County Certification Information
It is the responsibility of the Department to submit a report annually to the Oklahoma Tax Commission certifying the total amount of County Road Mileage of each county O.S. Title 69-Section 316. This report is based on an ever updating inventory of non-highway roads in each county that are open to public travel and are maintained by the County.
County Certification Online Map
County Road Mileage Report History
Methodology
The Department does not tell each county which roads they have to maintain. The Department serves as a reporting body to the Oklahoma Tax Commission based on the information provided by the counties about which roads they maintain. This information is updated in one of two ways. First, the county can submit changes at any time before November 1st of a given year using a County Action Report (explained below). Second, the department actively conducts windshield reviews of each county on a several year cycle to update any out of date information in the County Road database and bring possible County Road Mileage changes to the County Commissioners attention. Any additions to the County Road Mileage have to be windshield reviewed for accuracy. The Department DOES NOT have the authority to add roads to the Road Mileage without County Commissioner consent. The Department DOES have the authority to remove roads if we deem them impassible or unusable by the driving public (e.g. non-drivable surface, gates, signs denoting private property, etc.).
County Action Report
The County Commissioners have the authority to change or update their County Road Mileage at any time before November 1st of a given year by contacting the Department with those changes. This is facilitated by completing a County Action Report and sending it to the Department.
An acceptable County Action Report must have:
- All relevant information fully filled out
- A map attached showing the road's location with the road highlighted
- If applicable, all relevant supporting documentation
- A physical signature from all 3 County Commissioners
The County Action Report can then be sent to the department in one of the following ways:
- Fax
- (405) 521-6917
- Attn: County Action Report
- Mail
- Geospatial Data Management Division
Oklahoma Department of Transportation
200 NE 21st Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
- Geospatial Data Management Division
County Inventory Process
When a windshield review of a county is conducted, a Field Crew Member drives all non-highway roads within the county based on the Department’s current knowledge of the county roads and not within the limits of cities over 5,000 population. The Crew Member reviews the current roads for things like surface type, geographic accuracy, and length. They also take note of roads they find that are not currently recorded to be brought to the County Commissioners attention later. Once they finish driving the entire county, their notes are passed to Inventory Office Staff to update the Department’s database.
Once the Office Staff updates the County Road Mileage database, maps and mileage comparisons from previous years are prepared and the County Commissioners office is contacted. Once contact is made these items are sent to the County Commissioners for review. When the County Commissioners are ready, Office Staff meet with the County Commissioners to review what the Field Crew found. This meeting is also an opportunity for the County Commissioners to point out any errors or missing information from their County Road Mileage. Following the meeting, any new roads added by the County Commissioners are reviewed by a Field Crew Member for accuracy.
Finally, once all reviews and changes are signed off on, this County Road Mileage becomes the new certified mileage and will be used to report to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. That will remain the mileage until the county notifies the Department of any changes or when that county comes up again in the review cycle.
