Twin Cities metro
The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning agency for the seven-county Twin Cities area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington) and sponsors MetroGIS, the regional data-sharing collaborative.
Twin Cities metro official website
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Where to find things
- PublicGISProperty lines
Fast, simple parcel map and property viewer. Tap any parcel to see its lines, size, owner of record, and the official county links for it.
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- Minnesota Geospatial CommonsDownload Minnesota's statewide GIS data, such as roads, boundaries, imagery and elevation and property lines.
- MnGeoCounty GIS map
Home page of the state GIS office. Explains state mapping programs and links to the Geospatial Commons.
- Electronic Certificate of Real Estate ValueProperty records
The state's record of reported sale prices and terms filed with deeds. Used for sales ratio studies and to research what a property actually sold for.
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- MCRA County Recorder DirectorySearchable directory of every Minnesota county recorder and registrar of titles, with a downloadable PDF directory.
- Minnesota DEED Sites and Buildings Site FinderMinnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development statewide site finder. Search available business sites and buildings through the embedded LocationOne (LOIS) tool or open it in a new window. Contact DEED for site-selection assistance.
- Property Tax AdministratorsState guidance for assessors and treasurers, including sales ratio studies, classification rules, assessment manuals and the property tax calendar.
- MetroGIS Regional Parcel DatasetProperty owner · GIS data downloads
Downloadable open parcel polygons and attributes for the seven metro counties.
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- Minnesota Business Filings SearchLook up a Minnesota business, LLC or corporation, including its registered agent and address, when a company name appears on a deed or tax record.
- Statewide ParcelsOne statewide map layer of property parcel boundaries compiled from counties that share their parcel data openly. Includes parcel ID and, where the county provides it, owner and address fields.
- Property TaxesProperty taxes
Hub for Minnesota property tax topics: how taxes are set, refunds, homestead, classification and where to contact your county.
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- Homestead ClassificationWhat homestead classification means for your taxes and how to apply through your county assessor.
- Minnesota Tax CourtThe court that hears property tax assessment appeals in Minnesota, with filing deadlines, petition forms and instructions.
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Explains Minnesota public drainage law: landowners share open ditches and tile lines, and a public drainage authority runs each one. The authority is a county board of commissioners, a joint county board, or a watershed district board of managers. Contact the county or watershed district that runs the ditch.
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- NRCS wetland determinations and conservation complianceFarm wetland rules for USDA program participants. Before you drain, fill or clear a wet area in a farm field, ask NRCS at your local USDA Service Center for a wetland determination.
- Board of Water and Soil ResourcesState agency overseeing soil and water conservation districts, watershed districts, the Wetland Conservation Act, buffers and conservation easements such as RIM.
- DNR Wetlands ProgramOverview of wetland types, rules and DNR programs in Minnesota, with links to regulations and maps.
- FEMA Flood Map Service CenterFlood zones
Official source for flood insurance rate maps. Enter an address to see the current flood zone and download the FIRM panel and letters of map change.
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- DNR Floodplain Management ProgramHow floodplain mapping and local floodplain ordinances work in Minnesota and where to get flood map help.
- Find a DNR Area HydrologistCounty-assigned DNR contacts for public waters, shoreland and public waters work permits. For local Wetland Conservation Act decisions, use the BWSR Wetland Conservation Act LGU contact directory.
- FEMA Disaster DeclarationsSearch federal disaster and emergency declarations by state, county and incident to see whether an area was declared and what assistance was authorized.
- Twin Cities Spring 2025 orthoimageryAerial imagery
Leaf-off 1-foot regional aerial imagery from the Met Council and MnGeo, served as a web map service.
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- Minnesota Historical Aerial Photographs OnlineBrowse and download historical aerial photos of Minnesota back to the 1930s to see how a property looked in past decades.
- MNHS Collections SearchSearch the historical society's collections: maps, atlases, photographs, manuscripts and county records held by the state archives.
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Map viewer of the original government survey plats for every Minnesota township. Shows section lines, water and features as first surveyed.
- MPCA Septic SystemsSeptic systems
State program page for septic (subsurface sewage treatment) systems: rules, homeowner guidance, compliance inspections and forms.
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- Local Septic System ProgramsExplains that counties and some cities issue septic permits, and lists local SSTS program contacts.
- Minn. Rules Ch. 7080 Septic System RulesTechnical rules for individual septic systems in Minnesota.
- SSTS Search: Licensed Septic BusinessesSearch for MPCA-licensed septic designers, installers, inspectors and maintainers by name, county or license type.
- Minnesota Building Codes and LawsBuilding permits
The building codes Minnesota has adopted, including the residential code, plus the statutes and rules behind them and which local jurisdictions enforce them.
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- Minnesota Certificate of Occupancy RequirementsMinnesota Rules 1300.0220 describes certificate of occupancy requirements, exceptions and temporary occupancy. Read the state rule, then confirm its application to a particular building with the local building official. This does not certify that a building is approved for occupancy.
- Wetland Conservation Act ContactsCounty-by-county directory of local wetland regulatory contacts, with PDF and spreadsheet downloads. Find the county, city, SWCD or watershed representative who makes Wetland Conservation Act decisions. BWSR recommends this LGU directory as the starting point for questions about a specific property or project.
- Metropolitan Council MapsPublic land
Index of Met Council interactive maps, including a publicly owned parcels tool and the map gallery.
- Office
- Metropolitan Council GIS
- Phone
- 651-602-1000
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- BWSR Conservation EasementsHow Reinvest in Minnesota conservation easements work and how to check whether land is enrolled. Contact the local soil and water conservation district for parcel-level answers.
- Lands and MineralsState mineral leasing, state land records and mineral ownership information, including how to research severed mineral rights and lease sales.
- Mineland ReclamationRules and records for reclaiming mined land in Minnesota, covering iron mining on the Iron Range and nonferrous mining sites.
Other Twin Cities metro resources
- Met Council Map GalleryPrintable regional maps.
- MetroGISRegional GIS collaborative for the Twin Cities; data is distributed through the Minnesota Geospatial Commons.
- Metropolitan Council on the Geospatial CommonsAll Met Council datasets on the Minnesota Geospatial Commons, including generalized land use and imagery.
Data services for GIS software (2)
- Metropolitan Council ArcGIS REST servicesArcGIS Server REST endpoint for Met Council map services.
- MnGeo Composite Image ServiceStatewide WMS that switches between the best available air photos, with metro imagery included.
Guides
About Twin Cities metro
The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning agency for the seven-county Twin Cities area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington) and sponsors MetroGIS, the regional data-sharing collaborative. Its regional parcel dataset and spring aerial imagery are published on the Minnesota Geospatial Commons, and its older Make-A-Map tool has been retired in favor of ArcGIS Online and the Commons.