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Understanding Parcel Data Fields: Owner, Situs, APN & More

Published: March 2026 • 8 min read

When you download parcel data from a county GIS portal or query an ArcGIS service, you'll see dozens of attribute fields with names like SITUS_ADDR, OWN_NAME1, or USECODE. This guide explains the most common fields, what they mean, and how they're used for public notice mailings and planning work.

The Core Fields

While field names vary by county, most parcel datasets include these categories of information:

1. APN / Parcel ID

The Assessor's Parcel Number is the unique identifier for each parcel. You'll see it labeled as APN, PARCEL_ID, PIN, PARCELNO, or TAXID depending on the county. This is the primary key that links parcels across different county systems (GIS, assessor, tax collector, recorder).

For a deeper dive on APN formats, see our guide: What is an APN?

2. Owner Name

The recorded property owner(s). Common field names include OWNER, OWN_NAME, OWNER1, and OWN_NAME2 (for co-owners). This is the name that appears on your mailing labels for public notice mailings.

Owner types: Owner names can be individuals ("SMITH JOHN & JANE"), LLCs ("WESTFIELD PROPERTIES LLC"), trusts ("SMITH FAMILY TRUST"), or government entities ("CITY OF PORTLAND"). For deduplication strategies, see Deduplicating Mailing Lists.

3. Situs Address

The situs address is the physical location of the property—where the parcel actually sits on the ground. It's the address you'd give someone to drive to the property. Common field names: SITUS_ADDR, SITE_ADDR, PROP_ADDR, LOCATION.

Situs addresses may be split into components:

  • SITUS_NUM — Street number (e.g., "1234")
  • SITUS_DIR — Direction prefix (e.g., "N", "SW")
  • SITUS_ST — Street name (e.g., "MAIN")
  • SITUS_TYPE — Street type (e.g., "ST", "AVE", "BLVD")
  • SITUS_CITY, SITUS_ZIP — City and ZIP code

4. Mailing Address

The mailing address is where the county sends the tax bill—and where you send public notice letters. This is often different from the situs address, especially for:

  • Rental properties (owner lives elsewhere)
  • Vacant lots (no street address on the property)
  • Commercial properties owned by LLCs (mailing goes to a registered agent)
  • Properties owned by trusts or out-of-state entities

Common field names: MAIL_ADDR, MAIL_CITY, MAIL_STATE, MAIL_ZIP, or a combined MAILING_ADDRESS field.

Critical for public notice: Always use the mailing address for notification letters, not the situs address. The situs address tells you where the property is; the mailing address tells you where to reach the owner.

Additional Common Fields

5. Land Use / Zoning

Describes how the property is used or zoned:

  • USECODE / LAND_USE — Assessor's use code (e.g., "0100" for single-family residential)
  • ZONING / ZONE_CODE — The zoning designation (e.g., "R-1", "C-2", "M-1")

Use codes are assessor-specific and don't follow a universal standard, though many counties publish a lookup table explaining their codes.

6. Acreage / Area

The size of the parcel, typically in acres or square feet:

  • ACRES, LOT_AREA, SHAPE_Area — Parcel area
  • LOT_SIZE — Sometimes in square feet

7. Assessed Value

Tax assessment values, often broken into components:

  • LAND_VAL — Assessed value of the land alone
  • IMP_VAL / IMPR_VAL — Value of improvements (buildings)
  • TOTAL_VAL / ASSESSED_VAL — Combined assessed value

8. Legal Description

A formal text description of the parcel's boundaries, referencing subdivision plats, sections, townships, and ranges. Field names: LEGAL, LEGAL_DESC, LEGAL1. This is less useful for day-to-day planning work but important for legal documents.

Situs Address vs. Mailing Address: A Quick Comparison

Attribute Situs Address Mailing Address
What it is Physical location of the property Where the owner receives mail
Use for Identifying property on a map Sending public notice letters
Same as mailing? Only for owner-occupied properties May be in a different city or state
May be blank? Yes, for vacant land Rarely (assessor needs it for tax bills)

Field Name Variations

Since there's no national standard, the same data gets different field names across counties. Here's a handy reference:

Data Common Field Names
Parcel ID APN, PARCEL_ID, PIN, PARCELNO, TAXID
Owner OWNER, OWN_NAME, OWNER1, OWNERNAME
Situs SITUS_ADDR, SITE_ADDR, PROP_ADDR, LOCATION
Mailing MAIL_ADDR, MAIL_LINE1, MAILING_ADDRESS
Use Code USECODE, LAND_USE, USE_CODE, PROPTYPE

Tips for Working with Parcel Data

  • Preview the data first — Before downloading a huge dataset, query a small sample to understand the field names and data quality
  • Check for nulls — Mailing addresses and owner names may be blank for government-owned or exempt parcels
  • Watch for encoding — Special characters in owner names (apostrophes, ampersands) can cause issues in CSV exports
  • Join tables by APN — If geometry and owner data are in separate files, join them on the APN field
  • Verify currency — Parcel data is typically updated annually with the assessment roll. Check the data's vintage date

Ready to explore parcel data for your project?

Try the Parcel Lookup Tool →

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