Right-of-Way
The County has Right-of-Way (ROW) records and you can request them by completing a public records request here. However, not all records are held by the County and some may be a record that can be found by searching official Clerk Records.
Determining County Maintained Roads
The Sumter County Graphic Informational System (GIS) interactive map can determine who maintains each road in Sumter County. Click here to access the Sumter County GIS interactive map.
When selecting a roadway, you can see who it is maintained by:
- CO means that the road is County maintained
- CO-VI means the road is County maintained and lies within The Villages
- NCM means the road is not maintained by the County
- CI means the road is maintained by a city
- ST means the road is maintained by the state
Sumter County Clerk of Court Records
The Sumter County Public Works Department is not the keeper of ROW maps for County, City, or State maintained roadways. The Sumter County Clerk of Court is the keeper of records for Sumter County. These records include ROW maps for County maintained roadways. To acquire ROW maps for County maintained roadways, a requestor should physically search the archives at the clerk's office, or search the statewide Official Clerk of Court Records here.
Sumter County GIS Interactive Map
Unofficial ROW limits can be found by using the Sumter County GIS interactive map. Click here to access the Sumter County GIS interactive map.
On the Sumter County GIS interactive map, the ROW limits are shown as the area between the green lines on each side of the roadway, which serve as the ROW boundaries.
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)/State Road ROW Maps
The FDOT owns and maintains all state roads. They are the keeper of records for all ROW maps for state roads, along with state secondary roads that were dedicated to the County. State roads in Florida used to be divided into primary road systems and secondary road systems. In 1941, there was legislation that transferred these roadways to Sumter County's jurisdiction.
Click here to use the FDOT's ROW Map Request GIS interactive map to acquire ROW maps for these roads.
FAQ's
I was unable to find the ROW map using the County's guidance, now what?
- Title Search Company
- Title search companies can assist in the acquisition of ROW maps.
- Not all roads have ROW maps. Referencing Florida Statutes 95.361;
95.361 Roads presumed to be dedicated.
(1) When a road, constructed by a county, a municipality, or the Department of Transportation, has been maintained or repaired continuously and uninterruptedly for 4 years by the county, municipality, or the Department of Transportation, jointly or severally, the road shall be deemed to be dedicated to the public to the extent in width that has been actually maintained for the prescribed period, whether or not the road has been formally established as a public highway. The dedication shall vest all right, title, easement, and appurtenances in and to the road in:
(a) The county, if it is a county road;
(b) The municipality, if it is a municipal street or road; or
(c) The state, if it is a road in the State Highway System or State Park Road System,
whether or not there is a record of a conveyance, dedication, or appropriation to the public use.
(2) In those instances where a road has been constructed by a nongovernmental entity, or where the road was not constructed by the entity currently maintaining or repairing it, or where it cannot be determined who constructed the road, and when such road has been regularly maintained or repaired for the immediate past 7 years by a county, a municipality, or the Department of Transportation, whether jointly or severally, such road shall be deemed to be dedicated to the public to the extent of the width that actually has been maintained or repaired for the prescribed period, whether or not the road has been formally established as a public highway. This subsection shall not apply to an electric utility, as defined in s. 366.02(4). The dedication shall vest all rights, title, easement, and appurtenances in and to the road in:
(a) The county, if it is a county road;
(b) The municipality, if it is a municipal street or road; or
(c) The state, if it is a road in the State Highway System or State Park Road System, whether or not there is a record of conveyance, dedication, or appropriation to the public use.
(3) The filing of a map in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county where the road is located showing the lands and reciting on it that the road has vested in the state, a county, or a municipality in accordance with subsection (1) or subsection (2) or by any other means of acquisition, duly certified by:
(a) The secretary of the Department of Transportation, or the secretary’s designee, if the road is a road in the State Highway System or State Park Road System;
(b) The chair and clerk of the board of county commissioners of the county, if the road is a county road; or
(c) The mayor and clerk of the municipality, if the road is a municipal road or street,
shall be prima facie evidence of ownership of the land by the state, county, or municipality, as the case may be.
(4) Any person, firm, corporation, or entity having or claiming any interest in and to any of the property affected by subsection (2) shall have and is hereby allowed a period of 1 year after the effective date of this subsection, or a period of 7 years after the initial date of regular maintenance or repair of the road, whichever period is greater, to file a claim in equity or with a court of law against the particular governing authority assuming jurisdiction over such property to cause a cessation of the maintenance and occupation of the property. Such timely filed and adjudicated claim shall prevent the dedication of the road to the public pursuant to subsection (2).
(5) This section does not apply to any facility of an electric utility which is located on property otherwise subject to this section.