GIS and Mapping Services

CONTACT INFORMATION: All public resources of the GIS Division are now available online. For public assistance, inquiries through email are responded to more rapidly than those via phone messages. County staff should utilize the internal Help Desk system for support.
703-324-2712 TTY 711
12000 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 22035
Michael Liddle
GIS Program Director

Department Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

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We've addressed many of the common questions about property, maps, spatial data and other county topics related to GIS on this page. Please click on a topic from the list below. By accessing any of the data, maps, or applications provided by Fairfax County, you agree to the terms in our disclaimer.

View a brief video explaining the basics of GIS in Fairfax County
 
 

GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems. A GIS is a combination of hardware, software, data, and personnel that helps analysts discover relationships and patterns with geographically referenced data.

Examples of GIS in Fairfax County:

  • The Fairfax County Police Department and Fire & Rescue Departments use GIS in every fire engine and police vehicle to speed dispatching the closest units to an incident.
  • The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services uses GIS to manage stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure information.
  • The Department of Management and Budget uses GIS to help forecast population and housing for planning purposes.

Learn more about GIS from Esri, a GIS software provider, and Syracuse University. Explore the Jade application or the Open Geospatial Data Catalog to view available GIS data.

The GIS Division curates and regularly updates the Static Map Gallery, a collection of PDF maps that may be downloaded/printed. In addition, several applications available in the Interactive Map Gallery include the ability to generate custom maps, listed below.

Fairfax County does not create custom maps or provide hard copies of maps for the public.

  • The Jade application is a general-purpose, browser-based GIS application. It includes over 150 data layers, tools to mark up and annotate the map, and the option to generate PDFs.
  • The Historical Imagery Viewer includes Fairfax County's entire historical aerial imagery digital collection, with new holdings added as they are acquired. It also includes tools to draw, annotate, and export custom maps.
  • The Digitial Map Viewer, and sister application Map Wizard, provide access to the county's collection of map books, including property, zoning, and elevation contours. While the Digitial Map Viewer includes pre-rendered PDFs by tax map grid, the Map Wizard offers the option to customize the scale and extent of the maps.

The Historical Imagery Viewer contains years of imagery for which Fairfax County has digital holdings, going back to 1937 and up to the most current imagery, and many additional years. Parcel boundaries, road centerlines, and the tax map grid are included.

Fairfax County does not provide imagery downloads, software, or technical support for viewing imagery.

Statewide aerial imagery is available for download via the Virginia Most Recent Imagery and DEM Download application. Fairfax County aerial imagery may also be available from the US Geologic Survey and US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP).

Free GIS viewing software is available from private vendors (e.g., ESRI's Explorer products or Hexagon Geospatial's GeoMedia Viewer).

The county's imagery is also available publicly on http://www.arcgis.com for incorporation into web maps. Search using the keywords "Fairfax" and "aerial" and with the "authoritative" status filter.

To learn more about Fairfax County's LiDAR, how to view it in county applications, and use it in desktop GIS software, visit the Fairfax County LiDAR Data and Applications page. Fairfax County LiDAR data is available for download ONLY from the US Geologic Survey. 

Fairfax County does not provide LiDAR downloads, software, or technical support for viewing LiDAR data.

View the Department of Planning and Development's Maps and Geographic Applications page for a variety of zoning-related applications.

The Historical Zoning Viewer was created to facilitate research into the zoning history of specific parcels. The nine historical zoning years in the map are those in which major changes occurred and were captured in map form. The corresponding Historical Zoning Ordinances are listed with each map layer.

Fairfax County's zoning is also available publicly on http://www.arcgis.com for incorporation into web maps. Search using the keywords "Fairfax" and "zoning" and with the "authoritative" status filter.

Responsibility for parcel data is shared between the GIS Division and the Department of Tax Administration (DTA). While the DTA acts as the authority that manages property data, the GIS Division draws the parcel boundaries and displays much of this property data in public facing GIS web applications. Consider the below resources depending on the nature of the property question.

Viewing Property Data

The Validator is a search engine for verifying addresses, parcel ID numbers, and street names within Fairfax County. The Master Address Repository application performs the same functions and also provides a map interface and export options. 

My Neighborhood is a mapping and information reporting application to search for any address in Fairfax County and find information about elected officials, voting locations, and the nearest facilities such as schools, police stations, post offices, and parks.

The Fairfax County Real Estate Assessment Information Site application managed by the DTA provides detailed information about real property (parcels) in Fairfax County. This information includes property ownership, assessment values, sales history, and physical characteristics.

Downloading Property Data

The GIS Division hosts the DTA real estate tables on its Open Geospatial Data catalog with the prefix "Tax Administration's Real Estate" for easier searching. These tables can all be joined via the parcel ID number ("PARID") field. They can also be joined to the Parcel polygon layer to view and use in GIS software.

The Mailing List Generator application provides property owner information in batch form, though it is restricted to a 500ft radius of a selected location. Contact the Department of Tax Administration by phone at 703-222-8234 or  at DTAAdmin@fairfaxcounty.gov with any questions regarding property ownership data, including other options to obtain the data.

Weekly-updated map book pages, in addition to a library of historical map book pages, are available to view and download in our Digital Map Viewer application found in the Interactive Mapping Gallery.

In addition, the Map Wizard application may be used to create print-ready maps of official Fairfax County map book data with custom scales and extents.

