The State Land Office (SLO) was established in 1887 by order of the Indiana General Assembly. The SLO serves as the repository for any instrument relating to past or current ownership or possession of property by the State of Indiana. The SLO does not maintain records for state highways and rights-of-way, which are housed in the Indiana Department of Transportation, or state universities, which are kept at each university (IC 14-18-1.5-3). Pursuant to IC 4-20.5-3-4(b)(1), the SLO approves the legal description of real property prior to purchase or sale by state agencies.
In 2012 the Indiana General Assembly moved responsibility for the SLO to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). As the largest land-holding agency in the state, the DNR works closely with the State Land Office on a variety of real estate transactions, including acquisitions, conservation easements, and Nature Preserve dedications.
State-owned and managed land can be viewed on the interactive Indiana State Land Office Parcel Viewer. Electronic copies of more than 6,500 deeds on file in the SLO are also available from this application.
State-owned land which does not appear on the web map likely belong to INDOT, particularly if it is proximate to a highway or road construction project. If you would like to inquire about purchasing or otherwise accessing such lands, please call INDOT Customer Service at 1-855-INDOT4U (1-855-463-6848).
23,294,389 acres / 36,397.5 square miles
State of Indiana Land Area
436,713 acres 1.875% of total state land area (As of July 2026)
State of Indiana Ownership
497,509 acres 2.136% of total state land area (As of July 2026)
Federal Government Ownership