Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Plat
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The creation of a plat map marks an important step in the process of <a href="/facts/Incorporation_(municipal_government)/VunELtxx">incorporating</a> a <a href="/facts/Town/8M3HB52B">town</a> or <a href="/facts/City/2uNRFqAN">city</a> according to <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> law. Because the process of incorporation sometimes occurred at a <a href="/facts/Courthouse/mV8C54Dg">courthouse</a>, the incorporation papers for many American cities may be stored hundreds of miles away in another <a href="/facts/States_of_the_United_States/mWmHJNWv">state</a>. For example, to view the original <a href="/facts/United_States_General_Land_Office/PL46mMx7">United States General Land Office</a> plat for the city of <a href="/facts/San_Francisco,_California/cb9l7hbC">San Francisco, California</a>, filed in 1849, one must visit the Museum of the Oregon Territory in <a href="/facts/Oregon_City,_Oregon/ylNmlFRw">Oregon City, Oregon</a>, as at that time Oregon City was the site of the closest federal land office to San Francisco.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="types">Types</h2> <p>A plat of consolidation or plan of consolidation originates when a <a href="/facts/Landowner/zf9fEcFx">landowner</a> takes over several adjacent <a href="/facts/Lot_(real_estate)/IlmkPblJ">parcels</a> of land and consolidates them into a single parcel. In order to do this, the landowner will usually need to make a <a href="/facts/Surveying/qchGcnRC">survey</a> of the parcels and submit the survey to the governing body that would have to approve the consolidation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>A plat of subdivision or plan of subdivision appears when a landowner or municipality divides land into smaller parcels. If a landowner owns an <a href="/facts/Acre/FDPa5k4G">acre</a> of land, for instance, and wants to divide it into three pieces, a surveyor would have to take precise measurements of the land and submit the survey to the governing body, which would then have to approve it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> A plat of subdivision also applies when a landowner/building owner divides a multi-family building into multiple units. This can apply for the intention of selling off the individual units as condominiums to individual owners. </p><p>A correction plat or amending plat records minor corrections to an existing plat, such as correcting a <a href="/facts/Surveying/qchGcnRC">surveying</a> mistake or a <a href="/facts/Scrivener/gvRxtFfT">scrivener's</a> error. Such plats can sometimes serve to relocate lot-lines or other features, but laws usually tightly restrict such use.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>A vacating plat functions to legally void a prior plat or portion of a plat. The rules normally allow such plats only when all the platted lots remain unsold and no construction of buildings or public improvements has taken place. </p><p>Other names associated with parcel maps are: land maps, tax maps, real estate maps, landowner maps, lot and block survey system and land survey maps. Parcel maps, unlike any other public real estate record, have no federal, state or municipal oversight with their development. </p> <h2 id="reasons">Reasons</h2> <ul><li>Subdivision of a property into multiple smaller lots, as described above.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li> <li>Designation of <a href="/facts/Road/3aadH4s3">roads</a> or other <a href="/facts/Right-of-way_(transportation)/Vzbfroo1">rights of way</a>.</li> <li>Ensuring that all property has access to a public right of way. Without such access, a property owner may be unable to use his or her property without having to <a href="/facts/Trespass/8SAH8dNB">trespass</a> to reach it. The platting process restricts the <a href="/facts/Fraud/VyU68aBy">fraudulent</a> practice of knowingly selling lots with no access to public right of way without revealing that such access does not exist. (Property that does not have access to public right of way may be sold, provided that the buyer is aware of the lack of a public means of access by water or land.)</li> <li>Creation or vacation of <a href="/facts/Easements/GqP5L1hU">easements</a>.</li> <li>Dedication of land for other public uses, such as <a href="/facts/Parks/J1I4aCHg">parks</a> or areas needed for <a href="/facts/Flood/FDQjJeXW">flood</a> protection.</li> <li>Ensuring compliance with <a href="/facts/Zoning/wox1dwXR">zoning</a>. Zoning regulations frequently contain restrictions that govern lot sizes and lot geometry. The platting process allows the governing authorities to ensure that all lots comply with these regulations.</li> <li>Ensuring compliance with a <a href="/facts/Land_use_planning/esnoshrS">land use plan</a> established to control the development of a <a href="/facts/City/2uNRFqAN">city</a>.