To obtain an area sketch and memorandum for an Initial Street Acceptance Package from Fairfax County, make a request using the GIS Division contact form. A division representative will respond, asking for the following three items in digital format (PDF):

  1. Copies of all pages of the Recorded Deed of Dedication, including the plat.
  2. Redlined copy of the Dedication Plat which shows the street dedication with centerline dimensions, surveyor signature, and date.
  3. Company memo with contact information (Name, telephone number, email address, County Plan Name and County Plan Number; example RP, SP, or SD number).

GIS staff will email all required documents as PDF attachments along with the sketch and memorandum. The turnaround time is usually within three business days.

The following Frequently Asked Questions pertain to other business areas of Fairfax County. Please refer to the contact information included in each answer for the most appropriate way to reach out for additional information or assistance. Thank you.

Expand the below sections for more information.

Deeds recorded in Fairfax County are available through the Land Records Division of the County Circuit Court. Recorded deeds are taken in by the Fairfax County Circuit Court then processed through the GIS Division and finally reflect in the Department of Tax Administration's(DTA) Real Estate Assessment Information Site.

Because of the interagency coordination with recorded documents like deeds, review the possible sources of error below for the best point of contact for corrections.

  • If an error in the reported acreage/square footage of a property is found in a previously recorded document (a plat or description in the deed book), it will require recording a deed of correction (either a description or signed plat from a surveyor) at the Fairfax County Courthouse (4110 Chain Bridge Rd, Suite 317). For more information, call 703-691-7320, or visit the Circuit Court website.
  • If the error is on the DTA Real Estate Assessment Information Site, and the recorded plat or description is correct, use the Real Estate Division's contact form to report the error to the Department of Tax Administration.
  • Errors in the display of parcel boundaries in GIS data and county mapping applications are expected. Parcel boundaries have been collected and added to the GIS database using different source control methods with varying levels of accuracy. The age of some data is simply beyond the ability to ensure accurate GIS positioning that compares to survey-quality data. Therefore, all GIS parcel data carries inaccuracies that make the data usable only for reference purposes. This is the basis for the GIS Disclaimer. For more information, visit our Geospatial Property Data Guide. 

Address change requests are processed by the Land Development Service's Bonds and Addressing Center (BAC) through the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS). Please submit all address change requests via PLUS - Accela Citizen Access and visit the Land Development Service's Addressing and Street Names webpage for steps on how to submit these change requests or information on addressing in Fairfax County. ​​Further questions may be directed to the PLUS Support Center.

Site Survey

Previously recorded site surveys are maintained by the Circuit Court Land Records Division which may be reached by phone at 703-691-7320.

Site surveying is not a public service offered by Fairfax County. Those requiring a new site survey must contract with a private, licensed, surveyor. Fairfax County does not maintain a list of preferred surveyors, but it is a common enough workflow that should require minimal research.

Plats

Plats are maintained and provided by the Department of Planning and Development. Visit the DPD Residential Plats page for more information.

Site-related plans include commercial, mixed-use, single family detached, single family attached, multi-family and public improvement project plans and plats. These are available in PDF format in the Site Records Viewer hosted by Land Development Services (LDS). Visit the LDS Public Records page for more information or contact them by phone at 703-222-0801 or by email at LandDevelopmentServices@fairfaxcounty.gov. You can find recorded land records in Fairfax County’s Courts Public Access Network (CPAN). Circuit Court's Land Records page has more information on land records.

Only the official Fairfax County property records contain all legally recorded easement information. These official records may be found in the Fairfax County Circuit Court’s CPAN system as well as in the deed books available at the Land Records Division of the County Circuit Court located in Suite 317 of the Fairfax County Courthouse (4110 Chain Bridge Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030). For more information, call 703-691-7320.

Easement data in the GIS database is incomplete as the source mylars from which the data were originally obtained did not contain all easement information. Ongoing management of GIS easement data is shared by the GIS Division and the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES). Specifically, the GIS Division records all new easements, excluding storm drainage, storm sewer, conservation, and floodplain easements into an Easement layer available on the Open Data site. Those exceptions, recorded by DPWES, are available as their own Stormwater Easements layer in Open Data. 

The Department of Management and Budget (DMB) summarizes available demographic data such as most current total population estimates, 5-year population forecasts, commercial gross floor area, and number of housing units by type, age, and market value. It calculates these at the community, ZIP code, and census block group level across Fairfax County. Browse the DMB Data Visualization Gallery for available applications and reports.

Demographics variables such as race, gender, and socioeconomic factors are available from the US Census Bureau.

Until 2018, the Department of Tax Administration (DTA) allowed for an administrative process to consolidate tax map numbers to receive one tax bill. All previously consolidated tax map numbers created to receive one tax bill have been grandfathered. If a property owner wishes to separate those tax map numbers into two or more tax map numbers for the purpose of receiving separate tax bills, they will need to submit the following two items to the Site Application Center (SAC):

  1. An Owner Request to Split Tax Map Numbers form
  2. A copy of the plat. Use the Zoning Property File application provided by the Department of Planning and Development which manages plats.

Owners may submit the form by mail to the address listed on the form or electronically to LDSSAC@fairfaxcounty.gov. If additional items are needed during the review, a staff member will contact the owner to coordinate the requirements. Once approval has been obtained by the Department of Planning and Development’s Zoning Permits Branch (ZPB), new tax map number(s) will be created, and DTA will be notified. Due to interagency dependencies, the split process may take several weeks to complete.

For more information, contact the Site Application Center of the Fairfax County Land Development Services, which can be reached by phone at 703-222-0801 or by email at LDSSAC@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Other Questions

We are hopeful that most questions related to Fairfax County property or GIS data, maps and applications are answered within the content of our website. For additional assistance, please contact the GIS office.


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