The public land survey system was proposed by Thomas Jefferson, it was initiated after the revolutionary war, because the Federal government had become responsible for the division of the thirteen colonies of the West. The government was intending to distribute the land to the soldiers for their work and it also wanted to sell the land so as to raise money for the nation but the before this the land had to be surveyed.

The land Ordinance of 1785 provided for the systematic survey and the Northwest ordinance of 1787 established the rectangular survey system which were formulated for the transfer of the lands to the citizens, marked the beginning of PLSS. The survey conducted by the government was designed to create parcels of land disposal for sale. The PLSS forms the basis for the transfer of the property these days.