Property data licensing: start with a scope matrix

Use one small record card for each class. A source authority is the office, owner, contributor, or contracted supplier that can explain how records were created and supplied. It is not automatically the party that can grant a right a model or product use may need. The blank worksheet below keeps all matrix fields together; the cards make the same questions easier to scan.

Parcel and assessment attributes

• recordclass: Parcel and assessment attributes.
• sourceauthority: Public record custodian or authorized supplier.
• geography/timecoverage: Named states, counties, parcels, and assessment periods.
• personal/confidential flags: Check whether owner names, mailing addresses, tax details, or household indicators appear.
• upstream restrictions: Check access terms, database terms, update contracts, and local exclusions.
• intended use: Record whether the question concerns internal analysis, training, evaluation, or retrieval.
• evidence: Source description, export terms, schema, sample, and date.
• next action: Confirm the custodian and ask which proposed use needs qualified rights review.

Transfers and recorded instruments

• recordclass: Transfers and recorded instruments.
• sourceauthority: Recorder or other official custodian.
• geography/timecoverage: Named recording districts and instrument dates.
• personal/confidential flags: Check whether names, signatures, addresses, lender details, or transaction context appear.
• upstream restrictions: Compare reuse, bulk access, redaction, and onward-delivery terms for the source.
• intended use: State whether the purpose is search, analytics, training, or display.
• evidence: Instrument classes, coverage note, access record, and restriction log.
• next action: Ask whether index fields and document images share the same scope before combining them.

Permits and inspections

• recordclass: Permits and inspections.
• sourceauthority: Permit office, inspection authority, or authorized data supplier.
• geography/timecoverage: Named jurisdictions and permit or inspection periods.
• personal/confidential flags: Check for resident, contractor, contact, safety, or project details.
• upstream restrictions: Check supplier terms, public-record conditions, confidentiality exceptions, and retention rules.
• intended use: Describe bounded trend analysis, evaluation, or training questions.
• evidence: Export manifest, field dictionary, exclusion list, and source date.
• next action: Ask which fields can be included and record any jurisdiction-specific gap.

Zoning and land-use material

• recordclass: Zoning and land-use material.
• sourceauthority: Planning authority or rights holder for the supplied map or document.
• geography/timecoverage: Named districts, plan versions, and effective dates.
• personal/confidential flags: Check whether applicant names, contact details, or location-sensitive notes appear.
• upstream restrictions: Check map, document, and derivative-use terms against the source version.
• intended use: State whether the purpose is classification, search, model evaluation, or internal planning.
• evidence: Versioned plan, source notice, map terms, and coverage boundary.
• next action: Preserve the version and ask whether derivatives or display are in scope.

Property imagery and media

• recordclass: Property imagery and media.
• sourceauthority: Photographer, imagery supplier, owner, or commissioned creator.
• geography/timecoverage: Named places, capture dates, and image sets.
• personal/confidential flags: Check for faces, plates, interiors, private spaces, or security-sensitive details.
• upstream restrictions: Check copyright, release, location, platform, and downstream media terms.
• intended use: State whether the purpose is visual evaluation, training, search, or display.
• evidence: License or assignment record, release status, capture log, and redaction plan.
• next action: Keep media separate from structured records and ask whether releases cover the sample use.

Owner or occupant notes

• recordclass: Owner or occupant notes.
• sourceauthority: Property owner, manager, contributor, or internal team.
• geography/timecoverage: Named properties, teams, and note periods.
• personal/confidential flags: Check whether contact details, access instructions, security details, or confidential observations appear.
• upstream restrictions: Check employment, customer, vendor, confidentiality, and platform terms.
• intended use: Describe any bounded analytics or evaluation question separately from training or display.
• evidence: Authority statement, contract register, redaction record, and sample boundary.
• next action: Ask whether authority and intended use are clear; if not, mark the notes out of scope pending review.

These cards do not assign permission. They make the next question visible. A source can still have privacy concerns, contract limits, contributor rights, or derivative restrictions. A feed can still be incomplete for the expected geography or period. Record the difference between “accessed,” “authorized,” and “approved for this intended use.”

General information, not legal advice.

Name the states, counties, districts, or parcels, then record the period and update cadence. Mark gaps instead of guessing. Preserve the source date, file version, field dictionary, and correction or deletion notes. Write training, evaluation, retrieval, and display as separate purposes.

Start with the data licensing guide to write the scope, access, deletion, and approval questions. Then assemble a small packet:

1. 01A source register naming authority, geography, period, and export date for each class.
2. 02A schema or field map that marks identifiers, addresses, notes, images, and fields needing a privacy decision.
3. 03The upstream terms, supplier notices, contributor agreements, or public access conditions governing the copy.
4. 04A use statement, sample boundary, and gap log. Keep unresolved uses and missing restrictions marked as questions, not permission.

The data card template organizes coverage, exclusions, rights evidence, and limitations. The vendor terms audit helps with supplier terms. The Trust page covers owner approval, access, privacy, and deletion questions beyond this matrix.

Synthetic generic example, not a real customer: a fictional property-data owner has parcel attributes, licensed imagery, and internal notes. The owner separates the classes, records source dates, marks faces and interiors for privacy review, and leaves notes out until authority is clear. The sample is “evaluation only”; training and display remain open questions. This is a narrower review packet, not a licensability claim.

Use one blank row for each record class. This inline worksheet contains no property records. Fill it with a neutral label and an evidence reference, then keep the underlying records in controlled storage.

Keep the completed matrix with the source register and data card. Use the data types index for adjacent data families, then use the appraisal route only after the scope and evidence boundary are clear. Preparation does not promise acceptance, a buyer, a quote, or an offer.

If the matrix leaves a rights decision or jurisdiction-specific privacy question unresolved, route that question to qualified counsel under the existing review process.

General information, not legal advice.