Access guide

How do easements and access work for California land—and what is a landlocked parcel?

Legal access is a recorded right—not a dirt track on aerial imagery. Landlocked parcels and unclear easements are classic deal killers; pair map geometry with title and, when needed, counsel.

Updated 2026-08-29

Useful sources for searching: Official sources to verify buildability ↓

Access diligence in order

Confirm the parcel polygon and neighbors on assessor GIS / Parcel View Map.

Ask how vehicles legally reach the lot—public road, private road, or easement.

Read the title report for access easements, exceptions, and maintenance obligations.

What “landlocked” means here

A parcel without recorded legal access to a public road (or equivalent) is a diligence emergency. Implied or prescriptive theories are lawsuits waiting to happen—not a marketing plan.

Where Parcel View helps

Use the Map and Screen to see parcel geometry and neighbors, then verify access in recorded documents. GIS cannot invent an easement.

People also ask

Can GIS prove I have legal access?

No. Maps can show roads and adjacency. Legal access comes from deeds, easements, and sometimes court judgments.

What if the listing shows a driveway across another lot?

Assume nothing until title shows a recorded easement benefiting your APN. Verbal neighbor permission is not transferable diligence.

Should access kill a deal?

Unresolved landlocked or disputed access should pause or kill the deal until counsel and title say otherwise—often cheaper than litigating after close.

Official sources

Last verified 2026-08-29. Re-check agency maps before decisions — vintages change.

Related

Screen this on a California parcel

Parcel View checks official public GIS for zoning, flood, fire, soils, and planning — every finding linked to the source.