Five meridians, more than any other state we work in. Here is what the legal description on your deed, lease or division order is actually telling you, and where to check it for free.
Mississippi uses public land survey system. Five meridians, more than any other state we work in.
A principal meridian and its base line are the origin of a rectangular survey. Township and range numbers count outward from that origin, which means the same township and range numbers repeat under every meridian. The meridian is the part of the description that says which grid you are on.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 set aside Section 16 of each township for public schools, and when Mississippi became a state in 1817 Congress continued that reservation. Where Section 16 was already settled or reserved by treaty, the United States granted lieu lands in substitute.
Mississippi has more principal meridians than any other state on this list and their township and range numbers overlap freely, so a Mississippi description without the meridian is not usable. The second thing is specific and worth checking early: if the description lands in Section 16, the mineral estate is very likely sixteenth section school trust land held by the local school district and leased under state supervision, not privately owned minerals. Confirm that before assuming an inherited interest exists at all.
Deeds are with the county Chancery Clerks.
What it covers, how many net mineral acres it actually is, and whether anything is producing on it. Free, no obligation, and the answer does not change if you never sell anything to us. We do this every day and it usually takes us an hour.
Ask a Landman Get a Free ValuationCompiled from BLM, state land offices, state archives and statute, current as of 2026-08. Berlin Royalties is a mineral buyer and a landman shop in Tulsa, not a law firm or a licensed surveyor. Nothing here is a boundary opinion, and a description that matters to a transaction should be run by a title attorney or a licensed surveyor in the state where the land sits.