</li> <li>Ensuring that all property has access to <a href="/facts/Public_utilities/BzslJKc3">public utilities</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="reading">Reading</h2> <p>Plats contain a number of informational elements: </p> <ul><li>The property boundaries are indicated by bearing and distance. The bearing is in the format of <a href="/facts/Degree_(angle)/f48Ns8SX">degrees</a>, minutes, seconds with compass point letters before and afterward to indicate the compass quadrant. For example, N 38 00 00 E is 38 degrees into the northeast quadrant or 38 degrees east of <a href="/facts/North/Hty6w98C">north</a>. Similarly, S 22 00 00 W is 22 degrees west of south. <a href="/facts/North/Hty6w98C">North</a> here is true north, so magnetic orientation must be corrected for <a href="/facts/Magnetic_declination/GdB3stq3">magnetic declination</a>.</li> <li>The certification note provides information on the surveyor and is the location where recent US plats place the flood survey code in accordance with the <a href="/facts/National_Flood_Insurance_Act_of_1968/Xcvffvux">National Flood Insurance Act of 1968</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/North_arrow/byJNShrg">north arrow</a> is familiar to most map readers</li> <li>The title block and lot numbers provide information specific to a development or <a href="/facts/Land_use_planning/esnoshrS">land use plan</a></li> <li>An <a href="/facts/Easement/GqP5L1hU">easement</a> is usually indicated by a dashed line, although it is also common to have to look them up in supplementary documents (such as a title report)</li> <li>Streets are usually indicated by a graphical outline of the <a href="/facts/Right-of-way_(transportation)/Vzbfroo1">right of way</a>; the outline also sometimes depicts the paved area.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Site_plan/f2PnHmcY">Site plan</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Lot_and_block_survey_system/ugL0Y8hn">Lot and block survey system</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Zion_(Latter_Day_Saints)/tJ2QtztK">Plat of Zion</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <p> The dictionary definition of plat at Wiktionary </p><p> Media related to Survey drawings at Wikimedia Commons </p> <ul><li><a href="https://www.archives.gov">The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"s.v. 'plat'". American Heritage Dictionary (3rd ed.). <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Whimsical Peculiarities at Manchester Noticed". The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 72, no. 1. London. 1802. p. 212. ... many attorneys ought to be whipt for not knowing how to spell; that plot a conspiracy and plat a piece of ground were pronounced exactly alike ... <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Nc6JTJZxH4EC&pg=PA212" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=Nc6JTJZxH4EC&pg=PA212</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Land Subdivision (Platting)". City of Corpus Christi. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121010183544/http://www.cctexas.com/?fuseaction=main.view&page=120" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20121010183544/http://www.cctexas.com/?fuseaction=main.view&page=120</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"First Plat of San Francisco Found". The Oregon City Enterprise. March 13, 1904. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via Clackamas County Historical Society. <a href="https://clackamascountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/first-plat-of-san-francisco-found/" target="_blank">https://clackamascountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/first-plat-of-san-francisco-found/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"What is a Plat? – Real Estate Advice". DROdio. May 25, 2010. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120307005513/http://www.drodio.com/expert-advice/what-is-a-plat" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120307005513/http://www.drodio.com/expert-advice/what-is-a-plat</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Platbooks and Land Ownership Maps | Find Maps". sco.wisc.edu. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101113063928/http://www.sco.wisc.edu/maps/platbooks.php#about" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20101113063928/http://www.sco.wisc.edu/maps/platbooks.php#about</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Land Development Frequently Asked Questions". Florida Condominium Documents. May 9, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2017.[better source needed] <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20221201010639/https://www.flcondodocs.com/blog/2012/05/09/land-development-faqs/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20221201010639/https://www.flcondodocs.com/blog/2012/05/09/land-development-faqs/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Kaplan Gordon, Lisa (December 10, 2019). "What Is a Plat Map? A Survey That Can Tell You a Lot About Your Property". realtor.com. Retrieved December 29, 2019. <a href="https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-is-a-plat-map/" target="_blank">https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/what-is-a-plat-map/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>