A legal description is the precise, legally recognized identification of a property's boundaries and location that distinguishes it from every other parcel of land in the world. Unlike a street address — which is convenient for mail delivery and navigation but not legally precise — a legal description uses surveying terminology and references to official records to define exact boundaries. Every deed, mortgage, title insurance policy, and lien document uses the legal description to identify the specific property involved.
The three main types of legal descriptions are lot and block, metes and bounds, and government survey. Lot and block is the most common for residential properties in subdivisions. It references a recorded plat map — for example, "Lot 12, Block 3, Sunny Acres Subdivision, as recorded in Plat Book 45, Page 23, of the Public Records of Miami-Dade County, Florida." The plat map contains the actual measurements, so the legal description simply points to the correct lot on the correct plat.
Metes and bounds descriptions use compass directions and distances to trace the property's perimeter, starting from a defined point of beginning and returning to that same point. For example: "Beginning at the northwest corner of Section 14, thence South 89°30'E a distance of 200 feet, thence South 0°30'W a distance of 150 feet..." These descriptions are common for irregular parcels and properties not in subdivisions. Government survey descriptions (used primarily in the western United States) reference sections, townships, and ranges established by the federal rectangular survey system.
Accuracy in the legal description is absolutely critical. An error — a wrong lot number, a transposed direction, or an incorrect plat reference — can result in the wrong property being conveyed or insured. In extreme cases, a buyer could end up owning a different parcel than the one they intended to purchase. An ALTA survey can verify that the legal description matches the physical property on the ground.
At closing, the title company verifies that the legal description on all documents — the deed, mortgage, title commitment, and survey — matches exactly. Any discrepancy must be resolved before closing. At Beycome Title, our title examiners carefully verify legal descriptions as part of every transaction, catching errors that could cause problems down the road. Get your free title quote.