Before you put up a fence or clear a fencerow, it pays to know where your line actually is.

Quick answer Pull your deed and any survey or plat, then look at your county’s parcel (GIS) map to get oriented. Online maps are approximate, not legal boundaries. Walk the corners looking for iron pins or other monuments. For a fence, a building or a disagreement with a neighbor, hire a licensed land surveyor.
How to Find Your Property Lines
Photo: Bureau of Land Management Derivative Work by TBP25 (Cropped) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Tools & materials

  • Your deed and any prior survey or plat
  • Phone or computer for the county assessor’s parcel map
  • Measuring tape and flags or stakes
  • Metal detector (optional, for buried pins)

Steps

  1. Gather your paperwork. Your deed has the legal description. Your closing papers may include a survey. Recorded plats are kept by the county, and the Arkansas Division of Land Surveys has a public plat search.
  2. Look at the county parcel map. Most county assessors have an online parcel or GIS viewer that draws parcel lines over aerial photos. Use it to get oriented. The lines can be off by several feet or more, so don’t build to them.
  3. Compare. Check that the lengths and shape on the parcel map match the distances on your survey or plat.
  4. Call 811 before you probe or dig. In Arkansas, call 811 or start a ticket online. Utilities have two full working days to mark their lines. 811 marks buried utility lines only, not property lines.
  5. Find the corners. Starting from a known point on your survey, measure along the lines toward each corner. Look for iron pins, rebar or pipe. A metal detector helps with buried ones. Flag what you find.
  6. Hire a surveyor when it matters. For a fence, building, sale or dispute, a licensed Arkansas land surveyor can locate or reset the corners and stake the lines. The Division of Land Surveys lists county surveyors, and your title company can suggest names.
Safety: Don’t pull up, move or reset a survey pin you find, even if it’s in the way. Hand-dig anywhere near marked utility lines.

From https://www.djgaston.com/find-your-property-lines/ · Updated October 22, 2026