About this site
Legal Description Checker is a free tool for land surveyors, title examiners, attorneys and anyone else who has to make sure a metes-and-bounds description actually describes a closed tract.
What it does
- Reads a description you paste, or a Word or PDF file you drop in, and turns each call into a row you can edit.
- Handles line courses in common bearing formats and curves given by any two of radius, arc length, delta, and chord, with chord bearing and direction.
- Plots the tract with numbered courses, the point of beginning, and any ties from a point of commencement.
- Reports the error of closure, its bearing, the precision ratio, perimeter, and area in square feet and acres.
- Suggests likely typos when a description doesn't close, such as a flipped direction or transposed digits.
- Splits a document with several tracts into separate tracts and draws them together.
- Writes the description back out in a clean, consistent format you can copy into your document.
Your work stays on your computer
All of the reading, math, and plotting happens in your web browser. Descriptions and files you open are never uploaded to this site or anyone else. Your current work is saved in your own browser so it is still there next time, and Start over clears it. The privacy policy has the details, including how ads on the site work.
Who built it
The checker was built by a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in Louisiana who wanted a fast way to check descriptions before they went out the door. It is free to use and supported by ads.
A checking aid, not a survey
The results are only as good as the values entered. A description that closes on paper can still be wrong on the ground. The surveyor who signs a plat or description remains responsible for it.
Ideas and problems
If something reads wrong or you'd like the checker to do something new, get in touch.