Understanding the Basics of Minnesota Statute 505: A Guide for Landowners

Minnesota Statute 505 covers three things: plats, coordinates, and surveys. It is of interest to anyone who would buy, sell or use land in the great state of Minnesota. It is also written in the legal profession’s characteristically dense and impenetrable language. The purpose of this article is to summarize the subdivisions of MN §505 for landowners, and provide a brief point of reference to whomever might find it useful.

Disclaimer: Compass Consultants is not a law firm. We are not attorneys; we are not qualified to give legal advice. No information contained on this website is intended to be construed as legal advice.

• 505.01 Plats, Donations, Purpose, Definitions – Defines what plats are in the state of Minnesota, and the purposes for which they are created. Further defines: block, drainage easement, lot, minor subdivision procedure, outlot, plat monument, etc.

• 505.021 Plat Contents; Survey; County Surveyor Approval – Defines the requirements of a plat in the state of Minnesota, including how it shall be formatted, named and signed, as well as which features it must include, such as public ways, easements, and water boundaries. Subdivision 9 states that a plat shall contain a certification by the land surveyor who created it.

• 505.03 Governmental Approval – Sets forth the manner in which a plat must receive government approval; typically by being presented for approval to the council of the city or analogous municipal legislating body.

• 505.04 Real Estate Taxes; Recording; Copies – Essentially says that a plat shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder or registrar of titles (or both) if it contains both nonregistered and registered property. The plat and its copies will be available to the public and replicated upon request.

• 505.09 County Board Controls Plats Outside Municipalities – Essentially details the manner in which municipalities may require roads and parking spaces to satisfy certain dimensional requirements within plats.

• 505.11 Board to Make Regulations – Further details how a municipality may regulate platting of subdivision of lands, including street location and dimensions, locations of utilities, and extent of grading and drainage of streets.

• 505.15 Certain Plats Validated – Essentially prohibits members of the general public from questioning the validity of plats once they have been created and filed with the office of the county recorder

• 505.165 Certain Plats Executed or Filed Before January 1, 1915 – Essentially permits a governing body to replace old, incorrectly recorded plats with new ones that adhere to contemporary regulations.

• 505.174 Surveyor’s Certificate of Own Plat Error; Correction – Details the course of action a surveyor may take if a plat they prepared contains errors or defects.

• 505.175 Certificates by Other Surveyors – States that a certificate may be executed by any registered surveyor when the surveyor who originally created a plat is unavailable. 505.176 proceeds to explain the process for certificate approval, filing and recording.

• 505.178 Validation of Certain Plats – Gives a person or authority having an interest in a parcel of land lying within a plat which is on file (but missing, or not officially recorded) the right to petition the district court for an order providing for the recording of such plat.

• 505.1792 Streets, Roads, Highways and Rights-of-Way – States that a governing body may provide maps and plats to the public in order to give supplemental information on the location of streets and other transportation corridors. 505.1793 further details how right-of-way information may be produced for the purposes of public transportation, public utility and drainage easements.

• 505.18-28 Coordinates – Details the system of plane coordinates to be used for creating plats in the state of Minnesota.

• 505.31-32 Surveys – States that it is lawful for a surveyor to enter land for the purpose of locating existing survey or reference monuments or landmarks. They must notify the owner or occupant of land beforehand, and are responsible for any and all damages resulting from such entry. Further specifies how a surveyor is to treat monuments and other permanent evidence of the survey.

• 505.33 Violations; Penalty – Makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally remove, destroy or deface a lawfully erected survey monument.

Dealing with byzantine state laws can be difficult for professional surveyors – and downright impossible for laymen. If you would like to ensure your plat is surveyed in full compliance with Minnesota state law, then we encourage you to contact Compass Consultants today.