Utah Guide v1.0

A working guide, October 13, 2026. Sources checked on October 13, 2026. Not legal advice.

Researching land in Utah

[automatic · 2026-10-13] Choose Utah, then your county, and type your address or parcel number; the outline and street address come from the State of Utah’s statewide parcel layer (UGRC).
[automatic · 2026-10-13] The state’s parcel layer carries no owner names, and some counties’ values are blank. UGRC licenses its SGID data under CC BY 4.0 (gis.utah.gov/documentation/policy/license, read October 13, 2026); every outline on the site credits it.

[automatic · 2026-10-13] The section, township and range of your land, from UGRC’s PLSS sections (Salt Lake and Uintah Special meridians).
[automatic · 2026-10-13] Historical topographic maps from the USGS (the oldest first), as PDF links; USGS maps are in the public domain.
[automatic · 2026-10-13] The most recent NAIP aerial photograph (USDA imagery served by the USGS).
[automatic · 2026-10-13] Whether the spot is state trust land today, shown from SITLA’s map each time and not stored.
[automatic · 2026-10-13] In Utah County only: the Recorder’s owners of record by year and the list of recorded documents, read once you keep your land in a file.

[follow this link · 2026-10-13] Most of Utah is described from the Salt Lake Meridian; part of the Uinta Basin uses the Uintah Special Meridian. A legal description names the township (north or south), the range (east or west) and the section.
[follow this link · 2026-10-13] Sections 2, 16, 32 and 36 of every township were granted for Utah’s schools. Congress granted the school sections in the 1894 Enabling Act (§ 6); Utah became a state in 1896. Source: https://archives.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Enabling-Act.pdf
[not verified · 2026-10-13] Where a school section had already passed to someone else, the state took other “indemnity” land instead; whether yours was ever state school land is a question for the records below.

[follow this link · 2026-10-13] Utah County: the Land Records site shows owners by year and the abstract of recorded documents for a serial number. https://www.utahcounty.gov/LandRecords/Index.asp
[ask an office · 2026-10-13] Salt Lake County: the county’s terms bar commercial use, so this site links to the assessor’s page and does not read it. https://www.saltlakecounty.gov/recorder/document-request/
[not verified · 2026-10-13] Washington County: the assessor’s search is a map viewer we could not read automatically; its search options are not yet checked.
[follow this link · 2026-10-13] Utah publishes no sale prices; values on county pages are assessed values.

[ask an office · 2026-10-13] The county recorder keeps deeds, patents, plats and ownership plats. The abstract books index every recorded document by tract.
[ask an office · 2026-10-13] Utah County Recorder, 100 E Center St, Suite 1300, Provo, UT 84606; Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; 801-851-8179. Copies $1 a page; ownership plat $2; subdivision plat $4; certified copy $5. Staff do not do title searches.
[ask an office · 2026-10-13] Washington County Recorder, 111 E Tabernacle, St. George, UT 84770; 435-301-7680. Official record $1 a page; ownership plat $2 a page; official plat $4 a page; certified copy $5 plus the page charge.
[ask an office · 2026-10-13] Salt Lake County Recorder, 2001 S State St, Suite N1-600, Salt Lake City, UT 84190; Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; 385-468-8145. $2 a page; historical (vault) $5 a page; plat $5 a page; certified $5 plus $2 a page.
[not verified · 2026-10-13] The first year of document images online in each county: not yet checked.

[follow this link · 2026-10-13] The BLM’s General Land Office Records hold the first federal titles (patents) and survey plats. Your file opens a search already filled in for your township and range; look down the list for your section. https://glorecords.blm.gov/s/advanced-search
[not verified · 2026-10-13] The BLM site runs in your browser. Older bookmarked GLO links now open the home page, so search again from the link above.

[automatic · 2026-10-13] NAIP aerial photographs, about 0.6 m per pixel.
[not verified · 2026-10-13] UGRC’s imagery services and the Utah Geological Survey’s historical aerial photographs: not yet checked.

[not verified · 2026-10-13] Utah County was home to the Timpanogos (Ute). The 1865 Spanish Fork treaty was signed but never ratified. Source: https://treaties.okstate.edu/treaties/treaty-with-the-ute-1865-22806 (to be reviewed with tribal sources before publishing).
[not verified · 2026-10-13] Washington County is Southern Paiute land (Shivwits Band; Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah); the Shivwits reservation dates from 1891 and federal recognition was restored in 1980. Source: https://historytogo.utah.gov/post/paiute-indians/
[follow this link · 2026-10-13] Burials, rock art and sacred places are never mapped or named by parcel; ask the tribes’ cultural offices.
[follow this link · 2026-10-13] Utah Digital Newspapers (University of Utah): each item carries its own rights statement. https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/

[ask an office · 2026-10-13] Utah State Archives: the State Land Board’s minutes with abstracts of school-land sale applications, 1896–1994 (series 1973); directors’ actions 1958–1994 (series 29745). https://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/series/1973/
[ask an office · 2026-10-13] A modern state sale ends in a State of Utah patent recorded with the county recorder; ask the recorder for it by township, range and section.

[ask an office · 2026-10-13] Ask the recorder for the abstract entries for your tract, then copies of the deeds you want.
[follow this link · 2026-10-13] Use the FamilySearch Utah Land and Property guide; its images are for personal use. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Utah_Land_and_Property
[ask an office · 2026-10-13] If your land is in section 2, 16, 32 or 36, ask the Utah State Archives reference desk to search series 1973 for the sale.

[automatic · 2026-10-13] UGRC parcels and PLSS; USGS topographic maps and NAIP; SITLA surface ownership; Utah County Land Records: tested October 13, 2026.

[not verified · 2026-10-13] County assessor pages other than Utah County’s; Washington County’s search; SITLA’s records-request procedure; county tax rolls at the archives; cemeteries; census tables for Utah: not yet checked.