How do you find the cadastral parcel of an address in France?

Open cadastre.gouv.fr, search for the address or the commune, then click on the parcel: the site shows its reference, made up of a section (one or two letters) and a number, for example AB 123. Viewing is free, as are A4 or A3 extracts of the map. The cadastral map is a tax document: it does not fix property boundaries and does not give the owner’s name.

The cadastral reference

In France, each commune is divided into cadastral sections, identified by one or two letters, and each section into numbered parcels. A parcel is therefore identified by the commune, the section and the number; in some communes a three-digit prefix is added, referring to a former commune that has been merged. This reference appears in the title deed, the property tax notice and the preliminary contract. A house may sit on several parcels: a garden bought later, a separate garage, an access strip.

A house’s land is also understood through a housing estate’s rules and dividing a plot. For one address, the free ScanAdresse preview shows the parcel and what the registers say, for free.

Step by step on cadastre.gouv.fr

• Enter the address, or the commune and then the section and number if you know them.
• The map opens on the cadastral sheet; zoom in until you can see the parcel numbers.
• Click on the parcel to show its reference and its cadastral area.
• Check the neighbouring parcels: an outbuilding or an access may be on another parcel.
• If needed, order an extract of the map: free in A4 or A3, charged for in digital format.

The postal address does not always match a parcel exactly, especially for a house at the back of a yard or a plot without a number. Cross-check with the seller’s title or ask the notary for the reference.

The map, the property register and open data

Cadastral records comprise the map, which draws the parcels and buildings, and the matrice (property register), which lists the properties and is used to compute local taxes. The map can be viewed online, at the land tax office or at the mairie; an extract of the matrice is requested from the land tax office using a form. The cadastral map is also published as open data on data.gouv.fr, so it can be overlaid on other maps, such as the PLU zoning on the Géoportail de l’urbanisme.

Reading the PLU of an address

What the cadastre does not say

The cadastral area is an indicative figure computed for tax purposes: it may differ from the real area measured by a surveyor. The drawn boundaries may be off by several metres, and a recent building may not yet appear on the map. Nor does the cadastre say what may be built on the parcel: that is for the PLU and, for a specific project, the mairie to decide. It does not mention easements or natural hazards.

What the cadastre does not prove

From the parcel to the registers

Once you know the parcel, it serves as the key to everything else: the PLU zone, the public easements, the Géorisques hazards, the permits granted in the section. To compare with other towns, each commune’s page brings its figures together.

The list of communes

ScanAdresse starts from the address to find the parcel and then reads, for that parcel, the PLU zone and regulations, the public easements, the hazards and the permits in the cadastral section, with found, not found or source unreachable for each register; €29 including VAT, free preview.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Service-public: consulting the cadastre
• Cadastre.gouv.fr, the cadastral map
• Data.gouv.fr, open data
• Géoportail de l’urbanisme

ScanAdresse is a private service by SRI Group BV (VAT BE1037052239), not connected to any public authority: it brings together public data, with the source and date of every item.

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Updated on 28 October 2026