| When the Service... | ...you will assign a number to the ownership using the following format... |
| Acquires only a single tract from a private ownership For example, acquiring one tract of land from John Smith. | Smith, John (10) You will use the ownership number to designate the only tract of a case. |
| Acquires multiple tracts from a private ownership For example, acquiring two or three tracts of land from John Smith, such Smith, John (10), (10a), (10b) | You will use the ownership number to designate the first tract of a case. For each additional tract of the same case, you will use the ownership number in combination with a lower case letter of the alphabet. You must begin with the letter "a" for the second tract and consecutively go through the alphabet for the following tracts. You must not use the letters "l" or "o". You can summarize these tracts on the case file as Smith, John (10,a,b) When referring to more than one tract, the ownership number is not repeated, but you must separate individual tracts with a comma. |
OR For example, acquiring four or more tracts of land from John Smith, such as Smith, John (10), (10a), (10b), (10c), (10d). | OR You can summarize these tracts on the case file as Smith, John (10,a-d). When referring to a series of tracts, use the first and last consecutive letters, separated by a hyphen. Because you must not use the letters "l" or "o", a case with 25 tracts would be "Smith, John (10,a-k,m,n,p-z)". If a case has more than 25 tracts, the alphabet is used again. You must precede the lower case letter with a capital letter. For example the 27th tract would be (10Ab) and the 52nd tract would be (10Bb). |
Acquires portions of a single tract from a private owner over a period of time For example, acquiring three contiguous parcels of land from John Smith at different times because of funding constraints. | Smith, John (10) These are separate cases and you must designate these parcels as separate tracts to denote different acquisition dates. |
Acquires contiguous land from a seller we have bought from before For example, acquiring a fourth tract of land from John Smith that is adjacent to land previously acquired from John Smith. | Smith, John (10c) You must designate this parcel as a separate tract to denote different acquisition dates. |
Needs to delineate portions of a contiguous tract for adjudication purposes For example, to delineate a Riparian claim, a gap, or a overlap. | Smith, John (10,a,-I,-II,b) Only the surveyor can assign Roman numerals, as part of a case or tract description. |