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Land marketplace · Field checklist

Before a parcel becomes a plan.

Use this checklist to identify the records, authorities, and open questions to investigate when evaluating land. Start with the parcel’s actual jurisdiction and keep each finding tied to a source and date.

Work through the open questions

Parcel review checklist

Check items as you collect records. This page does not save progress.

Zoning and permitted use

Confirm the governing jurisdiction first. A listing’s intended-use label is not a zoning determination.

  • Use the official parcel identifier and legal description to locate the municipality, county, regional authority, or other applicable jurisdiction. Do not use a marketplace pin as the parcel boundary.

  • Check permitted and conditional uses, density, setbacks, height, minimum lot size, subdivision rules, overlay districts, nonconforming status, variances, and pending amendments with the responsible planning office.

Official source links

  • USAGov: Local governments

    U.S. directory for locating the relevant city, county, or other local office. The local office’s adopted code and parcel records are the primary sources.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

Legal access and easements

A visible road, track, map line, or neighbor’s permission does not by itself establish a durable legal access right.

  • Compare the deed and recorded plat with current land records. Identify the benefited property, route, width, permitted uses, maintenance terms, and any conditions or gaps in the access chain.

  • Check for road, utility, drainage, conservation, mineral, and shared-access instruments, plus releases or later changes. Ask the local land-records office which records and indexing rules apply.

Official source links

  • USAGov: Local governments

    U.S. directory for locating the relevant city, county, or other local office. The local office’s adopted code and parcel records are the primary sources.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

  • Bureau of Land Management: Land Records

    Federal land conveyance and survey records for covered public-land states. BLM notes that its collection does not contain every federal title record.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

Utilities and services

Nearby infrastructure is not proof that a connection is available, permitted, sized, or affordable.

  • Ask about service boundaries, capacity, connection or extension requirements, timing, fees, and any conditions for water, sewer, electricity, gas, and communications.

  • For a well, septic system, or other local alternative, check the applicable health or environmental office’s records and requirements. Do not infer suitability from nearby systems or a map.

Official source links

  • U.S. EPA: Public Water System Service Areas

    U.S. screening data combines published boundaries and modeled areas; EPA says unmapped systems and private wells may exist. Confirm service and capacity with the utility.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

  • USAGov: Local governments

    U.S. directory for locating the relevant city, county, or other local office. The local office’s adopted code and parcel records are the primary sources.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

Flood, wetlands, soil, and environmental constraints

Use public maps to find questions and source records. They do not establish a site’s physical or regulatory status.

  • Check map revisions and local flood studies with the responsible agency. A mapped result cannot rule out flooding outside mapped areas or replace site-specific review.

  • Inventory layers may omit features or differ from legal jurisdiction. Request the appropriate site-specific determination before relying on a mapped boundary.

  • If the records or past uses raise questions, obtain the assessment appropriate to the transaction and applicable rules. A database search is not environmental clearance.

  • Confirm whether field sampling, geotechnical work, or other site-specific investigation is needed for the intended use.

Official source links

  • FEMA Flood Map Service Center

    Official U.S. flood hazard map products. A map result is not a site inspection or a guarantee that flooding cannot occur.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

  • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Wetlands Mapper

    U.S. inventory for general wetland information. FWS cautions that it does not establish regulatory jurisdiction and should not be treated as a parcel determination.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

  • U.S. EPA: Envirofacts maps and visualizations

    U.S. environmental program records and map tools. A nearby record or no mapped record is not an environmental site assessment or clearance.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

  • USDA NRCS: Getting Started With Web Soil Survey

    Official U.S. soil survey information for a selected area. Soil maps do not replace field investigation or site-specific engineering.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

Taxes, assessments, and recorded charges

Tax rules and records are jurisdiction-specific. Use the current official parcel record, not a marketplace estimate.

  • Confirm the parcel identifier, taxing authorities, exemptions, payment status, reassessment rules, and any delinquent amounts directly with the applicable assessor and tax collector.

  • Check how taxes, levies, fees, and transfer charges apply to this property and transaction. Rules vary by location and ownership type.

Official source links

  • USAGov: Local governments

    U.S. directory for locating the relevant city, county, or other local office. The local office’s adopted code and parcel records are the primary sources.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

Survey, boundaries, and title status

A map outline, acreage figure, seller document, or old survey does not settle boundary or ownership questions.

  • Compare the legal description, acreage, monuments, adjoining parcels, occupation lines, and visible improvements. Resolve discrepancies through the proper jurisdictional process.

  • Check deeds, liens, judgments, easements, restrictions, releases, and other recorded interests in the applicable registry. Confirm what the search covers and the date through which it is current.

  • Use the relevant registry and qualified local survey or legal professionals for jurisdiction-specific review. A source link or marketplace review is not proof of title or survey status.

Official source links

  • USAGov: Local governments

    U.S. directory for locating the relevant city, county, or other local office. The local office’s adopted code and parcel records are the primary sources.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

  • Bureau of Land Management: Land Records

    Federal land conveyance and survey records for covered public-land states. BLM notes that its collection does not contain every federal title record.

    Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

U.S. government links are examples where available. For a parcel elsewhere, use the equivalent official local planning office, land registry, tax authority, utility, and environmental agencies. Source review dates show when these links were checked; they are not dates for parcel records or underlying datasets.

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