Definition
A run sheet is a row-by-row summary of every document affecting title to a specific parcel. Each row captures: grantor, grantee, document type, recording date, book and page or reception number, and a brief description of what the document conveys.
The run sheet is the primary artifact that a landman hands to an attorney for a title opinion. A complete run sheet makes a clean opinion; an incomplete one sends the work back to the courthouse.
What goes on a run sheet
Every mineral deed, surface deed with mineral implications, probate, affidavit of heirship, lease, assignment, release, and encumbrance affecting the parcel. If it's recorded and it touches the title, it goes on the run sheet.
Documents that don't affect title — easements on adjacent parcels, utility agreements, unrelated liens — don't belong on the run sheet for that parcel. Discipline about what to include keeps the sheet useful.
How it's traditionally built
A landman starts at the county courthouse (or the county's online index) and searches the grantor-grantee index for every name in the chain. For each hit, they pull the document, read it, and add a row to the run sheet.
For a single parcel with a long history, this can take days. For a section with 50+ parties, it can take weeks.
Automating with AI
Mineral AI platforms ingest the county index directly, OCR the underlying documents, and extract the structured fields — grantor, grantee, fractional interest, date — into a run sheet automatically. The landman reviews and adjudicates; they don't type rows.
MineralScout generates run sheets as a byproduct of runsheet tracing. Every chain run produces a sortable, exportable run sheet for every parcel in the chain.
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