Land Ownership: Property Boundaries

Property boundary basemaps and ownership records are maintained at the county level, usually by the recorder's, assessor's or land surveyor's offices. Many Minnesota counties keep records in digital (computer-readable) format while others keep them as paper records. Note that the boundaries shown on the maps and the GIS data sets are approximate -- they are not substitutes for certified property surveys, legal property descriptions or detailed plat maps. For more information on property surveys and legal descriptions, see the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors' website (choose "About Surveying" under the "About MSPS" menu). Property records may also be referred to as parcel, cadastral, real estate or real property records.

Data sources

If you know of other data sources that could be added to this section, please email us!
Not sure which county your city or township is in? Use our city/county search page to find out.

Downloadable data sets: These data sets require geographic information systems (GIS) software.
- Twin Cities metropolitan counties: Regional parcel datasets compiled by MetroGIS
  - Most current version
  - Earlier years
- Greater Minnesota counties: These counties provide their parcel data sets online:
  - Becker
  - Benton
  - Big Stone
  - Carlton
  - Chisago
  - Clay
  - Crow Wing
  - Douglas
  - Hubbard
  - Isanti
  - Itasca
  - Lake
  - McLeod
  - Meeker
  - Otter Tail
  - Polk
  - Rice
  - Sherburne
  - Stearns
  - Steele
  - St. Louis
  - Waseca
  - Wilkin
Online parcel maps and information: These county websites allow the public to view property information online. Some information may be password-protected or available only by subscription.
- County-wide maps: These sites provide property information using a county-wide map interface. They usually also allow searches by specific criteria such as parcel identification number or owner name.
  - Aitkin
  - Anoka
  - Becker
  - Beltrami
  - Benton
  - Big Stone
  - Blue Earth
  - Brown
  - Carlton
  - Carver
  - Cass
  - Chippewa
  - Chisago
  - Clay
  - Clearwater
  - Cook
  - Cottonwood
  - Crow Wing
  - Dakota
  - Dodge
  - Douglas
  - Faribault
  - Fillmore
  - Freeborn
  - Goodhue
  - Grant
  - Hennepin
  - Houston
  - Hubbard
  - Isanti
  - Itasca
  - Kanabec
  - Kandiyohi
  - Kittson
  - Koochiching
  - Lake
  - Lake of the Woods
  - Le Sueur
  - Lincoln
  - Lyon
  - Marshall
  - Martin
  - McLeod
  - Meeker
  - Mille Lacs
  - Morrison
  - Mower
  - Murray
  - Nicollet
  - Nobles
  - Norman
  - Olmsted
  - Otter Tail
  - Pennington
  - Pine
  - Pipestone
  - Polk
  - Pope
  - Ramsey
  - Redwood
  - Renville
  - Rice
  - Rock
  - Roseau
  - St. Louis
  - Scott
  - Sherburne
  - Sibley
  - Stearns
  - Steele
  - Stevens
  - Swift
  - Todd
  - Wabasha
  - Wadena
  - Waseca
  - Washington
  - Wilkin
  - Winona
  - Wright (click on "Beacon - Interactive GIS Map")
  - Yellow Medicine
- No county-wide maps: These sites allow users to search for property information by specific criteria such as parcel identification number or owner name, but do not provide a county-wide map interface option. Some sites, however, provide maps of individual properties.
  - Jackson
  - Lac qui Parle
  - Mahnomen
  - Meeker
  - Traverse
  - Watonwan
County GIS contact information: Contacts and county mapping websites.
Survey & Land Management Information: This brochure from the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Office of Land Management describes parcel-related information available from MnDOT.
Plat books: These books typically cover a county and show property boundaries, owner names and acreage along with other reference information such as roads and township section numbers. They are not intended for legal use in sales, trades or transfers of land. Plat books can be viewed at many libraries; they can also be ordered from the publisher, from map and book stores and from some county offices. Copyright restrictions may prohibit photocopying of recent books.
- Libraries:
  - Borchert Map Library at the University of Minnesota
  - Minnesota Historical Society, including several historic atlases that can be viewed online.
  - Local libraries
- Private companies publish plat books for a number of Minnesota counties. Check their websites for current lists of available counties and for related cartographic, publishing or software services that the companies may provide.
  - Farm & Home Publishers
  - Mapping Solutions (merged with the former Red Barn Plat Books company)
  - Rockford Map Publishers
- Counties
  - Carlton County publishes its own plat book
  - Cass County provides its 2012 plat book and its land atlas online
  - Cook County publishes its own plat book
  - Lake County provides its 2014 plat book / land atlas online
  - Lake of the Woods County provides its 2014 plat book / land atlas online
  - Otter Tail County publishes a digital plat book
  - Stearns County publishes its own plat book
  - St. Louis County publishes its own plat book
  - Todd County publishes its own plat book
- Minnesota's Bookstore carries current plat books for a number of Minnesota counties.
- About plat books: For more information about how plat books are created, see the Wisconsin State Cartographer's Office site.
Hunting land locations: Since hunters often ask about land ownership information, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has compiled a list of suggestions for finding public and private land ownership, including maps showing the boundaries of wildlife management areas, state and federal forests and national wildlife refuges.

Land records modernization efforts

Parcels and Land Records Committee: This Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council committee researches statewide issues surrounding the automation and mapping of land record transactions.
Cadastral Data Content Standard: A standard endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee.

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