6.2 California Coordinate System (PRC 8801–8819)
Key Takeaways
- PRC 8801 names CCS27, CCS83, and CCS2022 as the only systems that may be called State Plane Coordinates in California; CCS83 is six Lambert zones on GRS 1980 with false origin E = 2,000,000 m and N = 500,000 m.
- Los Angeles County is CCS27 Zone 7 and CCS83 Zone 5; do not put a new Los Angeles CCS83 survey in Zone 7.
- When CCS83 or CCS27 values are stated in feet, PRC 8810 requires the U.S. Survey foot (1 ft = 1200/3937 m); CCS2022 uses the international foot (1 ft = 0.3048 m).
- PRC 8815.1 requires the CCS83 realization tag and a two-decimal epoch, such as CCS83 (2011) epoch 2010.00; PRC 8815.5 requires mapping angle, combined grid factor, and the elevation used to compute that factor for at least one representative point.
- PRC 8817 has limited new State Plane work to CCS83 since January 1, 1995, while allowing CCS27 retracement; after January 1, 2025 new surveys may use CCS2022, which is permission, not an NGS operational-cutover notice.
Domain II still tests the California Coordinate System as a research skill: you must know which plane system you are on, which zone, which units, and which labels the map must carry. Independent OpenExamPrep teaching in this section follows PRC 8801–8819 as displayed by the California Legislative Counsel (LegInfo), including the SB 566 amendments effective January 1, 2024. Do not substitute a GIS default named "California State Plane" for the statute.
What PRC 8801 actually names
PRC 8801 defines three named plane systems:
- CCS27 — California Coordinate System of 1927, based on NAD27 (Clarke Spheroid of 1866).
- CCS83 — California Coordinate System of 1983, based on NAD83 (GRS 1980).
- CCS2022 — the California portion of NGS SPCS2022, maintained by NGS or CSRC, and based on NATRF2022 or PATRF2022 when those coordinates are used (PRC 8815).
PRC 8801(e) says the term "State Plane Coordinates" refers only to CCS27, CCS83, and CCS2022 coordinates. If you project WGS 84 or a local ground system and call it State Plane, you have misnamed the product.
PRC 8815 requires the suffix: CCS27, CCS83, or CCS2022. PRC 8816 makes use of State Plane Coordinates optional. Optional is not unlabeled. When you show them, the naming, zone, unit, realization, epoch, and grid-factor rules of PRC Division 8, Chapter 1 (sections 8801-8819) apply.
Six CCS83 zones, seven CCS27 zones
PRC 8802 is the zone-count rule you should memorize before you memorize a county list. CCS27 has seven zones. CCS83 has six. CCS27 Zone 7, which encompasses Los Angeles County, is eliminated in CCS83; that area is included in CCS83 Zone 5.
Each CCS83 zone is a Lambert conformal conic projection on GRS 1980. The point of control of each of the six CCS83 zones bears Northing (y) = 500,000 meters and Easting (x) = 2,000,000 meters. CCS27 Zones 1–6 use Northing 000.00 feet and Easting 2,000,000 feet on Clarke 1866; CCS27 Zone 7 uses the special origin Northing 4,160,926.74 feet and Easting 4,186,692.58 feet stated in PRC 8802. Do not invent other false-origin values.
PRC 8803–8808 publish the CCS83 (and matching CCS27) standard parallels, central meridians, and latitude of the point of control. Those are the zone parameters the statute actually gives. Do not invent a scale factor, a false northing in U.S. Survey feet converted from a GIS template, or an unpublished SPCS2022 zone constant and treat it as PRC 8803–8808.
| Zone | CCS83 counties and islands (PRC 8802) | Standard parallels | Central meridian | Origin latitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Del Norte, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity | 40°00' N and 41°40' N | 122°00' W | 39°20' N |
| 2 | Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba | 38°20' N and 39°50' N | 122°00' W | 37°40' N |
| 3 | Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tuolumne | 37°04' N and 38°26' N | 120°30' W | 36°30' N |
| 4 | Fresno, Inyo, Kings, Monterey, San Benito, Tulare | 36°00' N and 37°15' N | 119°00' W | 35°20' N |
| 5 | Kern; Los Angeles except San Clemente and Santa Catalina Islands; San Bernardino; San Luis Obispo; Santa Barbara except Santa Barbara Island; Ventura except San Nicholas Island; plus Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Anacapa Islands | 34°02' N and 35°28' N | 118°00' W | 33°30' N |
| 6 | Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Diego; plus San Clemente, Santa Catalina, Santa Barbara, and San Nicholas Islands | 32°47' N and 33°53' N | 116°15' W | 32°10' N |
PRC 8802 still lists Los Angeles County as CCS27 Zone 7 only. A new Los Angeles CCS83 survey that is labeled Zone 7 is in the wrong system. Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands ride with Zone 6, not with mainland Los Angeles in CCS83 Zone 5. PRC 8811 allows a survey that crosses a zone line to refer all points to either zone; the zone used must be specifically named in the title on the map.
