Survey Types
ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey
The detailed survey commercial lenders and title underwriters ask for before they will insure a deal.
An ALTA/NSPS survey is a boundary survey with a much larger scope, prepared to a national standard so a lender three states away can read it and know exactly what they are looking at.
Who asks for one
Almost always a lender, a title company, or a buyer’s attorney on a commercial transaction. If you are buying an office building, a retail strip, an industrial site or a large tract for development, expect this on the closing checklist. It is rare on residential deals.
What makes it different from a boundary survey
A boundary survey answers where the lines are. An ALTA survey answers that plus a long list of questions the title company needs settled before it will remove standard survey exceptions from the policy. The surveyor works from a current title commitment and plots every recorded easement and exception listed in it, showing which ones actually touch the property and where.
That last part is the real value. A title commitment might list fourteen easements by document number. The survey shows you that eleven are irrelevant and three run straight through where you planned to put the building.
The 2021 standards
The current version is the 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, jointly adopted by the American Land Title Association and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. Every ALTA survey includes a required baseline: boundary resolution, rights of way and access, recorded easements plotted from the title commitment, observable evidence of use, and a certification in specific required language.
Table A is where the cost lives
Beyond the baseline, Table A is a menu of optional items the client can request. This is the single biggest driver of what an ALTA survey costs, and it is where deals waste money by ordering everything instead of what the lender actually requires.
| Commonly requested Table A items | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Monuments at corners | Physical markers set at each property corner |
| Vicinity map | Location context on the drawing |
| Flood zone classification | FEMA zone shown from current mapping |
| Gross land area | Total acreage or square footage stated |
| Vertical relief and contours | Elevation data, adds real field time |
| Building measurements and height | Exterior dimensions of improvements |
| Parking count and striping | Space by space count, matters for retail |
| Utilities from observed evidence and plans | Often the most expensive single item |
| Offsite easements benefiting the property | Access rights across neighboring land |
Ask your lender for their Table A list in writing before you order. Requesting items nobody needs is the most common way an ALTA survey ends up thousands over budget. It is a menu, not a package deal.
What to have ready
- A current title commitment with legible copies of every listed exception document
- The lender’s or title company’s required Table A items
- The exact certification language they want, and every party to be named in it
- Any prior surveys, site plans or as-builts you have
- Your closing date, since the survey often gates it
Timeline
ALTA surveys take longer than boundary surveys. Field work is more involved and the drafting is substantial. Two to five weeks is common depending on site size, Table A scope and how quickly the title commitment arrives. Start it early. It is a frequent cause of delayed commercial closings.