Locate the tax assessor's office in your municipal building or county courthouse where parcel maps are stored. Find the area that you want to examine by searching the index by the street name, nearest street intersection or by parcel number if you know it. Study the legend, or key, to reading the map.
Locate the legend, or key, which is usually located in one corner of the map. The legend may include the scale of the map, such as one inch equals 500 feet. Locate the compass on the map so that you can view the map in the correct orientation.
Note that the small numbers followed by a ' symbol, such as 100', represent the dimensions of the parcel in feet. Identify the parcel you are searching for by locating streets and other landmarks noted on the map. Write down the book number and page number where you found the parcel map for future reference.