Free parcel data in Iowa
Iowa has no single free statewide parcel layer we could verify, but many counties publish their own. Basesheet currently uses 4 Iowa county services: Black Hawk, Johnson, Linn, Scott.
County layers
Black Hawk County
| Layer | Black Hawk County Parcels (ParcelFabricPublished, Pclwattr) |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Black Hawk County, Iowa GIS / County Assessor (ArcGIS Online, blackhawkcounty.iowa.gov account) |
| Coverage | All of Black Hawk County, incl. Waterloo and Cedar Falls (about 76,000 parcels) |
| Data vintage | Published parcel fabric with assessor attributes (item modified 2026-10 at verification) |
| Terms | Public, no token; Black Hawk County / Assessor no-warranty disclaimer (not a survey, verify independently) |
| Fields | parcel number (PIN, parcel); site address (propertyad); owner (deedholder); deed reference; legal description |
| Not published | plat references |
| REST endpoint | https://services5.arcgis.com/ya62ECiavqTkK0wv/arcgis/rest/services/ParcelFabricPublished_gdb/FeatureServer/15 |
| Last verified | 2026-10-20 with a live point and parcel-number query |
Hosted FeatureServer layer 15 'Pclwattr' (parcels with attributes; native SR ESRI 102675, IA North ftUS). Field names are truncated shapefile-style. PIN is a 12-digit string with no separators ('891325126005'); parcel is identical. propertyad is the situs street ('316 E 5TH ST'); property_2 holds 'CITY, IA ZIP', so city_field is empty (parse from property_2). deedholder is the deed holder; contract1 a contract buyer. bookpage is the latest recorded document reference as a single number ('462183'). Legal text in 'legal' is truncated to about 60 characters.
Johnson County
| Layer | Johnson County IA Parcels (Land_Records) |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Johnson County, Iowa GIS (gis.johnsoncountyiowa.gov) |
| Coverage | All of Johnson County, Iowa, incl. Iowa City and Coralville |
| Data vintage | County land records layer joined to assessor values (Year 2025 at verification) |
| Terms | Public, no token; Johnson County IA GIS, no license text on the service |
| Fields | parcel number (PPN); site address (SiteAddress); owner (DeedHolder1); deed reference; legal description; subdivision |
| Not published | plat references |
| REST endpoint | https://gis.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/LandRecords/Land_Records/MapServer/9 |
| Last verified | 2026-10-20 with a live point and parcel-number query |
MapServer layer 9 'Parcels' (native SR 6465, IA South ftUS 2011). PPN is the 10-digit parcel number with no separators ('1015287001'). SiteAddress is the situs street ('913 S DUBUQUE ST'); PropertyAddress is the same with trailing spaces; City is the property city. DeedBook/DeedPage are left-padded with spaces (' 760' / ' 301'), so trim; ContractBook/ContractPage hold contract sales. AlternateID is a section/plat key shared by many parcels, not an APN. Do not confuse with Johnson County, Kansas or other Johnson counties.
Linn County
| Layer | Linn County Real Estate Parcels |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Linn County, Iowa GIS (ArcGIS Online org account 'lc.ago.user') |
| Coverage | All of Linn County, incl. Cedar Rapids and Marion (about 106,000 parcels) |
| Data vintage | Parcel geometry joined to the county tax system, refreshed daily (Updated 2026-10 at verification) |
| Terms | Public, no token. Linn County disclaimer: no person shall sell, give, reproduce, or receive for the purpose of selling or offering for sale any portion of the data; no warranty |
| Fields | parcel number (GPN); site address (SitusAddress); owner (OwnerDeed); deed reference; legal description |
| Not published | plat references |
| REST endpoint | https://services.arcgis.com/i14SLLmXo7Hn9vNc/arcgis/rest/services/RealEstateParcel/FeatureServer/0 |
| Last verified | 2026-10-20 with a live point and parcel-number query |
Hosted FeatureServer (native SR 3857). GPN is the 15-digit parcel number with no separators ('142820300100000'); the assessor often prints it as 14282-03001-00000. SitusAddress is the situs street ('101 1ST ST SE'), SitusCity the situs city. OwnerDeed is the deed holder (OwnerContract holds a contract buyer when present). RecorderBook/RecorderPage are the latest recorded deed; RecorderInstrumentNumber is the combined form ('07690-00012'). Terms forbid reselling the data; display in a free tool is not a sale, but do not bundle it into anything sold.
Scott County
| Layer | Scott County IA Cadastral Parcels |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Scott County, Iowa GIS (ArcGIS Online org account 'Scott_County_IA_GIS') |
| Coverage | All of Scott County, incl. Davenport and Bettendorf |
| Data vintage | County cadastral service joined to assessor/auditor data (item modified 2026-10 at verification) |
| Terms | Public, no token; (c) Scott County, Iowa GIS, no license text on the item |
| Fields | parcel number (PIN, AlternateID); site address (PropertyAddress); owner (DeedHold); legal description |
| Not published | deed references, plat references |
| REST endpoint | https://services.arcgis.com/ovln19YRWV44nBqV/arcgis/rest/services/Cadastral/FeatureServer/3 |
| Last verified | 2026-10-20 with a live point and parcel-number query |
Hosted FeatureServer layer 3 'Parcel' (native SR 3857). PIN is alphanumeric with a dash and optional suffix letter, e.g. 'G0061-16A' or 'L0005-19' (a letter prefix for the area, not purely digits); AlternateID is the assessor key ('G25002'). PropertyAddress is situs street only ('600 W 4TH ST'); TaxJuris is the taxing jurisdiction ('CITY OF DAVENPORT'), not a postal city, so city_field is empty. DeedHold is the deed holder (ContrHold = contract buyer). LegalDesc1 contains CRLF line breaks; LegalDesc2/3 continue it. DeedDoc / Instr_Number are recorder document numbers, not book/page.
How to use it
- QGIS: Layer > Data Source Manager > ArcGIS REST Server, add a connection with the service URL (the endpoint above without the
final
/0), then add the layer. Filter to your area before exporting. - ArcGIS Pro: Add Data > Data From Path, paste the endpoint.
- Direct query: append
/query?geometry=LON,LAT&geometryType=esriGeometryPoint&inSR=4326&spatialRel=esriSpatialRelIntersects&outFields=*&f=geojsonto get the parcel at a point. - CAD: see getting a parcel into AutoCAD or Civil 3D.
Assessor parcel lines are for taxation and are often 5 to 50 ft off the legal boundary. Why.
Basesheet uses this to draw the parcel line on a base plan for any Iowa address, with LiDAR contours, soils, flood zones and wetlands.
Build a base plan