• Get driving directions to the parcel
• Save the location for later (saved places guide)
• Export as PDF, CSV, KML, Shapefile, GeoJSON, or DXF (export guide)

Step 5: Bulk Lookup (Optional)

For large datasets, prepare a CSV and upload it to the batch converter. It processes thousands of legal land descriptions in one upload, returning GPS coordinates for every row. This is available on the Business plan.

Example Lookups

Colorado Quarter Section: Enter NE 14-5N-3W Sixth Principal Meridian — returns approximately 39.74°N, 104.99°W, a 160-acre parcel in the Denver metro area.

South Dakota Quarter Section: Enter SW 22-12S-7E Black Hills Meridian — returns approximately 43.50°N, 103.10°W, a 160-acre parcel in western South Dakota, in an area of rangeland and agriculture.

North Dakota Section: Enter Sec 8 T100N R52W Fifth Principal Meridian — returns coordinates in northwestern North Dakota, in the heart of the Bakken oil field region.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Incomplete descriptions: 14 5N 3W without a principal meridian is ambiguous. Always include the full description with the principal meridian.
• Wrong principal meridian: Different meridians cover different states. Using the Sixth PM for a Montana location (which uses the Montana PM) will give incorrect results.
• Skipping verification: After looking up a description, check the map view to visually confirm the result is where you expect. This catches transposition errors before they cause problems in the field.

For quarter section searches, see the quarter section finder. For PLSS-to-GPS conversion details, see the PLSS to GPS converter guide.

Look Up a Legal Land Description Now

Try it — enter NE 14-5N-3W Sixth Principal Meridian into the Township America converter to see the GPS coordinates and map location. Or paste any legal description from your own documents and get results in seconds.