Pottawattamie County has undertaken the enormous task of converting the county’s parcel numbering system from a 21-digit number to a 12-digit number.  The reason for this change is three-fold.  First, Iowa Legislation requires the parcel number to be prefixed by the county number (78).  Our 21-digit number was not.  Second, most other counties in Iowa have already taken this step and now use the new 12-digit number.  Once all counties make convert their numbers there will be a uniform standard across the state.  Finally, the new number is shorter which is more efficient for all those users of the parcel number.  There are both advantages and disadvantages to using this new number.  The obvious disadvantage is change itself, but also that the new number does not contain the tax district.  One major advantage of the new number is that it is geographic.  In many cases it’s a shorthand version of the legal description which will allow you to locate the parcel without researching the full legal description.  We know that this will be a difficult transition for some, but we thank you for your understanding as we move forward with this new parcel numbering system.

The new 12-digit number has been updated in all the county databases during the weekend of July 1st (beginning of our fiscal year).  The number can be used to search for parcels on both the Assessors site (www.pottco.org) and the GIS site (gis.pottcounty.com).  Both sites allow you to search by both the new number and the old number, but as of July 1st there will be no new generations of the 21-digit number and the 12-digit number will become the primary parcel number.

Please use the Parcel Number Poster document to familiarize yourself with the new numbering system.  In short, the number follows the Iowa Public Land Survey System (PLSS).  The first two digits are the Township, the next two are the Range, the next two are the section number.  Then the next number is the ¼ section followed by two more numbers which indicate the ¼ ¼ section.  The final three numbers sequentially increase as parcels are added to those ¼ ¼ sections.

If you have any questions or concerns about the new parcel number please feel free to send an email and we will respond back to you as soon as possible.