How to Find a Property by GPS Coordinates

Enter the latitude and longitude into a map that shows parcels, and it jumps to that point and highlights the parcel containing it. Use decimal degrees such as 39.7392, -104.9903, put latitude first, and include the minus sign on longitude. Everywhere in the lower 48 states, longitude is negative because the country lies west of the Prime Meridian.

What Coordinates Look Like

The same spot can be written three ways. Google Maps accepts all of them, but some parcel tools take only decimal degrees (one land-mapping vendor's help page says its search doesn't recognize the letters E or W), so decimal is the safe choice.

Latitude is the north-south position and goes first. Longitude is the east-west position and goes second. In decimal degrees, south and west are negative. In DMS and DDM, the letters N, S, E and W carry that sign instead, so you never use both. For the lower 48 states, latitude falls roughly between 24 and 49, and longitude roughly between -125 and -67. If your first number is around 100, you've probably swapped them.

Watch the separator, too. Google's own help page gives 41.40338, 2.17403 as correct and 41,40338, 2,17403 as wrong, because a comma used as a decimal mark confuses the search. If a source gives you something else, such as a UTM grid reference or a Plus Code, convert it to latitude and longitude before you paste it into a parcel search.

Step by Step

1. Get the coordinates. Copy them from a listing, a dropped pin on a map, a GPS device, a field note or a photo's location data.
2. Open a parcel map and paste them into search. Keep the comma between the two numbers and the minus sign on the longitude.
3. Check where the pin lands. Switch to satellite view and compare what you see with what you expect: a road, a field, a house.
4. Tap the parcel. Read its APN, acreage and outline. If owner details are available for that county, they show here too.
5. Verify. Check that the neighboring parcels, the road and the shape match your source.

Converting Between Formats

One degree has 60 minutes, and one minute has 60 seconds. That's all the math there is.

How Precise Do the Coordinates Need to Be?

Each extra decimal place narrows the point by a factor of ten. The ground distance isn't the same in both directions, though. A degree of latitude stays roughly constant, while a degree of longitude shrinks as you go north. The U.S. Geological Survey gives figures for 38° north (the latitude of Stockton, California and Charlottesville, Virginia): about 364,000 feet per degree of latitude and 288,200 feet per degree of longitude. Scaling those down gives:

Farther north, the east-west step gets shorter still. For finding a parcel, four or five decimal places are plenty unless the point sits near a boundary.

Decimals describe how finely a number is written, and they say nothing about how well the position was measured. A phone may print six decimals, but GPS.gov says smartphones are typically accurate to within about a 16-foot radius under open sky, and worse near buildings, bridges and trees. That's the real limit of a coordinate you captured on foot.

What if It Doesn't Work?

• The pin is in the wrong country or ocean. You probably left out the minus sign on the longitude, or swapped the two numbers. Some tools accept either order, but latitude first is the standard.
• The pin is on a road. Coordinates taken from a car or picked from a map often land in the road. Look at the parcels on either side, or use the address if you have one.
• No parcel data appears. The county may not be covered. Check the coverage pages for what's available.
• The parcel looks wrong. The coordinates may come from a rough source, such as a listing site that pins a general area rather than the lot. Compare with satellite imagery.
• The pin is between two parcels. Check both and use other details, such as the acreage or access road, to decide. A point close to a line can truly fall on either side, because the coordinate, the map and the mapped boundary each carry some error.
• The pin is tens of meters off. If the coordinates came from an old paper map or record, they may use an older reference system (NAD 27). The USGS says the shift between NAD 27 and NAD 83 ranges from 10 to 100 meters across the conterminous states. A coordinate copied from an old record may need a datum conversion before it lands in the right place.

Getting Coordinates From a Map or Your Phone

In Google Maps on a computer, right-click a spot and the latitude and longitude appear at the top of the pop-up. On a phone, touching and holding a spot does the same. To record where you're standing, drop a pin and wait for the location to settle first (see How to Find Property Lines With GPS). Treat the result as pointing at the area, and not at an exact line.

If you're looking for land that has no address, there are other options in How to Find a Property That Has No Street Address.

Frequently Asked Questions

What format do GPS coordinates need to be in?

Decimal degrees with latitude first, like 39.7392, -104.9903. Many tools also accept degrees-minutes-seconds, but decimal degrees work almost everywhere.

Why is my longitude negative?

Longitude is measured from the Prime Meridian, with west as negative. The lower 48 states are all west of it.

Can I find a property's owner from coordinates?

Find the parcel first, then read the owner of record where the county data includes it. The coordinates identify the land, not the person.

How accurate are coordinates from my phone?

GPS.gov says typically within a 4.9 m (16 ft) radius under open sky, and less accurate near buildings, bridges and trees. That's good for finding a parcel and not good enough to locate a boundary line.

Common Mistakes

• Writing longitude first.
• Dropping the minus sign.
• Using both a minus sign and a W.
• Mixing formats, such as a decimal latitude with a DMS longitude.
• Using too few decimal places.
• Assuming a point near a boundary belongs to one particular parcel.

Once you find the parcel, How to Find the APN for a Property shows how to record its parcel number, which is a more reliable reference than coordinates.

Sources

• Search by latitude & longitude in Google Maps (Google Maps Help) Accepted formats, latitude first, comma-as-decimal error.
• How much distance does a degree, minute, and second cover? (USGS) Feet per degree at 38°N. The same page also lists the NAD 27 to NAD 83 shift: 10 to 100 meters in the conterminous states.
• GPS Accuracy (GPS.gov) Typical smartphone accuracy and what degrades it.
• Search For Land By Coordinates (Acres support) Vendor help page: a parcel tool that ignores E/W letters.