How to Find a Property That Has No Street Address
By AcreBound Editorial Team Updated:
Quick Answer
Vacant parcels often do not have conventional street addresses. You can still find one by pointing at it on a map, entering its coordinates, starting from a nearby road or a neighbor’s address, or searching by its APN, owner name or legal description if you know them.
Once you find the parcel, its APN becomes the address you can use for records.
Vacant parcels often don't have conventional street addresses. There's no mailbox and no house number to type, which makes address-based tools useless. It doesn't make the land hard to find. You point at it another way: on a map, by coordinates, from a nearby road or neighbor, or through its parcel number (APN) or owner name.
Why Some Land Has No Address
Addresses exist for mail and emergency response, so they attach to buildings. Sonoma County, California says plainly on its addressing page that vacant parcels are not addressed, and that certain permits, such as one for a new home, trigger an address assignment. Some counties go partway: Latah County, Idaho can give bare land a “non-standard” address, a road name plus a number ending in NS, for emergency services only. Per its code, that address isn't used for mail, voting or vehicle registration.
What the land does have is a parcel: a recorded piece of ground with its own boundary and APN. The parcel is the thing you're after. Sonoma County also notes that an address isn't part of a property's legal description, so a parcel with no address is still fully described in the deed.
Start With What You Have
| You have | Start here |
|---|---|
| A pin, GPS reading or listing coordinates | Search the coordinates on a parcel map |
| A parcel number from a tax bill, sign or notice | Search the APN in the right county |
| The owner's name | County assessor site or a parcel app, then filter by acreage and location |
| A road name and a rough spot | Find the road on the map and look for frontage parcels |
| A neighbor's address | Search it, then move one parcel over |
| Only a legal description | County plat maps or GIS, or a call to the assessor |
| Only a “for sale” sign with a phone number | Use the map to find the land by the road, then confirm |
Find It by Map Location
Open a parcel map and look for the land the way you would on a regular map: by roads, intersections, rivers, buildings and landmarks. Satellite view helps with fields and woods. Zoom in until you see parcel outlines, then tap the one you want.
Use Coordinates
If a listing, a friend or a sign gives you coordinates, search with them directly. Typical coordinates look like 35.1234, -90.5678, with latitude first and the minus sign on longitude. If you land in the ocean or on the wrong continent, you probably swapped them or dropped the sign. How to Find a Property by GPS Coordinates covers the formats and how precise a point needs to be.
If you're standing at the property, your phone can supply coordinates, or you can use your current location in a parcel app and skip the typing.
Start From a Nearby Road
Find the road the land touches. Rural roads have names, and the parcel map shows which parcels have frontage on them. Follow the road using something you recognize, such as a bridge, a driveway or a crossroad. In a subdivision, counting parcels from a known corner can work.
Search by APN
If you have the parcel number from a listing, a tax bill, a sign or a county notice, search it on the county's website or in a parcel app, and include the county. Parcel numbers only work in the system of the county that issued them, so the same digits in the wrong county return nothing or the wrong parcel. If the search comes back empty, retype the number with and without dashes, and with and without leading zeros. Counties format them differently.
The result may show two kinds of address. The situs address is where the property is, and it's often blank for vacant land. The mailing address is where the tax bill goes, and for an absentee owner it can be in another state. How to Find the APN for a Property explains where the number comes from, and APN vs Parcel ID helps if the labels don't match.
Search by Owner Name
If you know who owns the land, search the name on the assessor's site or in a parcel app. You'll get a list of parcels under that name, and you can pick the right one by acreage and location. Beware of common names and of owners who hold several parcels.
Use the Neighboring Parcels
Often someone next door has an address even if your target doesn't. Search the neighbor's address, then move one parcel over on the map. Comparing the shape and the position of the roads also helps you confirm the right parcel.
Start From a Legal Description
Every parcel has a legal description, even if it has no street address. It may name a lot and block in a recorded subdivision, or locate the land by section, township and range. Take it to the county's plat maps or GIS viewer, or call the assessor or recorder and ask where it plots. For land first conveyed by the federal government in the Public Land States, the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records site has online images of federal land title records issued from 1788 to the present. It won't give you a modern address, but it shows the original conveyance. How to Read a Legal Description helps with the wording.
Confirm You Have the Right Parcel
Before you rely on a parcel, check three things: the outline matches the land you saw, the acreage is close to what you expected, and the neighbors and roads line up. If you aren't sure how, How to Read a Parcel Map goes through it.
What if the Land Is Several Parcels?
Larger holdings are often divided into several parcels under one owner. Look for lines inside the area you're interested in, and tap each piece. The APNs may be similar or consecutive.
What if the Parcel Doesn't Appear?
The parcel may be too new for the data, or the county may not publish parcel data in the tool you're using. Check the county's own GIS site, or call the assessor's office with the location and the road name. You can also check whether AcreBound has parcel data for your area on the coverage pages.
Getting an Address for Vacant Land
If you need an address yourself, for a utility hookup or a building project, that's a separate process from looking one up. The county planning, building or GIS department usually handles it, and as the Sonoma and Latah County pages show, it's often tied to a permit or an access point on the road. Procedures and fees vary by county, so ask the planning department before you buy a mailbox.
A Word on Access
Finding a parcel on a map doesn't tell you whether you may enter it, or even whether a legal road reaches it. Don't assume a visible track is a public road or that you may cross a neighbor's land. Check access with the owner and with local records before you go.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a property really have no address?
Yes. Vacant land and recently divided lots often exist in county records with a parcel number and a legal description but no street address. It doesn't mean the records are incomplete.
Is a parcel number the same as an address?
No. An address is assigned for mail and emergency services. The parcel number is the county's tax and mapping ID for the land, and it works as the address for records.
How do I find land that only has a legal description?
Use the lot and block, or the section, township and range, to search county plat maps or the GIS viewer. If you can't find it online, call the assessor's or recorder's office.
Who gives vacant land an address?
Usually the county or city planning, building or GIS department, and often only when a permit or access point requires it.
Common Mistakes
- Searching for a made-up address instead of using the map.
- Swapping latitude and longitude, or forgetting the minus sign.
- Picking the neighboring parcel because the lines are hard to see.
- Searching an APN in the wrong county.
- Assuming a parcel has road access because it sits next to a road.
Sources
- Addressing and Road Naming (Permit Sonoma, Sonoma County, CA) Vacant parcels are not addressed; permits trigger addresses; an address is not part of the legal description.
- Standards for Rural Addressing, 6-2-2 (Latah County, ID Code) Non-standard (NS) addresses for bare land, for emergency service use only.
- General Land Office Records (Bureau of Land Management) Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States.
- How to Find an Address from a Parcel Number (LegalClarity) Secondary source: situs vs. mailing address, parcel number formatting, no-address parcels.
- Find Land Without an Address (Tax Lien School) Secondary source: search steps and access checks.