Batch Convert Legal Land Descriptions to GPS Coordinates

If you have a spreadsheet of legal land descriptions that need GPS coordinates, converting them one at a time is not practical. A pipeline company with 2,000 DLS locations for a route survey, an insurance firm triaging 500 claims after a hailstorm, or a land department reconciling quarterly well licence filings — each of these jobs starts with the same problem: a column of LSD or quarter section references that need to become latitude and longitude values.

Township Canada's batch converter handles this in a single upload.

What the Batch Converter Does

The batch converter accepts a CSV or spreadsheet containing legal land descriptions in any standard Canadian format — DLS, LSD, NTS, quarter section, or Geographic Township. It processes each row, calculates the GPS coordinates from official survey data, and returns the results as a downloadable file.

Input formats are flexible. You can upload descriptions like 06-32-048-07W5, NE 14-032-21W4, NTS A-2-F/93-P-8, or Lot 12, Concession 3, Township of Essa — all in the same file. The converter identifies the survey system for each row automatically.

Output includes the original description, latitude, longitude, and a confidence flag for each record. Rows that don't match a known land parcel are flagged rather than silently dropped, so you know exactly which entries need review.

When You'd Need Batch Conversion

Quarterly regulatory filings: Oil and gas companies submit well location data to the AER, SK Ministry of Energy, or BC OGC using legal land descriptions. Before filing, teams often need to verify coordinates match the descriptions on record. Running the full list through batch conversion catches discrepancies before they become compliance issues.

Post-event insurance triage: After a major hailstorm in southern Alberta, an insurer might receive 300+ claims in a week, each referencing a quarter section or LSD. Plotting all of them on a map at once shows the geographic spread of damage and helps prioritize field adjuster routes. See our guide on how crop insurance uses legal land descriptions for more on this workflow.

Farmland portfolio analysis: Real estate firms or agricultural lenders managing hundreds of rural parcels need GPS coordinates for mapping, valuation, and due diligence. A CSV of quarter sections from land titles converts to a GeoJSON file that drops straight into GIS software.

Survey project planning: A surveying crew with 40 section corners to visit needs GPS coordinates for route planning. Upload the list, download as KML, and load it into a GPS device or mapping app. For individual lookups, see the section township range lookup guide.

How to Batch Convert with Township Canada

Step 1: Prepare Your File

Create a CSV with one legal land description per row. The descriptions can be in any column — you'll select the right one after upload. If your file has headers, keep them; the converter will detect them.

A simple file might look like:

location
06-32-048-07W5
NE 14-032-21W4
SW 03-024-02W5
11-22-034-04W4

Mixed formats work too. DLS, LSD, NTS, and Ontario Geographic Township descriptions can all appear in the same column.

Step 2: Upload to the Batch Converter

Go to the Township Canada batch converter and upload your CSV. Select the column containing the legal land descriptions. The converter previews the first few rows so you can confirm it picked the right data.

Step 3: Review and Download Results

Processing time depends on file size — a few hundred rows finish in seconds, and files with thousands of rows typically complete in under a minute. Once done, you can:

• Preview results on an interactive map, with each point plotted at its GPS location
• Download as CSV (coordinates appended to your original data), KML, Shapefile, GeoJSON, or DXF
• Check the processing report for any rows that didn't match a known parcel

The processing report is especially useful for data cleanup. If 15 out of 2,000 rows fail, you can fix the formatting on just those 15 and re-run them rather than re-processing the entire file.

Export Formats

The batch converter outputs in six formats, depending on where you need the data next:

• CSV — for spreadsheets, databases, or further processing
• KML — for Google Earth and Google Maps
• Shapefile — for ArcGIS, QGIS, and other GIS platforms
• GeoJSON — for web maps and developer workflows
• DXF — for AutoCAD and CAD software
• PDF — for printed reports and documentation

Export formats beyond PDF require a Business plan. For more on what you can do with downloaded results, see the download results guide.

Example: Converting a Lease Block

An Alberta land department needs to convert 150 LSD locations for a lease block review near Drayton Valley. Their spreadsheet has entries like 14-27-048-05W5, 15-27-048-05W5, 16-27-048-05W5 — a cluster of LSDs in Township 48, Range 5, West of the 5th Meridian.

After uploading the CSV, the batch converter returns GPS coordinates for all 150 parcels in 12 seconds. The team downloads the results as a Shapefile, loads it into ArcGIS, and overlays it with pipeline and wellbore data. Three rows had typos (a township number that doesn't exist), which the processing report flagged for manual correction.

Try Batch Conversion Now

Upload your own CSV to the Township Canada batch converter and get GPS coordinates for every legal land description in your file. Or start with a single conversion — enter 06-32-048-07W5 into the search bar to see how it works.

Batch conversion is available on Business plans. For converting locations one at a time, see the LSD finder or DLS to GPS converter.