# How Land Is Surveyed in Mississippi: Reading a Legal Description

> Mississippi land surveys explained for mineral owners: Five meridians, more than any other state we work in. What the legal description on your deed or division order actually means, and where to look the records up free.

Source: https://www.berlinroyalties.com/land-survey/mississippi/
Publisher: Berlin Royalties, a veteran-owned oil and gas mineral and royalty buyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, buying for its own account since 2014. Call or text 918-984-1645.
License: free to quote and cite with attribution to Berlin Royalties and a link to the source URL.

Land Surveys · Mississippi

## How land is surveyed in Mississippi

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.

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**Mississippi uses public land survey system.** Five meridians, more than any other state we work in.

## The principal meridians

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.

- **Washington Meridian** (1803)

- **St. Stephens Meridian** (1805). Also governs Alabama.

- **Huntsville Meridian** (1807). Also governs Alabama.

- **Choctaw Meridian** (1821)

- **Chickasaw Meridian** (1833)

## Sixteenth section lands

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.

## What we see go wrong in Mississippi

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.

## Where to look it up, free

- [Mississippi Secretary of State Public Lands](https://www.sos.ms.gov/public-lands). Including the sixteenth section lands lease search

- [BLM General Land Office Records](https://glorecords.blm.gov). Original patents, plats and field notes

Deeds are with the county Chancery Clerks.

### Send us the description and we will read it back to you.

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](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/ask-a-landman/) [Get a Free Valuation](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/free-valuation/)

## Related

- [How land is surveyed in every state we work in](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/land-survey/)

- [The interactive section, township and range map](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/section-township-range-map/)

- [Mississippi mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/mississippi/) and the [Mississippi owner's guide](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/guide/mississippi/)

- [How to find out if you own mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/find-out-if-you-own-mineral-rights/)

- [Depth severance](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/depth-severance/) and [the Duhig rule](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/duhig-rule-overconveyance/)

- [The mineral glossary](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/glossary/)

Compiled 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.