NEW ROOTS DEVELOPMENT
Home›Tool Guide›VDC Survey›Boundary + Plats

Legal Description (metes and bounds)

The metes-and-bounds narrative, the way it reads on a deed , from a Civil 3D parcel or a closed polyline: a commencement tie, one thence per course, curve calls with radius / arc / chord, and the closing area. A draft for the licensed surveyor's review, every output says so.

Command VDCLEGAL · VDC Survey tab › Boundary + Plats panel
The metes-and-bounds narrative, the way it reads on a deed, from a Civil 3D parcel or a closed polyline: a commencement tie, one thence per course, curve calls with radius / arc / chord, and the closing area. A draft for the licensed surveyor's review, every output says so.
Boundary courses (walked in the chosen direction) → COMMENCING / BEGINNING → thence ... → POINT OF BEGINNING, containing ... acres. POINT OF BEGINNING POC (iron pin) L1 N 00°00'00" E, 140.00' L2 N 74°03'17" E L3 C1 R=40.00' curve to the right L4 L5 N 90°00'00" W, 240.00' All that parcel in Horry County, South Carolina, TMS 123-45-67, known as Lot 1: COMMENCING at an iron pin found ...; thence N 45°00'00" E, 56.57 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING; thence N 00°00'00" E, 140.00 feet to a point; thence N 74°03'17" E, 145.60 feet to a point; thence ... to a point; thence along a curve to the right having a radius of 40.00 feet, an arc length of 62.83 feet, a chord bearing of S 45°00'00" E and a chord distance of 56.57 feet to a point; thence ... to the POINT OF BEGINNING, containing 0.822 acres (35,800 sq ft), more or less. draft - licensed surveyor to review
Boundary courses (lines)   Curve call (radius / arc / chord)   POINT OF BEGINNING / area   Commencement tie

What it does

  • Source: a Civil 3D parcel through the shared parcel picker, or a closed polyline on any seat (bulged segments become curve calls).
  • Tie: optional COMMENCING at a picked point with your description, bearing and distance to the POINT OF BEGINNING; else BEGINNING at the <corner> corner.
  • Courses: one thence per line (quadrant N 45°12'30" E or azimuth), curves with radius, arc length, chord bearing, chord distance and left / right from the center's side.
  • Closing: to the POINT OF BEGINNING, containing the area (chord polygon + signed circular segments) in acres, square feet or both.

Options & output

  • Direction of travel (clockwise default) enforced, the ring is reversed when drawn the other way and the summary says so.
  • Preamble template with {COUNTY} {STATE} {TMS} {PARCEL} {DATE}; distance decimals; ASCII degree for the text file.
  • <drawing>_Legal_<parcel>.txt in VDC Reports (draft notice appended) and/or MText at a picked point (plotted height / width, layer C-ANNO-LEGL).
  • Both bundles; the parcel pick is host-gated. Settings %APPDATA%\VDC\LegalDescription\settings.json.

Dialog

Legal Description (metes and bounds) dialog
Legal Description (metes and bounds), VDCLEGAL

When to use it

  • Deeds, easement descriptions and plat notes from the drawn boundary.
  • Checking a recorded description against the drawing - compare course by course.

How to run it

  1. Run VDCLEGAL - pick the source (parcel or closed polyline), the tie, bearing style, decimals, area units, direction, preamble and outputs; OK.
  2. Pick the boundary (and the commencement point if the tie is on), then the MText insertion point.
  3. Read the narrative in the summary; the .txt lands in VDC Reports.

Options

  • Bearings: quadrant (N 45 12 30 E) or azimuth (045 12 30); distance decimals (2); area in acres, square feet or both.
  • Direction: clockwise (default) or counter-clockwise - the ring is reversed when needed.
  • Preamble: template with {COUNTY} {STATE} {TMS} {PARCEL} {DATE}; empty = start at BEGINNING / COMMENCING.
  • Output: .txt in VDC Reports, MText (plotted height / width, layer C-ANNO-LEGL).

Watch out for

  • A draft from drawing geometry: a licensed surveyor reviews every course before it goes on a deed or plat; every output says so.
  • Area = chord polygon plus the circular segments - it matches Civil's parcel area for true arcs, not for arcs drawn as many short lines.
  • The corner word (northeast, southwest ...) comes from the first vertex; start the boundary at the corner you want to begin at.

Related: Deed Table · Plat QC · Tag Labels