Worked zone example: a Record of Survey of a parcel in unincorporated Los Angeles County, inland of the coast and not on Catalina, that shows State Plane Coordinates on a 2026 original survey is a CCS83 Zone 5 product (unless you are retracing a CCS27 survey under PRC 8817). The title block says CCS83, Zone 5, then the PRC 8815.1 realization and epoch. It does not say "California State Plane Zone 7" copied from an old CCS27 plat.
Units: U.S. Survey foot versus international foot
PRC 8810 says plane coordinates consist of two distances, the East x-coordinate and the North y-coordinate, in feet and decimals of a foot or meters and decimals of a meter. When values are expressed in feet, the U.S. Survey foot (one foot equals 1200/3937 meters) is the standard foot for CCS27 and CCS83. For CCS2022, the official conversion, commonly called the international foot, is used (one foot equals 0.3048 meters).
That unit split is an exam trap. A CCS83 northing converted with 0.3048 m/ft is a different number than the same northing converted with 1200/3937 m/ft. The difference is small per foot and becomes survey-significant over millions of feet of easting. PRC 8874 uses the same U.S. Survey foot when California Geodetic Coordinates of 1983 (CGC83) ellipsoid heights are stated in feet. PRC 8893 uses it for COH88 values in feet.
Realization, epoch, and the grid-versus-ground preview
PRC 8815.1 is the CCS83 labeling rule: the map, corner record, or other document shall state the datum realization tag in parentheses and the epoch date in decimal-year format to two decimal places. The statute's examples are CCS83 (2011) epoch 2010.00 and CCS83 (NSRS) epoch 2007.00. PRC 8815.2 ties that epoch to a published NGS or CSRC coordinate on a controlling station.
PRC 8815.5 is the grid-versus-ground preview you need before Chapter 15's full analysis. When CCS83 or CCS2022 coordinates are shown on any map, corner record, or record of survey, show a mapping angle, a combined grid factor, and the elevation used to determine the combined grid factor for at least one representative point. Grid distances live on the projection surface. Ground distances live at the topographic surface. The combined factor is how the next surveyor converts one to the other. Do not run a full combined-factor derivation here; Chapter 15 owns that analysis. Do remember that omitting the three 8815.5 quantities is a statutory miss even if your northing is correctly projected.
PRC 8814 allows State Plane Coordinates on maps and conveyances, but a recorded instrument must also refer to record data sufficient to identify the property without those coordinates. In a conflict, the record data control for constructive notice. Coordinates do not replace the senior record.
New work, retracement, and CCS2022 permission
PRC 8817 is the timeline:
- Before January 1, 1995, new projects could use CCS27 or CCS83.
- On or after January 1, 1995, when State Plane Coordinates are used on new surveys and new mapping projects, use is limited to CCS83.
- That sentence does not preclude retracement of a CCS27 survey.
- After January 1, 2025, new surveys and mapping projects may be based upon CCS2022.
Read the last sentence as permission added by SB 566, not as a finding that NGS has made SPCS2022 the official NSRS. PRC 8801 already names CCS2022. NGS, as of September 2026, still serves NAD 83 / NAVD 88 as the official NSRS and has described modernized SPCS2022 products as beta, not for operational or authoritative use. If an exam item asks what California currently names, answer CCS27, CCS83, and CCS2022, with CCS83 still the required plane system for new State Plane work since 1995 and CCS2022 additionally permitted after January 1, 2025. Do not predict an unpublished switch date.
PRC 8818 does not impair land titles or CCS27 references except as 8817 provides. PRC 8819 does not prohibit new technologies for which FGCS specifications have not yet been published.
A 2026 original survey in mainland Los Angeles County will show California State Plane Coordinates. Which zone statement matches PRC 8802?
Which foot definition does PRC 8810 require when CCS83 coordinates are expressed in feet?
CCS83 coordinates will be shown on a Record of Survey. Which labeling package does the Public Resources Code require?