The parcel fabric is a records-driven system and organizes parcel data based on the form in which the data was originally recorded. Parcel data is recorded on legal records such as plans, plats, deeds, and records of survey. In the parcel fabric, all parcel features are associated with the legal record, and parcels are created and edited in response to changes to the legal record. By associating parcels with the legal record, parcel lineage can be tracked, and parcels can be linked with external recording systems.
Parcels are associated with their legal parcel record, which is stored in the Records feature class.
The Records feature class is a polygon feature class that stores the following information:
- A single record feature for every legal record added to the parcel fabric.
- A GlobalID for every record, which is referenced by all the parcel features associated with the record. The Created By Record field of the parcel features stores the GlobalID of the associated parcel record.
- The geometry of the record, which is the record footprint. The record footprint or polygon matches the cumulative geometry of all the parcels associated with it.
- Unique record names that allow for integration and association with external recording systems.
- A COGO Accuracy field that stores the accuracy category of the parcel dimensions. When building parcels, if the COGO Accuracy field has an accuracy value, it will be transferred to the COGO Accuracy field of all the lines associated to the record.
- A Record Type field that stores user-defined record types.
Every parcel in the parcel fabric must have an associated record. When validating the parcel fabric, parcel features with no associated record will result in Must Have A Record errors.
Learn more about validating the parcel fabric
Create a parcel record
Parcel records are created and managed in the Manage Records pane. To open the Manage Records pane, click the Create Record 
drop-down arrow in the Records group on the Parcels ribbon and click Manage.
When you create a record, you can populate fields in the Records feature class with information about the legal document. The following table lists the system fields in the Records feature class:
| Attribute field alias | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Name | Text | The name of the record, legal document, plan, plat, or deed. |
Record Type | Long | The type of record, for example, plan or deed. Add a Record Type domain for your parcel fabric. |
Recorded Date | Date | The date the legal record was recorded. This is typically stated on the record document. When building parcels from polygons, lines will be associated to the records with the most recent recorded date. |
COGO Accuracy | Long | The accuracy of COGO dimensions of the parcel. This uses the system-added PF_COGOAccuracy domain. |
Global ID | Global ID | Global IDs uniquely identify features or rows in a geodatabase and across geodatabases. |
- Click Create Record in the Records group on the Parcels ribbon.
Alternatively open the Manage Records pane and click New Record.
- In the Create Record pane, type a name for the record or accept the default name.
The name should represent the legal record name, for example, Heritage Estates Subdivision No. 5.
- Choose a record type for the Record Type field.
If you want to store and assign record types, create your own record type domain for your parcel fabric. Examples of record types are merge or split. Once the domain is created, open the Records attribute table and assign the domain to the Record Type field.
Tip:
You can open the Records attribute table from the Records sublayer under the parcel fabric layer in the Contents pane. Right-click the Records sublayer and click Attribute Table. You can also add new attribute fields to the Records attribute table, and they will appear under New Record in the Manage Records pane. - Enter a recorded date for the Recorded Date field. This is the date the record was legally recorded and is typically stated on the document.
When building parcels from polygons, lines will be associated to the records with the most recent recorded date.
- Optionally set an accuracy category for the parcel dimensions in the COGO Accuracy field.
The COGO Accuracy field uses the system-added PF_COGOAccuracy domain, which has seven accuracy categories. Each accuracy category corresponds to a date range, where accuracy category 1 (the highest accuracy) corresponds to the most recent dates and accuracy category 6 (the lowest accuracy) corresponds to the oldest dates. In general, the more recent the parcel boundaries were surveyed, the more accurate the dimension.
Tip:
When building parcels, if the COGO Accuracy field of the record has an accuracy category, it will be transferred to the COGO Accuracy field of all the lines associated to the record.
- Populate the remaining fields with information about your record and click Create to create the record.
The newly created record is automatically set as the active record in the map.
The record's heads-up-display (HUD) box in the upper left corner of the map view displays the active record. New parcel features will automatically be associated with the active record in the map.
Record polygons
Each parcel record has a record polygon. The record polygon is the footprint of the legal record and should match the commutative geometry of all the parcels associated with it.
When a parcel record is first created, it has no geometry. Record polygons are generated when parcels are built or created or when existing parcel features are manually assigned to a parcel record. The record polygon is updated whenever parcels are added to or removed from the record.
Note:
Record polygons are not created or updated when more than 2000 parcels are associated to a record.
Batch create records using parcel record names
Use the Create Parcel Records geoprocessing tool to batch create parcel records for parcel features using a record name field. The field should be added to the parcel feature's attribute table and should contain record names that are matched with their associated parcel features. The tool creates parcel records and generates record geometry based on the commutative geometry of the input parcel features.