This paper shows the formation of the first stable cadastre in Dalmatia after the publication of the imperial patent on December 23, 1817. The patent was expanded by various decrees and regulations which greatly arranged all the issues of surveying. Archival sources kept in the Map Archive for Istria and Dalmatia, a separate section of the State Archive in Split, were used for the presentation. In addition to cartographic material, decrees and technical reports of surveyors and inspectors from field are preserved in the Archive and accurately represent the course of their work, problems they encountered, the way the maps were created, how they were stored, etc.