Welcome to the Land Survey Information System

The Land Survey Information System or LSIS is the official government Web site for the distribution of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) of the United States. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cadastral survey program is responsible for the official boundary surveys for all federal agencies in the U.S. that together manage over 700 million acres. The Public Land Survey System also called the Rectangular Survey System is the foundation for many survey-based land information systems.

The PLSS data shown in the image to the right is computed from BLM survey records (official plats and field notes), local survey records, and geodetic control information. Please refer to the metadata for detailed information about the survey data. The LSIS data is a useful representation of the geometry and topology of parcels contained within the PLSS.

This data is intended for mapping purposes only and is not a substitute for a legal land survey.

PLSS Data
Check What's New for the latest updates.

What can I do on the LSIS site?

Download PLSS GIS shapefiles. To select and download data, select the Map Viewer and Download button. Once on the download site use the State Tab or County Tab (next to the words << Download) to select and download data for an entire state or county. To download just one or a few townships use the Township Selection Tool. Use the Quick Start Guide or Viewer Help on the download site for more information on getting started.

You must allow pop-ups to download data. Put www.geocommunicator.gov and www.blm.gov in the list of allowable sites.

For locating land descriptions by T/R or searching for land/mineral records use the Land & Mineral Use Records Link .

The PLSS data is also available as a map service for use in GIS applications. The map service allows you to stream the data live to your desktop GIS.
Map Server URL: http://www.geocommunicator.gov/
Map Service: BLM_MAP_PLSS

File Types
The Shapefiles are for use with GIS software such as ArcInfo, ArcView, ArcExplorer (download for free) or other GIS software. Shapefiles come with the following data:

• Townships
• Sections
• Subdivisions of Section

• Horizontal Control Information
  (Latitude and Longitude)
• Metadata

Original GCDB flat files are ASCII files that must be reformatted to be used with GIS software. The flat files are currently not available for downloading. If you need the flat files use the contact us to request them.

Data Sources
The PLSS data is coming from the National Integrated Land System (NILS). The current PLSS data are in NAD83 datum. The PLSS shapefiles available from LSIS before May of 2004 were in NAD27 datum.

In order to extend the national land grid to include the entire United States, PLSS data from alternate source data are added over time as the data becomes available. Alternate source data may overlap with BLM data. When this occurs, BLM data is the best source of information. Data from the U.S. Forest Service Automated Lands Project (ALP) is also being served. Data from non-BLM sources have not been verified and the BLM makes no judgment as to the quality and accuracy of the non-BLM data.

Not all of the U.S. has coverage at this time. This Web site is frequently being updated with the latest data available. Please review What's New for the latest information.

Contribute Data to LSIS
We are actively seeking additional survey-based data to fill in the areas we do not have coverage for. If you would like to become an "Alternate Source" provider of PLSS and Metes and Bounds survey-based data, select Contribute Data for more information. Metes and Bounds descriptions were a common method of survey in the eastern U.S. before the rectangular survey system was established. Metes and Bounds is a way of defining a parcel of land by describing the length of each course of a boundary and the monuments established at all the angle points.

GCDB ArcInfo coverages are available on request by clicking on the Contact Us link.