When was El Dorado County founded?

El Dorado County was founded in 1850, and named after El Dorado.

What is the county seat of El Dorado County?

The county seat of El Dorado County is Placerville.

Is there an online parcel map for El Dorado County?

Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 119,860 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has El Dorado County's boundary or name changed?

El Dorado County was created in 1850. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 7 later changes, chiefly involving Amador County, Placer County and Alpine County.

Who issues building permits in El Dorado County?

The county's page on building permits: Permit Reports. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.

Who issues septic and well permits in El Dorado County?

The county's page on septic systems and wells: Directorio de Proveedores de Medi-Cal de Servicios de Salud Mental Especializados (PDF, 996KB).

Is my lot in a flood zone?

We do not have flood maps for El Dorado County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

El Dorado County, California: parcels, history and offices

Where it is

El Dorado on the map of California

California has 58 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Counties of California · El Dorado highlighted

History

Founded in 1850

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

El Dorado County was created from non-county area on February 18, 1850. The county was named after El Dorado. Over its history, El Dorado exchanged territory with Amador County multiple times and also exchanged land with Placer County; it lost area to the creation of Alpine County in 1864 and again to Amador County in 1991.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

1850
El Dorado County created El Dorado created from non-county area. 18 February 1850 · Calif. Stats. 1849, 1st sess., ch. 15, sec. 18/pp. 61-62
1855
Lost territory El Dorado lost to Amador.
to Amador
16 April 1855 · Calif. Stats. 1855, 6th sess., ch. 92/p. 113
1857
Exchanged territory El Dorado exchanged with Amador.
with Amador
25 April 1857 · Calif. Stats. 1857, 8th sess., ch. 220/p. 251
1863
Lost territory El Dorado lost to Amador.
to Amador
8 April 1863 · Calif. Stats. 1863, 14th sess., ch. 170/p. 231
1863
Gained territory El Dorado gained from Placer.
from Placer
20 April 1863 · Calif. Stats. 1863, 14th sess., ch. 263/p. 349

Show all 9 changes (4 more)

1850
El Dorado County created El Dorado created from non-county area. 18 February 1850 · Calif. Stats. 1849, 1st sess., ch. 15, sec. 18/pp. 61-62
1851
Boundary clarified El Dorado boundaries redefined (no change).
no change
25 April 1851 · Calif. Stats. 1851, 2d sess., ch. 14, sec. 16/p. 176
1855
Lost territory El Dorado lost to Amador.
to Amador
16 April 1855 · Calif. Stats. 1855, 6th sess., ch. 92/p. 113
1857
Exchanged territory El Dorado exchanged with Amador.
with Amador
25 April 1857 · Calif. Stats. 1857, 8th sess., ch. 220/p. 251
1863
Lost territory El Dorado lost to Amador.
to Amador
8 April 1863 · Calif. Stats. 1863, 14th sess., ch. 170/p. 231
1863
Gained territory El Dorado gained from Placer.
from Placer
20 April 1863 · Calif. Stats. 1863, 14th sess., ch. 263/p. 349
1864
Lost territory El Dorado lost to creation of Alpine.
to Alpine
16 March 1864 · Calif. Stats. 1863-1864, 15th sess., ch. 180/pp. 178-182
1913
Exchanged territory El Dorado exchanged with Placer.
with Placer
10 August 1913 · Calif. Stats. 1913, 40th sess., chs. 315-316/pp. 603-605
1991
Lost territory El Dorado lost small area to Amador. Ordinance passed 25 June 1991; effective 30 June 1991.
to Amador
30 June 1991 · Minutes of the Board of Supervisors, El Dorado County, 25 June 1991, resolution 211-91; Minutes of the Board of Supervisors, Amador County, 12 June 1990, resolution 90-182

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in El Dorado

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Parcels Good enough

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 119,860 parcels. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
edited 15 October 2026 · checked 16 October 2026
Address points Missing

No public address points layer found for El Dorado County yet.
Buildings Reference

Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026

Official: from the office that keeps the record
Good enough: a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback: a guide only; check the official record
Missing: nothing public found yet

People and land

El Dorado by the Census

Population

191,185 2020 Census count

Housing units

93,467 2020 Census count

Land area

1,708 square miles

Water area

79 square miles

People per sq mi

112 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Records

Assessor and property records 530-573-3422from eldoradocounty.ca.gov · checked 13 October 2026
Clerk of court: deeds and platsfrom eldoradocounty.ca.gov · checked 13 October 2026

Permits

Health department: septic and wellfrom eldoradocounty.ca.gov · checked 13 October 2026
Permit Reportsfrom eldoradocounty.ca.gov

Zoning and code

Planning and zoning 530-621-5315from eldoradocounty.ca.gov · checked 13 October 2026
Municode Libraryfrom eldoradocounty.ca.gov

County government

County government
The official website of El Dorado County.
eldoradocounty.ca.gov

See your own lot on these maps

Open El Dorado County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about El Dorado County

When was El Dorado County founded?: El Dorado County was founded in 1850, and named after El Dorado.
What is the county seat of El Dorado County?: The county seat of El Dorado County is Placerville.
Is there an online parcel map for El Dorado County?: Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 119,860 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has El Dorado County's boundary or name changed?: El Dorado County was created in 1850. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 7 later changes, chiefly involving Amador County, Placer County and Alpine County.
Who issues building permits in El Dorado County?: The county's page on building permits: Permit Reports. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Who issues septic and well permits in El Dorado County?: The county's page on septic systems and wells: Directorio de Proveedores de Medi-Cal de Servicios de Salud Mental Especializados (PDF, 996KB).
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for El Dorado County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

El Dorado CountyCalifornia