PlaceDossier / Questions
Where are my property lines?
A report draws the lot's lines from ParcelMap BC, the Province's map of every titled parcel, with its size, PID and plan number, and the map of BC shows every lot's lines down to the street. The map shows where a lot is and its shape; the legal boundary is the registered survey plan and the posts set on the ground.
The report opens at this answer, with the lot drawn on the map and every other check alongside. A PID (on the tax notice or title) always finds the lot; an address works when it's an exact match.
What the answer means
- What the lines are
- ParcelMap BC is the Land Title and Survey Authority's map of every titled and surveyed Crown parcel in BC, kept up to date as new plans are registered. The LTSA calls it the point of truth for how boundaries are drawn, but not the authority for the legal boundary: that is always the plan of survey and the land title register.
- How far off they can be
- The map was put together from survey plans of every age, and its fit to the ground varies from place to place. The LTSA rates its accuracy area by area and lists the areas with significant misalignment it plans to improve. Where the lines rest on old plans with few ties to survey control, they can sit metres from the real boundary (our reading; no figure is given for one lot). Lines over a satellite photo can also look off because the photo itself is shifted or taken at an angle.
- The legal boundary
- The boundary is the one shown on the survey plan registered at the Land Title Office, marked on the ground by the posts a land surveyor set when the lot was created. Fences, hedges, driveways and old sheds often don't follow it.
- Finding the posts
- A BC Land Surveyor can find the posts, re-establish missing ones and mark the line. A survey certificate (often asked for by lenders) shows where the buildings stand against the lines and setbacks, and an old one won't show what was built or moved since.
- The lot's size
- The size in a report is measured by us on the mapped outline. The plan's own figure is the one that counts, and on a lot bordering water the natural boundary moves with the shore.
- Plans and titles
- A report gives the PID and plan number from the open map. The survey plan, the title and any easement, right of way or covenant on it are ordered from the LTSA for a fee; we don't use the LTSA's title records.
- A line that looks wrong
- The LTSA takes reports of mistakes in ParcelMap BC with the parcel's PID and plan number. A disagreement with a neighbour over where the line is goes to a land surveyor, not the map.
- What it means for a buyer
- Walk the lot with the plan, look for the posts, and ask the seller for any survey certificate. For a lot where a metre matters (a building near the line, a shared driveway, a fence or a shore), ask a BC Land Surveyor before you buy, and your lawyer for a title search.
ParcelMap BC's lines as published under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia, refreshed monthly; the LTSA's pages summarised in our words, read 2026-10-07. Confirm with a BC Land Surveyor where the boundary is, and with your lawyer what is on the title, before you buy or build.
Source: ParcelMap BC parcel fabric, Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); About ParcelMap BC, LTSA (summarised in our words, read 2026-10-07); Spatial improvements in ParcelMap BC, LTSA (summarised in our words, read 2026-10-07); How ParcelMap BC is maintained, LTSA (summarised in our words, read 2026-10-07).
Every lot on one map
The map of BC draws every titled lot's lines from ParcelMap BC: zoom in to a street and tap a lot for its PID, size, plan and owner class, and a link to its report.
See also road access, streamside setbacks and how much of a lot is buildable.
Buying rural land? Before you buy rural land in BC: the nine questions that decide an offer, on one printable page.