How to Find What Township and Range You Are In

You know where you are — a GPS pin, a street address, a spot on a map — but you need the PLSS legal land description for that location. Maybe you are standing on a property and need to confirm the section, township, and range for a permit filing. Maybe you have coordinates from a field GPS and need to convert them into the legal description format that a deed, regulatory filing, or USDA form requires.

This guide covers several methods for determining your township, range, and section, from the simplest to the most involved.

Method 1: Use Township America (Reverse Lookup)

The fastest approach is a reverse lookup. Enter GPS coordinates or drop a pin on the map in Township America, and the tool returns the full PLSS description for that location — including the principal meridian, township, range, section, and quarter section.

Steps:

1. Open the PLSS converter.
2. Enter your latitude and longitude, or click a point on the map.
3. The tool identifies the PLSS grid cell that contains your point and returns the legal land description.

This works for any location within the 30 PLSS states. The result includes the governing principal meridian, so you get an unambiguous description you can use directly in documents.

Method 2: Use the BLM GeoCommunicator

The Bureau of Land Management maintains a free online tool called GeoCommunicator that overlays the PLSS grid on an interactive map. You can search by coordinates or zoom to an area and click to identify the township, range, and section.

Steps:

1. Go to the BLM GeoCommunicator website.
2. Turn on the PLSS township and section layers.
3. Navigate to your area of interest by searching or zooming.
4. Click on the map to identify the section.

GeoCommunicator is free and uses official BLM data. The interface can be slow, and it does not always return quarter-section level detail, but it is a reliable reference for confirming township and range.

Method 3: Use GIS Software

If you work in ArcGIS, QGIS, or another GIS platform, you can download PLSS shapefiles from the BLM and overlay them on your project. Clicking a point on the map with the identify tool returns the PLSS attributes — township, range, section, and often quarter section — from the shapefile data.

Steps:

1. Download PLSS township and section shapefiles from the BLM's National PLSS dataset.
2. Add the layers to your GIS project.
3. Use the identify or query tool to click on your location.
4. Read the township, range, and section attributes from the data.

This method is best for users who already have a GIS workflow and need PLSS lookups integrated into their mapping projects.

Method 4: Check a County Plat Book

County plat books — available from county assessor offices, agricultural extension services, or online plat book providers — show the PLSS grid overlaid on county maps with landowner names. If you know the county and approximate location, you can find the township, range, and section by visual inspection.

Plat books are particularly common in agricultural states like Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and the Dakotas. Many county assessor websites now offer online GIS viewers with PLSS layers, making this lookup possible from your desk.

Method 5: Read It from the Deed or Tax Record

If you are researching a specific property, the easiest source may be the existing paperwork. County tax records, deeds, and title documents for rural properties in PLSS states almost always include the legal land description. Check:

• The property deed (recorded at the county recorder's office)
• The county assessor's parcel information (often available online)
• Title insurance documents
• USDA FSA tract and field records (if agricultural land)

These documents will give you the township, range, section, and often the quarter section, along with the principal meridian reference.

Understanding What You Find

Once you have identified your township and range, here is what the components mean:

• Township (T): Your north-south position relative to the baseline. "T5N" means five rows north; "T3S" means three rows south. Each row is 6 miles wide.
• Range (R): Your east-west position relative to the principal meridian. "R4E" means four columns east; "R7W" means seven columns west.
• Section: Your specific square mile within the township. Sections are numbered 1 through 36 in a serpentine pattern.
• Quarter section: Your 160-acre subdivision within the section — NE, NW, SE, or SW.

A full description combines all of these: NE 14-5N-3W 6th PM places you on a specific 160-acre parcel in central Kansas.

Which Principal Meridian Applies?

When you find your township and range, you also need to know which principal meridian governs your area. In single-meridian states, this is straightforward:

• Kansas and Nebraska → Sixth Principal Meridian
• Oklahoma → Indian Meridian
• Oregon and Washington → Willamette Meridian

In states with multiple meridians (Colorado, California, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota), you need to verify which meridian covers your specific location. Township America handles this automatically when you enter coordinates — it identifies the correct meridian for the location.

Tips for Accuracy

1. Use precise coordinates. If you are doing a reverse lookup from GPS, make sure your coordinates are accurate. A few decimal degrees off can move you into a different section or even a different township.
2. Confirm visually. After getting a township and range result, check it on a map. Does the location match what you expect? If you know you are north of a river or in a particular county, verify that the result aligns.
3. Watch for edge cases. If you are near a township or section boundary, small GPS errors can place you in the wrong cell. Verify by checking the adjacent section as well.
4. Document the full description. Always record the principal meridian along with the township, range, and section. A description without the meridian reference is incomplete and can be ambiguous.

When You Need This

Common situations where you need to find your township and range:

• Filing a drilling permit — State oil and gas commissions require exact PLSS locations on Applications for Permit to Drill.
• Enrolling in USDA programs — FSA and crop insurance filings reference specific tracts by section, township, and range.
• Buying or selling rural land — Real estate contracts for rural property use PLSS descriptions as the legal identifier.
• Managing timber or grazing leases — BLM and state trust land leases are identified by PLSS location.
• Hunting and recreation — Public land boundaries for hunting units and national forests are often described using PLSS references.

Whatever the reason, knowing your township and range is the starting point for working with any PLSS-based system.